7:30AM Citizens Budget Advisory Committee Meeting @ City Hall
SALES AND USE TAX
The Citizens Budget Advisory Committee will review our 2023 revenue from sales, use, and lodging taxes. The years 2021 and 2022 saw significant increases in sales tax revenue. That growth slowed in 2023, but was still mildly positive.
The sources of sales tax revenue have changed markedly in the past few years. Regulations have changed so that out-of-city/out-of-state vendors (such as Amazon) are now collecting sales tax for our purchases and are sending it to the City. The “Outside” sales tax is by far the biggest source of sales tax revenue. As a merchant recently commented, the City’s overall sales tax revenue is not as good a measure of thriving local business as it used to be. Lots of sales tax may just mean lots of Amazon purchases.
NEW CITY HALL/MUNICIPAL CENTER
The major topic for today’s meeting is the proposed new City hall. This conversation began when the City bought the former Coors property along 10th Street east of Ford. Public meetings have grouped the new City hall with improvements to the parkland along the Creek under the general name “Heart of Golden.” This can be deceiving, as the two projects benefit different groups and will likely have different funding sources.
WHY DO WE NEED IT?
The meeting memo defines two main reasons for building new municipal buildings. The first: City employees are currently spread over several buildings, and they would be easier to manage if they were all in one place. The second: location in a single building would allow them to provide better (“one-stop”) service to residents.
Balanced against these two points are, first, employees are increasingly working at home, so they may not need as much office space in the future (and they won’t all be “in one place” for the same reason). Second, City services (such as paying bills and taxes and applying for licenses) are increasingly going online, so the need for citizens to visit a city building may be fading.
HOW MUCH WOULD IT COST?
There are many unknowns at this point, but they estimate the cost at $65,000,000.
HOW WOULD WE PAY FOR IT?
The meeting memo has a very interesting discussion about using different types of debt for different purposes. The memo explains that a project with popular appeal, that will be used directly by citizens, is typically funded by bonds. The bond issue is brought to a vote and citizens decide whether they want to incur that debt. The Golden Community Center, Fossil Trace Golf Club, and the Splash water park were approved by Golden citizens and funded by bonds.
Projects with less public appeal–such as municipal facilities used primarily by city employees–are less likely to be approved by voters. To avoid having citizens say “no,” such projects are often funded with Certificates of Participation. These enable cities to borrow large sums of money without seeking citizen approval.
City Council could decide to borrow the $65 million without bringing it to a vote. This is the approach the City used to purchase the Coors property: staff discussed it with Council in executive sessions (no public, no cameras) and then they voted to take on the debt via Certificates of Participation.
City Staff is recommending that Council use Certificates of Participation for the proposed City Hall.
City Council will discuss methods of financing this project at their April 9th meeting.
WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF HEART OF GOLDEN–THE EXTRA PARKLAND, THE PICKLEBALL COURTS, ETC.?
The memo explains that the park, trail, and landscape improvements could likely be covered by existing revenue sources, such as Open Space funding. Also–park improvements have public appeal, so they could ask voters to approve a bond issue to fund that part of the Heart of Golden.
The memo that explains the financial strategy begins on p. 54 of the online packet.
AN INTERESTING FOOTNOTE ABOUT THE CURRENT CITY FACILITIES
The current City management and City Council cannot guarantee that the City’s property along the Creek will never be sold for redevelopment. That is not their current intention, but future Councils may have different priorities–they may need the money, or they may decide that we need housing or another hotel more than we need parks.
A PERSONAL COMMENT ABOUT THE HEART OF GOLDEN PLANS
About the new municipal facilities: I want very much for this to be brought to a vote of the citizens. The reason for avoiding this seems unconvincing: “They might say no.” Well–yes, we might. I see a new City hall as optional.
If we needed a new sewage treatment plant, I think that would justify by-passing the public. It might not have popular appeal, but we definitely need it. A City hall just isn’t in that category. I’d like them to bring it to a vote, and do a PR campaign to explain the need to the citizens. Maybe I could be persuaded. If Council votes to take on $65 million in debt without a vote, I’ll just be angry.
About the creekfront improvements: who doesn’t love parkland? I love the Clear Creek Trail, Lions Park, Parfet Park, and Vanover Park. My one concern is this: the citizens are already frustrated by the Creek’s popularity. The more attractive it becomes, the more crowds we’ll attract. I’m not sure we’ve found the answer to that conundrum.
