By Kent Thiry, Michael Johnston and Joe Zimlich
In 2003, Colorado voters were asked to repeal the state’s so-called Gallagher Amendment. Gallagher’s approach to property taxes was already starting to show signs of inadequacy. Yet, the promise of a slightly lower property tax rate in the future was too compelling and voters turned down the measure in a landslide, 78% to 22% vote.
The Gallagher Amendment to the Colorado Constitution required residential property taxes to equal 45% of the total share of property taxes and nonresidential property taxes to equal 55%. As real estate values have increase, home property taxes have dropped to 7.1%. For small districts such as local fire departments, that spelled dramatically lower revenues.
When Amendment B made the ballot this summer, its opponents predicted a similar fate. By their estimation, Gallagher’s complex approach to property taxes made it a cause celebre for policy wonks, and a near impossible issue to explain to voters. Well, congratulations Colorado for voting Yes on B – proving our state can be a model for common sense, collaboration and neighborly values.
What did it take to pass Amendment B? Start with a rarity – bipartisan support of a tax-related measure in the Legislature. A majority of Democrats and Republicans found agreement on a measure that without hyperbole, represents the most significant fiscal policy reform to the Colorado Constitution in at least a generation. At a time when it seems partisan politics makes agreement about anything resembling a tax policy impossible, Colorado lawmakers put their differences aside for the betterment of our state.
Despite the unity of elected officials, Amendment B was still a decision entrusted to voters. It would be very easy to assume that a state of diverse communities and political preferences would struggle to find common ground. But Amendment B showed that Coloradans of diverse backgrounds – be it the National Federation of Independent Businesses and the Colorado Education Association, or the Farm Bureau and the League of Women Voters – can come together. And in the end, a majority of voters statewide came out in support of B.
After perhaps the most challenging year Colorado has ever seen – one that included a pandemic, a recession and historic wildfires – we were poised to cut funding to critical services and our schools. But Coloradans stood by their hometown heroes, be they firefighters in Glenwood Springs who faced layoffs or the loss of equipment; small businesses like Maria Empanada in Denver or JPM Prototype & MFG in Colorado Springs, which desperately needed property-tax relief; or front-line health providers, be they at a small hospital on the Western Slope or at Children’s Hospital in Denver.
This support illustrates Colorado voters’ ability to meet the moment and work together to solve our state’s challenges. Our economy, battered by the COVID-19 pandemic, now has a critical tool that will prevent deeper cuts to schools, fire protection and many other local services. Colorado businesses can focus on working their way back, rather than bracing for ever-higher property tax bills.
Amendment B’s passage shows that Colorado voters are capable of not only taking the time to sort through complicated formulas and policies, but to deeply understand how they impact their families and neighbors. At a time when we are collectively uncertain about our economic and political future, Coloradans were less likely to ask, “what’s in it for me?” than, “what’s best for us?”
Kent Thiry, Michael Johnston and Joe Zimlich served as co-chairmen of the Yes On Amendment B campaign along with former U.S. Sen. Hank Brown.
