LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS
Vote yes to help Jeffco prevent further budget cuts

By Christina Manthey
in Denver Post, October 13, 2024

The League of Women Voters of Jefferson County urges citizens to support Ballot Issue 1A with a Yes vote that will  allow the county to keep the tax dollars it collects from taxpayers. The tax rates that are the basis of these taxes were previously authorized by voters.  If passed, the revenue retention authorization will allow the county to maintain the Jeffco quality of life and invest in already established infrastructure and public safety.
  
How will it benefit voters? By keeping what the county collects without increasing any tax rate or the mill levy rate, that infrastructure will be improved. Public satety efforts such as wildfire and flood mitigation, mental health services and crime prevention will see increased funding.

The problem in funding needed improvements has been challenging since 1992 under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, a constitutional amendment that limits the revenue that Colorado's governments can retain and spend.  With the passage of Jeffco 1A, the county will be able to keep the property taxes is collects rather than send a refund, with is typically less than $100 per household.  Instead of refunds that money goes back into the community.

If Jeffco 1 does NOT pass, the county predicts budget cuts of up to $20 Million next year.  The measure will NOT affect your state or federal tax refunds! Supporters assure it does not increase taxes. Commissioner Lesley Dahlkemper has stated that the county is already behind in transportation projects to the tune of $631 million.

LWVJeffco strongly supports Jeffco 1A and urges you to vote yes on Jeffco1A.

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS
5 takeaways from the League of Women Voters Jefferson County's annual meeting

By Jo Davis
in Jeffco Transcript, May 1, 2024

Members of the League of Women Voters of Jefferson County met on April 23 for their annual meeting. The theme was “Safeguarding Gold Standard Elections.” Amanda Gonzalez, Jeffco’s Clerk and Recorder was the keynote speaker. Her speech offered more information on the elections for the year.

Here are five interesting facts that came out of the meeting that Jefferson County voters should know.

1. The Jeffco League of Women Voters is a group of volunteers. 

Everyone in the room volunteers their time for not only the meetings but also observing legislative processes important to voting, according to the LWV president Christina Manthey.

“We do this through volunteering for the league observer corps program if each of us chooses to attend a governing body meeting regularly,” Manthey said.

2. The league is bipartisan and contains male members.

A few of the women were there with their husbands, who were also part of the membership.

LWV secretary Jane Cates told a story about two members who had a fierce debate  . . . . .

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LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS
Ruszczyk: Coloradans for Metro District Reform

By Fayre L. Ruszczyk
in Jeffco Transcript, February 6, 2024

A legislative task force began studying homeowner’s rights in metro districts on Dec. 5, 2023. The task force will issue a report to the state legislature on June 15. Coloradans for Metro District Reform is a volunteer group researching metro district abuse and advocating for protective reform. CMDR has been covering and responding to the Task Force’s public sessions. Task Force hearings are public, recorded and may be accessed at https://engagedora.org/metropolitan-district-homeowners-rights-task-force.

Those living in metro districts also have an opportunity to fill out a short survey regarding their experiences at the same site.

The task force was created last year and has 11 members chosen by the legislators and the governor. Although labeled a “homeowners rights” task force, CMDR believes its membership is heavily skewed toward the developer industry. CMDR stated that three of the 11 task force members express positions reflecting resident interests. Two legislators serve on the Task Force (Representative Jennifer Parenti and Senator Julie Gonzales) as well as a county commissioner, five attorneys and a developer.

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LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS
League of Women Voters reveals housing priorities

By Christina Manthey
in Denver Post, January 20, 2024

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS
Group Hosts Metro District Forum

By Jocelyn Rowley
in Loveland Reporter-Herald, May 18, 2023

The proliferation of metropolitan districts across Colorado has helped provide much needed development to a growing population, but it has come with hidden costs. On Wednesday, the League of Women Voters South Larimer discussion group hosted a virtual panel presentation on how these financing tools can be misused by developers and end up putting a larger burden on property owners.

“It’s a good idea,” panelist John Henderson of the group Coloradans for Metro District Reform told the 38 online attendees. “The principal is sound. …But there’s no oversight, there’s no check and balance. That’s a bad idea.”

In Colorado, metropolitan districts are formed by developers to fund improvements or infrastructure that the local city or county government cannot, such as water, sewer, parks, or roads. The districts are authorized to collect taxes from current and future property owners that are then used to repay bonds issued to finance construction.

According to presenter Christina Manthey, president of the Jefferson County League of Women Voters, Colorado’s Department of Local Affairs reports that there are 2,297 metro districts across the state, including 346 in Larimer County.

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Get Informed and Vote

By Linda Rockwell
in Arvada Press, April 19, 2023

This year marks the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, a protest over taxation without representation. It’s been 30 years since Colorado voters approved the so-called Taxpayer Bill of Rights, or TABOR, which requires a vote of the people before any tax increase.  Ballot issues related to taxes face us at every general election.

If we care so much about taxes, why do so few of us pay attention to our property taxes?  Possibly because we are often not aware of what they are. For renters and for people with a mortgage, the sum of those taxes is rolled into their monthly payment. They seldom, if ever, see the list of all the entities their tax dollars support.

Many of our property taxes are levied by special districts, which are formed by law to provide specific services like water and sewer, fire protection or recreation. Elections for Directors of these districts will be held May 2. I urge you to get informed and to vote.

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Jeffco homelessness stakeholders agree on cause but not action steps

By Andrew Fraieli
in Arvada Press, March 2, 2023

The League of Women Voters of Jefferson County and the Jefferson Unitarian Church Community Action Network co-sponsored a virtual panel discussion on Feb. 28 to “explore what can be done in Jefferson County to ease the plight of the unhoused.” This included the Mayor of Wheat Ridge Bud Starker and Jeffco Commissioner Tracy Kraft-Tharp along with various nonprofit, city and county representatives. 

If there is anything that they all agreed on, it’s that everyone needs to work together. But opinions on how that translates into action differed greatly, as do the consequences.

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Watch the panel discussion

Special districts: Taking a closer look at mini-governments

By Karen Groves
in Your Hub, February 9, 2023

Residents of a district, as voters, have enormous power to set direction and provide oversight of district services. Board members represent homeowners and/or constituents in setting direction and policy, keeping constituents informed and overseeing financial resources (including, but not limited to, setting debt limits, setting and exercising tax authority and deciding how district money should be spent.)  This can have a direct impact on the taxes residents and/or constituents must pay.

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Jeffco League of Women Voters asks Jeffco Commissioners to make climate action a county priority
By Christina Manthey
in Your Hub, December 27, 2022

The League of Women Voters of Jefferson County (LWV Jeffco) is an advocate for the County’s development of a Climate Action Plan to address greenhouse gas emissions and help citizens adapt to the effects of climate change. We ardently support the plan’s goals to set an aggressive greenhouse gas emissions reduction target and enhance the resiliency of our communities. As an organization fully committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in principle and in practice, we recognize that climate change is not just about science, it is also an issue of justice. We welcome that the plan centers equity throughout all climate action to reduce the climate risk disparities for disproportionately impacted communities.

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