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Ballot issues set for Routt County

Mike Lawrence

— Routt County voters now know what choices will be on the Nov. 7 ballot.

Routt County Clerk and Recorder Kay Weinland said ballot questions for the Nov. 7 election were certified Monday. County officials will proofread the ballots during the next two to three weeks before making the official ballot language available to the public.

“We have seven different ballot types in Routt County,” Weinland said Monday. “Depending on where you live, you’ll vote on different things.”



Here is a basic rundown of the ballot issues that will come before Routt County voters in less than two months.

Steamboat Springs



– Steamboat Springs School District – A 20-year bond of $29.7 million, paid through property tax increases, to fund construction of a new elementary school on the site of Soda Creek Elementary School and renovations to Strawberry Park Elementary School.

– Steamboat Springs School District – An annual mill levy, or property tax, to generate $600,000 in 2007, with increases annually that cap at $800,000 in 2015, to support district teachers and staff.

– City of Steamboat Springs – Whether to increase salaries for members of the Steamboat Springs City Council thusly: council members, from $632 per month to $900 per month; council president pro-tem, from $773 per month to $1,000 per month; and council president, from $883 per month to $1,100 per month. Salary changes would be effective January 2007, and would be adjusted annually according to the Denver-Boulder Consumer Price Index.

North Routt

– Steamboat Lake Water and Sanitation District – A mill levy to increase funding for district operations.

West Routt

– West Routt Library District – Adjustment of tax revenue cap mandated by the Taxpayers Bill of Rights, or TABOR, to facilitate funding for district operations.

– Craig Rural Fire Protection District – A mill levy to increase funding for district operations.

South Routt

– Eagle County School District – Tax increase to boost funding for district operations.

Colorado

– Amendment 38 – Would reduce restrictions and requirements for submitting a ballot initiative or referendum by petition.

– Amendment 39 – Would require all public school districts in Colorado to spend at least 65 percent of operational expenditures, in each fiscal year, on classroom instruction, with limited exceptions.

– Amendment 40 – Would reduce term limits for judges in the state Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, by limiting those judges to a maximum of four years in office, and would reduce term limits for appellate judges to a maximum of three terms.

– Amendment 41 – Would drastically reduce ability of government officials, public officers, government employees, and members of the General Assembly to legally accept monetary gifts or in-kind donations. Would prevent professional lobbyists from “giving anything of value” to such officials and employees.

– Amendment 42 – Would raise the minimum wage in Colorado from $5.15 per hour to $6.85 per hour.

– Amendment 43 – Would amend the state constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman.

– Amendment 44 – Would legalize possession of less than one ounce of marijuana in Colorado for adults 21 years of age and older.

– Referendum E – Would extend property tax exemptions for disabled veterans.

– Referendum F – Would remove recall timelines from the state constitution.

– Referendum G Would eliminate obsolete constitutional provisions.

– Referendum H – Would prohibit businesses from applying for a state business tax deduction relating to services rendered by, or wages paid to, unauthorized aliens.

– Referendum I – Would enable the state to recognize domestic partnerships between couples of the same gender, and would allow those couples to receive benefits – such as legal, economic and medical rights – related to the partnership.

– Referendum J – Would require all public school districts in Colorado to spend at least 65 percent of operational expenditures, in each state fiscal year, on expenditures directly affecting student achievement. Allows for broader spending than Amendment 39.

– Referendum K – Would direct the state attorney general to file a lawsuit against the federal government demanding enforcement of all existing immigration laws.

Candidates in 15 statewide, regional and local races have already gone through the certification process. Weinland said there are two candidates in Routt County races who did not appear on the ballot in the Aug. 8 primary but will appear on the Nov. 7 ballot: Ridgeway Skidge Moon, who is running as an unaffiliated and unopposed candidate for Routt County Surveyor; and Nancy Terry, who is running as an unaffiliated candidate for Routt County Assessor against Democrat Mike Kerrigan and Republican Dick Klumker.


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