As Fort Collins faces funding gap, priorities on climate and affordable housing raise questions
Last week we asked you: What should Fort Collins prioritize in a tax measure to address expected funding shortfalls?
The question was posed because, by Fort Collins city staff's estimation, the city needs to find additional revenue sources of $30 million to $39 million annually to fund City Council priorities in:
parks and recreation infrastructure replacement
affordable housing
public transit
climate action
The city could bring a tax measure to voters in 2023 or 2025. If it happens, we asked, what values should the associated projects reflect?
"Before deciding how Fort Collins needs to make up their deficit, the first conversation should be 'What is the role of the city of Fort Collins government?'" Terry J. said. "Is it to use taxpayer money to provide its citizens with critical services which they can't reasonably provide for themselves? Such as police, fire, sewer, water and streets."
LAST WEEK'S CONVERSATION: How to make Fort Collins streets safer for drivers, cyclists, pedestrians
Many people in the conversation expressed skepticism that effective actions around climate action would accomplish tangible results at this time.
As Phil M. put it: "Renewable energy is a righteous goal but is not sustainable at this time. Until we develop utility-grade power storage every solar panel and windmill will require a fossil fuel backup for the inherent intermittence."
A few people, like Tom L., suggested that investment in things like parks and roads would be more acceptable to residents because the improvements can more easily be seen.
"I would rather have my tax money go towards upgrade of the city's recreation facilities. They are a great asset to all ages of the community and are sorely in need of renovation and/or expansion," Elaine G. said. "Mulberry Pool should either be repaired or replaced with a modern facility. Same for North Aztlan. EPIC needs a facelift and better maintenance. The Senior Center needs to expand, especially the pool. And as long as Fort Collins keeps adding more housing developments, the city will need an additional facility." Not to mention staffing with competitive pay, Elaine said.
Based on the conversation, which was, admittedly, limited to a just few voices — we welcome more participation at Coloradoan.com/opinion — City Council and city staff may need to better explain what they see as the tangible effects of investing in climate change and affordable housing. Or they may need to better explain what they think will happen if investments are not made.
"Suggesting an increase in taxes for climate change goals needs to be very specific to be supported," Margaret H. said.
Tackling the problem of affordable housing felt daunting and perhaps fruitless, to some, including Margaret: "Affordable housing is a noble but unrealistic goal given the national market for housing. Unless the city or a developer will accept below-market pricing for sales or rents, affordable housing is a wish."
And instead of raising taxes, "reconsider tax breaks to developers, they never suffer the costs, they pass them on to consumers."
In a similar vein, Zach H. said: "These are all important programs and goals. My concern is asking working-class people who are already struggling with inflation, rising gas prices and the like, to shoulder more of a burden in taxes and fees. I've voted for past requests for tax and fees hikes, because I think funding parks, open spaces, affordable housing and such is important. However, I'd like the city to have Broadcom, Woodward, and higher-income residents to pay more of the tax and fees needed."
Willing to support a tax or not, many participants in the conversation wanted to know what they're getting out of it: "Make the bus routes and schedules more convenient and I’ll gladly take the bus rather than drive," Elaine said.
This week's question: Fort Collins' ban on plastic grocery bags is almost here. How will it change how you shop?
Neighborhood or charter school? What factors lead your choices for your kids' education?
In light of the high demand for some charter schools, even as 1 in 4 new charter schools don't remain viable enough to stay open, we were curious about the factors that parents and guardians are considering when choosing a school.
It's unclear whether anybody joining the conversation was a parent or guardian commenting on their own choice, but there was some ideas around bugs actually being features (the pros) and which students charter schools might not be serving well (the cons).
"Charter schools are a great option for most families, especially those stuck in poor school districts," Eric V. said. "We can embrace school choice while still supporting district-run schools."
Debra J. said: "They are not a great option for families that require transportation or free and reduced lunches. They also do not serve students with special education needs beyond a 'resource' level." She questioned charter schools' standards for their teachers because they do not require the same things as public schools.
But John R said: "This is actually an advantage for charter schools. They are not limited to hiring people with teaching certificates, so the pool of qualified candidates is actually larger. The most important things are that a candidate understands the content and is able to teach students, not that the candidate has a certificate. Consider a newly retired Microsoft employee who is an expert programmer and an excellent communicator. A charter school can immediately hire that person to teach computer science. Meanwhile, a district-run school might be limited to a candidate with minimal programming experience — but they've got the all-important teaching certificate!"
This week's other question: With misinformation on the rise globally, how do you identify trustworthy information?
Over on the Coloradoan's Facebook page, a story explaining some of the basics of Colorado charter schools drew more than 200 comments, including parent experiences with charter schools.
Promotion of ideology was cited as both a reason to avoid and a reason to attend a charter school.
Some parents felt too much emphasis was placed on test scores, at the expense of a child's well-being.
But having the choice was valued by most:
One person noted: "I've had two kids in the same charter school from kindergarten. It worked really well for one kid, and really poorly for the other. That's the beauty of choice. A parent can and should pick the school that supports the individual kid's needs, regardless of its label!"
Rebecca Powell is a content strategist at the Coloradoan, working to connect our community with the answers they seek. Contact her at RebeccaPowell@coloradoan.com.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Fort Collins funding gaps raise questions on climate, affordable housing
