|
PLAN-Boulder CountyThe Boulder County Peoples Advocate Nov. 1, 2008Boulder County public affairs news and analysis |
In this issue
Boulder City Council members, at their October 21 meeting, passed on first reading the City of Boulder budget for 2009. Several items associated with the budget were also approved, including the City's property tax mil levy, funding authorization and fees for various City services. The budget will have a required second reading on November 10, at which time changes could be made.
The budget, as recommended by City staff, was approved unanimously without changes on a motion by Mayor Shaun McGrath. Council members debated several issues, including additional funding for the City's business incentives and subsidies program, elimination of funding for Boulder Community Media (which operates educational cable TV channel 22), use of the Educational Excise Tax for the proposed Mapleton Early Childhood Center and utility rates.
The City staff described the budget as "fiscally constrained" but including some "action items" proposed by Council members. Those expenditures are contingent on whether staff's estimates of revenues are met. No appreciable increases in "quality of life" programs, such as library hours, street landscaping and park maintenance, were recommended although Council did fund the continuing "economic vitality" program of corporate subsidies at over $300,000 for 2009. Some Council members suggested increased funding for the subsidies and incentives program may be justified if economic condition worsens.
Council spends most of its time on budget considerations at study sessions instead of regular meetings. While the study sessions are open to the public there is no opportunity for citizen comments. Study sessions are usually not televised on the City's cable television channel 8. While Council members are able to suggest priorities there are rarely changes to the budget proposed by City staff.
Manager Appoints Budget Review Committee
Interim City Manager Stephanie Grainger appointed a ten member committee to review the City of Boulder budget and make recommendations to City Council on possible spending priority changes. Grainger appointed the committee in September without seeking public input. The committee, known by City staff as the "Blue Ribbon Commission II", held its first meeting September 23 without public notice.
At the City Council meeting on October 7 PLAN-Boulder County chair Pat Shanks read a statement voicing the organization's concerns over the process used to appoint the committee, including the initial secret meeting.
PLAN-Boulder County's statement made four suggestions to Council:
No Council member responded to the statement at the meeting. Later, however, on the City's email Hotline, several Council members objected to having Council involved in staff-generated committees.
Council Adopts Legislative Priorities
Boulder City Council members, at their October 7 meeting, approved a long list of state and federal legislative priorities for 2009. Most of the issues for which the City will lobby are in the fields of transportation, human rights, health, safety, water rights, energy, the environment and consumer protection.
Although Council members spent over an hour making minor amendments to the priorities the list was generally not controversial. One item raised the attention of Councilman Macon Cowles. The City staff included a sentence stating the City's opposition to any changes in the current statutes regarding the maximum immunity of governmental entities in Colorado, which is $400,000 per incident.
Cowles mentioned a bus accident on Berthoud Pass in 1992 in which more than two dozen German tourists were killed of injured due to Colorado Department of Transportation negligence. The $400,000 maximum settlement for the incident, however, gave little effective financial recompense to the individual victims or their families.
Cowles moved to delete the sentence from the list of legislative priorities. His motion failed on a 3 to 3 tie vote, with Mayor Shaun McGrath and Council members Suzy Ageton and Lisa Morzel absent. Voting with Cowles were Council members Angelique Espinoza and Crystal Gray. Voting against the amendment were Council members Matt Appelbaum, Susan Osborne and Ken Wilson. Ageton and McGrath were attending a sister cities trip to Lhasa, Tibet.
After his amendment was rejected Cowles moved to adopt the list of priorities, and that motion was approved unanimously, with Ageton, McGrath and Morzel absent.
Permits Issued for 25 Residences in September
The number of building permits issued for residential construction by the City of Boulder rose slightly in September from the depressed levels of recent months. During September a net total of 25 units were permitted, up from four units in August. Of the units permitted seven were for single-family detached houses, four were for single-family attached units and 15 were in multi-family buildings. One single-family residence was permitted for demolition, resulting in a potential net increase of 25 units.
Although Boulder's residential market appears to be in better condition than many other cities across the country (and the region) the tight financing environment is apparently reducing funding for many speculative projects.
The following table shows the number of residential building permits, by unit, issued by the City of Boulder since 2000, and for 2008 through September:
SF denotes single-family residential units and MF denotes multi-family units. Detached units are typical single family houses while attached are townhouses and duplexes. Demos denote full-structure demolitions.
We recommend that readers use these statistics for general guidance, since the City's online building permit reporting system is new and still contains some errors. Your editor has endeavored to correct some of the errors for PLAN-Boulder County's use but cannot guarantee total accuracy. The City's reporting method is not user-friendly but its accuracy has improved.
LeBrot House Gets Landmark Designation
The Boulder City Council followed recommendations from City staff and the Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board and approved local historic landmark designation for the LeBrot house at 819 6th Street. At the October 21 Council meeting the designation was approved unanimously on a motion by Councilman Macon Cowles.
The LeBrot house was built in 1954. It was designed by prominent Boulder architect Hobart Wagener and is described as an early example of the "expressionistic" modern architecture that is derivative of the "Usonian" concepts of Frank Lloyd Wright.
The historic designation was initiated by the Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board with the support of the new owner of the house and Historic Boulder, Inc.
Council Voting Records Available Online
PLAN-Boulder County has been tracking since 2005 all votes by members of the Boulder City Council. Often amendments and procedural motions are as important as final decisions on major issues and we wish the people of Boulder to know how their Council members vote on issues of importance to the community. Included in our tracking is how Council members voted on appointments to City boards and commissions.
The votes are recorded on a spreadsheet that can be found on our website. PLAN-Boulder County encourages you to keep informed about how Boulder's City Council represents you and your views.
PLAN-Boulder County is pleased with the response from Boulder County residents to the Peoples Advocate. We'll keep working to let you know how your city and county representatives are voting on important issues, and we'll continue to provide detailed information on the nuts and bolts of public process.
In order to spread the word we encourage those of you who are receiving this publication to pass it around. Please forward the Peoples Advocate to your friends and associates. Encourage any community organizations in which you are a member to distribute the Peoples Advocate to their membership.
If you like what you read, please sign up to receive the newsletter directly to ensure continuity and simplify our process by contacting PLAN-Boulder board member David Cook. And most importantly, let us know what you think about the publication and the issues we cover.
Eric Karnes, Editor |
To subscribe or unsubscribe, please send an email to Morgan Rogers.