Dear Editor,

For consideration by the citizens of Nederland: Taxes are a tough subject. Not a necessary evil, taxes facilitate a cooperative society. We share many resources and therefore have to shoulder the costs together. In a municipality, the resources fall close to home and we as neighbors feel the impact more when our mutual needs are met or unmet. This is especially true in a small town like Nederland. Furthermore, we can have a significant impact together when those resources need our attention. With TABOR, our Board of Trustees is limited in their jurisdiction over taxes, so the burden of understanding the need and managing the fiscal responsibility related to approving or denying those taxes falls on the citizens. That’s a heavy weight when you consider the importance of the implications. So, I suggest that you have a personal obligation to read and understand the ballot measures (Ballot Issues 2J, 2K, 2L) that are in front of us and thoughtfully vote your conscience. Be informed and resist a “knee-jerk” reaction that taxes are bad or unnecessary.

My opinion: However we got here, our town is in need of financial resources and without them we will suffer civil consequences that will be significant. These measures are primarily to support our law enforcement, safety and civil service. Law and order are what ensures the freedom to live our American dream in Nederland. We love the size and location of our town, and with that come challenges related to law enforcement. These include distributed costs that might be greater than the economies of scale of larger municipalities. But we like it that way. We want police leadership and officers who know us, who know our cadence and who love our town. That costs money, money we don’t currently have in our budget. So we need to find the money to pay for these important people and the tools and resources they need to maintain order and facilitate a peaceful and happy place. In addition, these measures will fund parks & recreation, health & human services, and salaries for our city staff. Of important note is that all of these measures are sales taxes, so the visitors and tourists who also love our town will help to fund these services. Whether you are pro-tourism, as I am, or against visitors, they’re coming with or without your approval. So these measures help us to pay for the infrastructure we need to support them and our families. Please see the latest budget numbers in on the Nederland Town Hall website to understand the dollars and cents.

2J - Vote YES. 0.25% increase in sales tax rate or an additional 25 cents on $100 for Police. I hope you see that as a no-brainer. The estimated $156K is still short of the deficit to properly fund police, so it’s a conservative number.

2K - Vote YES. 5% on Marijuana or $5 more on $100. Discretionary recreational substances are commonly taxed because they drive additional costs in the city government to enforce and manage regulatory compliance. The Police are burdened with monitoring compliance with underage sales and consumption, public consumption and operating vehicles.

2L - Vote YES. $2.00 more on Short Term Rentals. This is clearly an appropriate resolution to pay for the services needed to support and encourage tourism in our town.

While each of these resolutions has an initial intended use for the funds, they all give discretion to our elected leadership to direct them to where our town needs them the most. So we need them to be fiscally responsible. But you are not off the hook. You, as the electorate, must stay informed as to their actions and plans for accountability, which is easy with the transparency of the town government and the desire of our Board of Trustees.