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How will Amendment 60 affect your community?

Amendment 60 will overturn almost two decades of property tax decisions approved by voters in local elections and will force local districts to cut their property taxes for their own schools in half. By mandating that all local governments reduce property tax revenue, Amendment 60 will restrict local voters’ support for their own community and ability to control their own budget.

Amendment 60 will overturn local property tax decisions.

  • Any past voter-approved decision to keep property tax revenue above constitutional limits will be automatically undone. 98% of our school districts, 81% of our counties, and 76% of our cities voters have approved such property tax decisions.
  • It will also restrict local control by limiting the scope of future ballot measures.

Amendment 60 will force all school districts to lose 50% of their property tax revenue.

  • Over ten years, all property taxes going to schools will be cut in half and the state must replace this revenue.
  • Requiring the state to backfill for lost local revenue increases the state’s obligation to fund K-12 while simultaneously reducing the state’s ability to fund other important public services such as human services, health, higher education or public safety
  • If 101, 60, and 61 pass and the state government replaces this money for local governments, it will have to cut all other state services by 99%.

Amendment 60 will levy a new mandatory property tax on public enterprises and authorities, such as water districts, utilities, and colleges and universities.

  • In order to pay this new tax, these public services will have to dramatically increase their fees for service, such as water bills and tuition.

Amendment 60 will cut over $1 billion of local funding for public schools and will override the will of local voters. It will reduce property taxes, but will do so at the expense of public schools and other essential services provided by state and local governments that protect our communities.

Produced by Looking Forward, a collaboration among the Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute, the Colorado Children's Campaign and the Bell Policy Center to educate Coloradans about state fiscal policy.

Contact
Mark Neuman-Lee, 303-573-5669, ext. 310
Rich Jones, 303-297-0456
Robin Baker, 303-620-4525

Find more analysis of measures in Colorado's 2010 election.

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