Let’s talk about appropriations

The expenses that are allocated within a governmental budget are known as appropriations. Appropriations are decided upon by the legislative body that controls expenditures within a political entity. For example, the Arvada City Council controls appropriations for the city of Arvada. e Colorado General Assembly decides what monies shall be appropriated how and where for the state of Colorado. is is correct because the voters of the state of Colorado elected those legislators to make those decisions on their behalf just as the citizens of Arvada elected their City Council. ey act on behalf of the people who may then vote those o ceholders out if they feel it is

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JOE WEBB

necessary. According to the Form 104 booklet issued by the Colorado Department of Revenue, the two largest appropriations in the Colorado State Budget are grouped together as education at 35.4% of the state budget and 36.1% grouped as social assistance. Within just those two groups of appropriations are unfunded mandates made by the federal government to our state government.

What is an unfunded mandate, you

LINDA SHAPLEY Publisher lshapley@coloradocommunitymedia.com

MICHAEL DE YOANNA Editor-in-Chief michael@coloradocommunitymedia.com

KRISTEN FIORE West Metro Editor kfiore@coloradocommunitymedia.com

CORINNE WESTEMAN Community Editor cwesteman@coloradocommunitymedia.com ask? It is the imposition by statute or regulation that a state must perform certain actions without the money to pay for them. In other words, the federal government is telling our state government to spend certain monies for one thing or another. Worse they are not providing appropriation dollars to accomplish these goals. It is a way to mask out-of-control federal spending by shifting the burden onto the states.

When conservatives gripe about out-of-control spending it is the unfunded mandates that are fueling the complaints in part. Regardless of the speci cs behind appropriations, I would think that most Coloradoans regardless of their political feelings

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LINDSAY NICOLETTI Operations/ Circulation Manager lnicoletti@coloradocommunitymedia.com would agree that the elected representatives of the people are the ones who should decide what monies are appropriated and how. It is a little di cult to determine what percentage of the budget of our state budget consists of unfunded mandates. While I have asked the question of others, I have not been able to get a de nite answer. What unfunded mandates accomplish is to crowd out budget dollars for priorities that our elected o cials feel is in the best interest of all Coloradoans. Unfunded mandates help keep the pay for schoolteachers lower. Unfunded mandates keep school still marksmanship. and grew became ized. things, as destruction. keep move active-shooter curriculum. Day Colorado, received emails informing a time that killed in Here were yet were recounted which must all your might, reach might automatic. country. of and pushing interpretations SEE WEBB, P13

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