Not seeing it

Since the Colorado General Assembly wrapped up the 2023 session with a bang, I’m still feeling uninformed.

By bang, I am referring to the Democrats passing the bill that will put Proposition HH on the ballot for us to decide in November.

For one — the majority party released this important piece of legislation seemingly at the last minute. OK, it was literally. It takes three days to pass a bill — they did it just in the nick of time. Hard to believe they did not have it planned until three days before.

Nonetheless, what’s done is done. Now, it’s up to voters to decide on whether to pass this proposition that we are being told will help homeowners deal with the major property tax increases.

Before getting too deep into the measure — I will agree that Colorado does have some of the lower property taxes in the nation. However, given the cost of living and struggles families are going through — we did not deserve to play catch-up on the national level all in one year. Instead, we are seeing 30%, 40%, and, in some areas, 60% increases. While I have not yet seen the numbers, this is just a guess, but I doubt that many of the tens of thousands of property valuation appeals are going to make a big di erence.

So, that leaves us with Proposition HH, where we are being told to approve it and we will get some property tax relief. However, in reading multiple stories about the measure and trying to understand it — I, as a property owner, am just not seeing how this is going to help me and my family.

I do, however, see how it is going to help the state get more money. After all, lawmakers have been trying to nd a way around TABOR for quite some time. at sounds good, since I am about to be paying a lot more in property taxes. elma Grimes is the south metro editor for Colorado Community Media.

Again, not making the connection on how I am going to see a true bene t by voting yes.

I wouldn’t say I am against the measure completely. I’d just like to really understand why I should vote yes.

Several articles recently came out about how families could get higher TABOR refunds this year.

Tell me now — if I say go ahead and keep those TABOR funds — how do I come out ahead? e math is not adding up here.

As information trickles in about what happens with the proposition, especially if the Colorado Supreme Court rejects current challenges, there is still no answer.

In one article, I read that if voters do indeed vote on the measure in November, property owners will not have an idea of what they will pay in property taxes until long after the election. Given the state is asking me to vote yes on the measure — I’d like a rm answer before I vote.

To complicate the issue further, local government and taxing districts that rely on property taxes are also playing a guessing game for what it means to them. Will sta cuts be needed?

Commissioner Lora omas in Douglas County says it’s a possibility.

Larimer County imposed a hiring freeze due to the unknown.

To conclude — the question remains — how is giving you my TABOR refund going to result in a property tax break for me? How will this bene t our school district and our counties where this is the primary source of revenue?

LINDA SHAPLEY Publisher lshapley@coloradocommunitymedia.com

MICHAEL DE YOANNA

When I relocated from New Jersey to Colorado, I had made the drive ahead of the moving truck. Crossing through Kansas and into the eastern plains of Colorado on Highway 70, I still couldn’t quite make out the mountains in the distance. However, the further into Colorado I drove, the purple mountains’ majesties began to appear in the distance. And even though it was July, I could still make out the snow-capped peaks standing tall against the

At the time I wasn’t familiar with Longs Peak, Mount Evans or Pikes Peak, just a few of the 14ers in the beautiful state of Colorful Colorado, but I still could see these massive mountain structures in the distance. ey were awe-inspiring for sure, but from a distance seemed much too difcult to think about trying to hike or climb them. And as my family and I settled into the foothills, the views of the mountains in the distance at both sunrise and sunset amazed us, as coming from New Jersey we were familiar with the oceans and hills of the east coast, but nothing compared to the grandeur of what now stood before us.

As newbies to Colorado at the time, we were anxious and nervous yet so excited to get into the mountains and do some exploring. Driving west on 70 those mountaintops didn’t disappoint — there are times along the road where their beauty is

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Operations/ Circulation Manager lnicoletti@coloradocommunitymedia.com only exceeded by their ominous features. I remember my family thinking that maybe we should turn back. And we are all glad we did not turn back, we kept going and nally stopped in Beaver Creek. After leaving the exit, and making our way toward the mountain, we could still not quite see the top, and again from far away it looked like that day’s hike might be more di cult than we had anticipated.

Beaver Creek isn’t even a 14er (a mountain that is at least 14,000 feet in elevation), yet it seemed gigantic to us, almost unmanageable for rookies to the area. But as we got closer, we realized we could no longer see the top, as a matter of fact the closer we got to that mountain, the smaller it became. And when we looked at the trail map and out at the winding trail ahead of us, we realized that what was right in front of us was more than manageable for sure, so we readied ourselves and took o up the mountain.

What mountain are you looking at right now? Does it look ominous and frightening from where you are currently standing? Maybe it’s a new cancer diagnosis, a personal battle with addiction, or a family member or friend ghting addiction. Perhaps it’s a relationship challenge at home. You may be facing a nancial burden that seems to be getting bigger by the day. Your mountain could be a problem with your business or your team. If you are in sales and you are now halfway through the year and your numbers are way o , the chasm between your quota and where you cur-

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