Club 20 is an organization of counties, communities, tribes and businesses in Western Colorado. At their quarterly meeting in Grand Junction on Saturday, discussion will center on the Gallagher Amendment and the Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR), and how these laws affect the Western Slope.
Sen. Michael Bennet and Rep. Scott Tipton will speak at the beginning of the meeting, then attendees will learn all about Gallagher and TABOR.
Gallagher is what keeps shrinking residential property assessment rates. This means special districts like Carbondale and Rural Fire Protection District and Colorado Mountain College, who rely on property tax, keep losing money.
TABOR requires lawmakers to ask for voter permission to raise taxes and issue debt. It also caps the amount of revenue local governments can collect.
Club 20’s executive director Christian Reece said these issues don’t impact urban communities nearly as much as rural ones; she hopes Saturday's meeting results in some kind of action.