The League of Women Voters of La Plata County, along with The Durango Herald, will host a presentation Monday night about the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights and the Gallagher Amendment.
Carol Hedges, executive director of the Colorado Fiscal Institute, will speak about the two laws. Hedges is a recognized expert on TABOR and wrote a comprehensive study of its effects, Ten Years of TABOR.
The amendment requires the state to seek voter approval to raise tax rates and mandates that governments cannot spend revenues collected under existing tax rates if those revenues exceed inflation and population growth. If the governments collect revenue in excess of the limit, they must return the money to taxpayers – unless voters approve otherwise.
The Gallagher Amendment was approved by voters in 1982 and requires that a portion of residential property is subject to an assessed value drop when residential property values grow faster than nonresidential properties.
According to the Colorado Department of Treasury, “Since 1982, residential property values in Colorado have grown faster than nonresidential properties, causing the assessment rate on residential properties to drop from 21 percent in 1982 to 7.96 percent today. The assessment rate on Colorado businesses is 29 percent.”
Hedges served as former Gov. Roy Romer’s policy director in the late 1990s. Budget policy was one of her main focuses. She was a senior policy analyst with the Bell Policy Center, where she researched the effects of TABOR.
“TABOR and Gallagher: Why Should We Care” will begin at 5:30 p.m. Monday at the Durango Public Library, 1900 East Third Ave. The Durango Herald will livestream the presentation on its Facebook page beginning at 5:25 p.m. To watch live, visit www.facebook.com/TheDurangoHerald.
