Dear Editor,

Last week Black Hawk presented a non-negotiable proposal to Gilpin County to begin funding the Gilpin County Recreation Center with a Black Hawk lodging tax. The initial payment based on the expected taxes raised is $1 million and expected to rise yearly based on the published annual average Consumer Price Index from Denver-Aurora-Lakewood. Two of three Gilpin County Commissioners decided by default not to accept the offer by trying to re-negotiate the terms of the proposal, a move that enraged the city and nearly caused the proposal to be revoked. The proposal remains on-the-table for now and Black Hawk awaits the Commissioner’s final opportunity to accept the proposal, as is, with no negotiation of the terms.

This situation related to funding the County assets and services, the relationship with the cities in our county and the industry that drives our county has spiraled to a new low. This degradation in relationships has developed from a lack of trust by the residents of the county, the cities, and the gaming industry for the county to manage its business. The driving force behind this lack of trust is the decision of some Commissioners to continue to spend county funds without a comprehensive understanding of current and future costs to running the county. The county continues to make decisions to add costs without fully understanding the costs they are adding and meanwhile, not having the current funds to support current services like the Recreation Center. The residents of the county can see the wreck coming, so they refuse to vote for tax increases. The cities and the gaming industry can see the wreck coming, so they are making proposals to stabilize the environment for their critical industry.

It’s now time to fix these relationships and begin to build trust and create a county where the county, its residents, its cities and its industry partners all work together to create a better and improving Gilpin County…A well-managed county. Getting to this place means we need to be well aware of the financial issues that we will be facing in the future and working with all parties to solve these issues now – No surprises. It means working with our cities if they have solutions that can work and letting them lead if that drives the best solution. We need to start this change today with Black Hawk’s proposal to fund the Recreation Center. This proposal is a perfect opportunity to work with the city, let them lead and deliver a solution that benefits all parties. Why does this proposal work? It recognizes the realities we must work with. Those realities are:

• That the residents do not want to increase taxes at this point to fund the Recreation Center, that the county has spent the resident’s money for the Recreation Center on other things and this type of spending won’t stop.

• That a pass-through tax on lodging to visitors of the county is a very county friendly method to fund the Recreation Center. This type of taxation should be considered more often.

• For the most part, the terms and conditions of the new proposed IGA (Intergovernmental Agreement) from Black Hawk are the same as those accepted by the RE-1 School District with the 2008 IGA between Black Hawk and RE-1. The only

additional term of significance is limiting the County Mill Levy to the current 10.695 Mills (Including the Library Mill Levies).

• That if the County has a better solution to fund the Recreation Center through taxes it may forgo this funding from Black Hawk at any time and replace it with its own taxation. Nothing in this agreement limits the County’s ability to impose new taxes. It simply prevents duplication in taxes.

The simple truth of this proposal is that the County could impose the same tax on its own or impose other taxes to replace it. But why? Black Hawk has proposed a solution that is good for all parties and taxes visitors to our county, not the residents. No need to debate it, let’s work together, let Black Hawk lead a good solution and now the county can start building trust with all parties by looking forward at the other major issues on the horizon and work to solve them together – No Surprises!

Here’s to a Common-sense Business Approach, and Better Days

Corey Marshall

County Commissioner Candidate

District #3