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La Plata County tax increase receives support

Residents polled about roads, bridges

A majority of residents support a property-tax increase for roads and bridges, pollsters told La Plata County commissioners.

About 60 percent of respondents supported a tax-increase proposal that would raise $5.4 million for roads and bridges in 2016.

A smaller majority supported the notion of a tax increase that would raise $8 million in 2016 to fund county buildings, in addition to roads and bridges.

“These are very strong numbers, some of the strongest we’ve seen in years relative to a property tax,” said Roger Sherman, chief operating officer for CRL and Associates, presenting the results Tuesday. The poll was completed last week; the results are based on about 480 telephone interviews.

After the positive polling results, the commissioners asked County Manager Joe Kerby to form a stakeholder group of about 20 to 25 community members to help refine a potential ballot question.

Urgency was the theme of the meeting.

The county’s Long Term Finance Committee estimates that the road and bridge fund that supports 650 miles of roads could face annual shortages starting in 2016. The current downturn in the price of natural gas will increase the need, Kerby said.

“That has changed the picture, to make it more dramatic,” Kerby said

Several board members seemed to lean toward placing the measure on the 2015 ballot, although a final decision has not been made.

“If it’s a critical issue, we need to get it to them sooner rather than later. ... We always seem to talk about people not wanting to increase taxes. If there is a real need, we need to give voters the opportunity to do the right thing,” Commissioner Gwen Lachelt said.

But the poll and stakeholder group are just preliminary steps toward a ballot proposal in 2015.

“If we start heading that direction today, on May 26, it’s not a train that is nonstop to the finish line,” Commissioner Julie Westendorff said.

The commissioners did voice concern about the property-tax increase for roads and bridges competing with a property tax for the airport and other potential needs.

But the president of Keating Research, Chris Keating, who conducted the poll, said the ballot measure has broad appeal, and while competing measures could drag it down, he didn’t see a big difference between bringing it to the voters in 2015 or 2016.

“Your measure has to be acceptable to voters on its own. If it’s going to pass, they’ve got to believe in it ,” he said.

Also playing in the county’s favor is a feeling taxes are in line with local services. About 66 percent of those polled felt they pay the right amount in taxes. This can be a good place to start the conversation about a tax increase, Keating said.

“There is not a sense here in La Plata County that they are over-taxed,” he said.

mshinn@durangoherald.com



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