Transcript Wheat Ridge
November 14, 2013
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A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourwheatridgenews.com
Jefferson County, Colorado • Volume 30, Issue 21
Hickenlooper unveils $24 billion budget Health care, education could see increases By Vic Vela
vvela@ourcoloradonews.com Those dreaded DMV wait times and skyrocketing college costs could see some alleviation, under Gov. John Hickenlooper’s proposed budget for next year. The governor detailed a $24 billion budget — one that he called “equal parts of optimism and prudence” — during a presentation to a state legislative committee on Nov. 7. As presented, the 2014-2015 budget includes increases in total funds and reserves compared to this year, an accomplishment that Hickenlooper attributes to a state economy that has now seen four consecutive years of growth since emerging from a recession. “We have now exceeded pre-Great Recession peak employment levels and there are only a few numbers of states that have done that,” Hickenlooper told the Legislature’s Joint Budget Committee. “This recovery puts Colorado’s economy literally among the very best in the United States.”
Hickenlooper singled out four “high priority” areas that will receive special focus as part of next year’s budget: “Education, customer service, health care and public safety.” The proposed budget Report would cap higher education tuition growth at 6 percent. That would halt a five-year trend that has seen an average tuition rate grow 10 percent, according to Henry Sobanet, the governor’s budget director. The governor also proposes adding more than $40 million for college financial aid, which he called a “historic increase” for higher education funding. “This budget request would allow more families to send kinds to college,” Hickenlooper told the committee. The budget also proposes a $223 perpupil increase for K-12 students next year. However, the governor acknowledged that the increase falls short of complying with Amendment 23 — the 2000 measure that
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reversed a trend where education funding was falling behind the rate of inflation. The governor’s budget does not include education dollars that would have come had Amendment 66 past last week. The tax hike for education funding measure was soundly defeated on Nov. 5. Hickenlooper also seeks to revamp the Division of Motor Vehicles, though increased staffing and updated computer systems, which are a part of “long-overdue steps to modernize DMV.” The governor said that the increased funding would significantly reduce wait times for customers who seek services from the oftenlampooned state division. “One of the places where Coloradans most frequently interact with government and become aggravated is the Department of Motor Vehicles,” Hickenlooper said. Various health care departments, including Human Services and Public Health and Environment, will see a combined $618 million increase through next year’s proposed budget. And developmentally disabled persons are expected to experience shorter waiting lists for services that include assisted housing, through an additional $22 million in proposed funding. The Department of Corrections —
which Hickenlooper said is expected to deal with a 2.3 percent inmate increase — will also receive about $42 million in additional funding next year, about a 6 percent budget increase, much of which will go toward a parole division makeover and a fugitive apprehension unit. The proposed budget also includes more money for savings. General fund reserves will increase to 6.5 percent, up from 5 percent this year. State Sen. Kent Lambert, R-Colorado Springs, praised Hickenlooper’s efforts to increase reserve funds, especially in light of wildfire and flood disasters that have struck the state in recent years. “I would give you the highest laudatory comments on the fact that we have stayed on that growth toward that state reserve, and we’ve needed it,” Lambert said. And it wouldn’t be a modern-day legislative committee hearing without there being some discussion of marijuana. Hickenlooper said his office will measure economic impacts on retail pot sales that were made legal through last year’s passage of Amendment 64. Budget continues on Page 28
‘The harder I work, the luckier I get’ Jay looks forward to leading as mayor By Vic Vela
vvela@ourcoloradonews.com Joyce Jay knew on the morning of Nov. 5 that she would be partying that night, regardless of what voters in the Wheat Ridge mayoral race decided that evening. “I spent no less than six months campaigning, solid,” Jay said in a recent interview with Colorado Community Media. “I went to over 3,000 doors and then, all of the sudden, it’s over. So, no matter what, it’s a party. Win or lose.” Jay acknowledged that she sometimes thought she might end up losing her contest against fellow Wheat Ridge council member Mike Stites, but insisted that she never second-guessed her campaign message or strategy. “The sense of doing something the best you can was enough for me,” she said. “It really was. I had the motto of, ‘The harder I work, the luckier I get.’ And it has served me well through my entire life.” That motto certainly paid dividends last week, as Jay captured the mayor’s seat after garnering nearly 54 percent of the votes cast in her race against Stites, the son of former Mayor Hank Stites. It was a big victory for the former photography business owner and Chicago native, who has lived in Wheat Ridge for the last 29 years. Jay will be sworn in as mayor at the Nov. 18 council meeting. Winning is a nice feeling. But
Wheat Ridge Mayor-elect Joyce Jay stands outside City Hall on Nov. 8, three days after her election victory over Councilman Mike Stites. Photo by Vic Vela Jay knows that the job she takes over from term-limited Mayor Jerry DiTullio — who won a hotlycontested District I council race — will pose both opportunities and challenges. For starters, Jay takes over a city that needs money. Wheat Ridge’s sales tax base can no longer support funding for capital improvement projects, such as
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road construction and repair. The council did pass an ordinance this year that would have sought a 1 percent sales and use tax increase from the voters, a measure that would have generated more than $6 million for city capital funding. However, DiTullio vetoed the measure, and Jay voted no, arguing that the tax hike was too steep. But Jay said she knows that the city needs more revenue coming in next year and is prepared to make that argument to residents. “I opposed it because it was too high,” Jay said of the recent tax ordinance. “I was nervous that it would put our city into a higher sales and use tax bracket than other cities around us. I was thinking that it could be a little lower, to allow us to be more
competitive with other cities.” Jay is also thrilled about the possibilities that the DenverWheat Ridge Gold Line commuter rail can bring to the city, seeing opportunities for restaurants and other storefronts that could open up along the Gold Line’s Ward Station, which could help the city diversify its tax base. Taxes aren’t the only taxing matter that Jay will have to deal with as mayor. At some point during her term, Jay and the council will also have make decisions related to the 38th Avenue road diet, a project that created singular through lanes on 38th Avenue, between Sheridan and Wadsworth Boulevards. The road diet was put in place last year as part of an effort by the city to revitalize and focus atten-
tion on the avenue’s “Main Street” corridor. Jay supports the revitalization efforts on 38th Avenue, including most aspects of the road diet. And she said she would strike down any effort by the council to bring lanes of travel back to four lanes in the corridor. “My inclination would be to veto it because I do not think economically it’s a good idea,” Jay said, when posed with that hypothetical scenario. “I think it would be an embarrassment to us. Jay said that businesses opened shops and young families bought homes in Wheat Ridge because of efforts along 38th Avenue, and that it would be a mistake to do away with key components of the project. At the same time, Jay said she understands frustrations over the road diet and said that compromises are possible — and that could start with the back-in parking that’s currently required along the 38th Avenue Corridor. “If the back-in parking needs to go, let it go,” she said. “You don’t want people avoiding your area.” Jay takes over as mayor at a time when new faces will be on the council, while familiar ones are gone. Along with Stites, Incumbent council members, Davis Reinhart, and Joseph DeMott lost their re-election bids. Meanwhile, Genevieve Wooden, Tim Fitzpatrick and Zach Urban will be sworn in next week as new council members. “I want this to be a very collaborative council,” Jay said. “I want to support their ideas, and give them lots of room to grow and develop. They come to the council with hopes and dreams and beliefs and I want to really foster that.”
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