Term Limit Extension Causes Internal Controversy

by: Jeffco Pols

Mon Jun 22, 2009 at 13:49:27 PM MDT

A ballot measure to extend term limits for Jeffco elected officials (except county commissioners) may be headed for the ballot -- but not without controversy. As The Columbine Courier reports:

An effort by Jeffco District Attorney Scott Storey to extend term limits for his office might be over before the question even goes to voters.

Storey, who began his second term in January, has been trying to get support to extend limits for his and the sheriff's office to three terms, or 12 consecutive years. Current law allows for two consecutive terms, or eight years, for all Jefferson County elected officials.

Storey needs voters' approval to extend term limits, and he could either get on the November ballot by petition, or the question could be placed on the ballot with a majority vote by the county commissioners.

But Commissioner Kevin McCasky is blocking Storey from getting on the commissioners' agenda to ask for a formal vote on the issue, as long as the ballot question pertains only to the district attorney and the sheriff.

"I sit here a frustrated and confused elected official," Storey said at a meeting of the county's elected officials May 14. He detailed his efforts to reach out to all three commissioners to discuss his proposal, and presented a May 10 e-mail he sent to the commissioners formally asking to be on an upcoming agenda for an up or down vote. He said he never got a response from the commissioners.

"I get the message that Commissioner McCasky refuses to allow the district attorney or the sheriff to be on that agenda," Storey said. "I'm obviously a little confused and frustrated by that."

"The feedback that I'm getting is that the only person who wants to be on the ballot is you," McCasky said to Storey. "I believe this is a matter of general governance. Any ballot question is going to include every (elected official)."

McCasky said that although he is the commission's chairman and has "great deference" in setting the agenda, the board rules by majority, implying that a majority of the commissioners didn't want Storey on the agenda.

Storey asked Commissioner Faye Griffin if she voted to keep him off the agenda.

"I did not understand what was going on," Griffin said. "I have no problem putting that on the agenda."

Why the animosity between McCasky and Storey? Because McCasky hasn't been shy about his desire to try to extend his own term limits, since he officially ends his second term in 2012 and doesn't have a higher-profile race that he could successfully run for after that. McCasky is desperate, and if they approve term limit extensions for other elected officials, he can't very well come back to the voters later to ask for commissioners, too.

At the May 14 meeting, McCasky told Storey that extending term limits is a question bigger than any individual.

"This isn't about you, and it isn't about (Sheriff) Ted Mink," McCasky said. "We all ran knowing we had term limits. If term limit extension is appropriate for one elected official, it's appropriate for all."...

...After the meeting, McCasky said voters should be able to decide about extending term limits in "one fell swoop" for all elected officials, and that he's not backing down from his position. He said he'd support a ballot question that has three questions on extending term limits: one for the district attorney, one for the commissioners, and one for the rest of the elected officials. As of right now, many of the elected officials don't want their offices listed on a ballot question to extend term limits, McCasky said.

Colorado voters established term limits for all local elected offices by approving Amendment 17 in 1994. Since then, 53 counties have successfully removed or extended term limits for one or more offices, according to Colorado Counties Inc., a lobbying group. All term limits remain in place for Jeffco officials.

Efforts Continue to Raise Developer Fees

by: Jeffco Pols

Mon Jun 22, 2009 at 13:43:21 PM MDT

A plan to increase Jeffco's development fees is moving forward after a June 9 hearing that highlighted county leaders' different philosophies on who should be paying development-related costs.

Tim Carl, the county's development and transportation director, has been trying since March to persuade the county commissioners to raise the fees. He has said the county's development-related fees rank 13th out of 15 metro area counties and cities, and that his department is spending more money on development than it brings in. Without any change, county taxpayers would have been paying $2.2 million annually in costs related to development. Taxpayers already pay $1.7 million.[Pols emphasis]

But starting July 1, fees will increase 9 percent for developers, and then between 2 and 3 percent annually until 2014. Fees will then jump another 6 percent, for a total increase of 25 percent by 2015.

County residents will still bear 75 percent of development-related costs, but it marks a change from the current rate structure, which leaves taxpayers paying about 85 percent.

"County fees have remained relatively low," Carl said at a June 9 public hearing.

"I do believe general government activity is to be funded by general government revenue," Commissioner Kevin McCasky said June 9. McCasky has been the most vocal opponent of raising fees, citing bad economic timing and the fact that because the county requires developers to adhere to guidelines, the county should pay for enforcement. McCasky voted in favor of the fee hike June 9.

Commissioner Kathy Hartman said her yes vote on the proposal doesn't mean she's OK with taxpayers funding development.

"I'm going to vote yes because I think 25 percent is an improvement over 7 percent," Hartman said June 9. "But I don't feel 25 percent is adequate." She said that when the economy improves, the county should further raise fees on development to get more of the burden off taxpayers. "(The taxpayers' 75 percent burden) is inappropriate, but it's better than where we are today."...

...Carl and his staff have been trying to get the fee increases approved since March, when the original plan to hike fees was presented to the commissioners. The original plan called for raising fees an average of 25 percent per year through 2011, after which fees would be frozen for three years. In 2014, the fees would then be set according to the consumer price index.

Carl said the county subsidizes the vast majority of costs associated with development. A few examples: The current cost for a preliminary residential plat under the county's subdivision guidelines is $300. Carl originally wanted to boost that fee to $400 in 2009, $600 in 2010 and $1,200 in 2011. Carl said the county's actual cost, in terms of staff salary and benefits, is $3,301.

Wow. Just...wow. Jefferson County ranks 13th out of 15 Metro Counties in the amount of fees that the public is forced to pay for private development (Denver, for example, makes developers pay 100% of the fees), but the developer-controlled Commissioner McCasky won't back down.  

Denver Post Revisits Beltway

by: Jeffco Pols

Mon Jun 01, 2009 at 11:42:20 AM MDT

Former Colorado Gov. Dick Lamm drove a stake through its heart. Voters in three counties shot it down. When it lingered on life support, the state Transportation Department pulled the plug.

But every time a plan to build a Jefferson County toll road flatlines, someone - or something - is there to resuscitate it.

"I think the power of real estate and those that prosper from real estate is why this (road) never dies. They won't take no for an answer," Lamm said.

The Jefferson Parkway Public Highway Authority, composed of representatives from Jefferson County, Arvada and Broomfield, is the latest group to propose a toll road that would connect Colorado 128 on the north near Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport to Colorado 93 at West 64th Avenue. Regional arteries would link the toll road to the Northwest Parkway. In the south, the tollway would feed into Colorado 93, a two-lane road.

The project faces significant hurdles, not the least of which is obtaining hundreds of millions of dollars in private financing to build it. Yet, while traffic congestion is a significant problem in parts of Jefferson County, especially in Arvada, no study has ever shown that this toll road will remedy the problem. Even so, authority members, who have sunk $900,000 of taxpayer money into the endeavor, say it will.

"It's common sense," says Jefferson County Commissioner Kevin McCasky, chairman of the authority...

...Bill Ray, the authority's interim director, said officials are finishing conversations this month with companies interested in building the toll road. And McCasky projected the authority would have a partner finalized by mid-fall. Construction could begin in 18 months.

But there are some potential roadblocks. Landing private financing is not easy in difficult economic times, and if a company looks toward the Northwest Parkway as an indicator, it may have second thoughts.

Northwest Parkway never got the traffic and revenue predicted, so it was leased to foreign companies for 99 years. High gas prices, a shaky economy and toll increases have resulted in a 3 percent decrease in average daily traffic volume from two years ago.

And then there's Golden. The city has dug in its heels. And it has offered $10,000 for an independent expert to review its study at the request of any neighboring city or person involved in the toll road.

So far, there's no takers.

Beltway proponents have been saying for years that they are close to a solution, but it's really hard to see where they are going to find money to build the mythical road.

Max Tyler Elected to Replace Gwyn Green

by: Jeffco Pols

Wed May 27, 2009 at 13:08:02 PM MDT

Unlike recent vacancies in Denver, which attracted numerous candidates for seats that are essentially safe, Max Tyler was unopposed and unanimously approved as Green's replacement. A small business owner and longtime Democratic activist, Tyler cleared the field early as some potential candidates chose not to run and others decided against challenging the popular former House District chair.

Gwyn Green Resigns in HD-23

by: Jeffco Pols

Mon Apr 27, 2009 at 10:43:46 AM MDT

Green mentioned a few local leaders as potential replacements, including former House District 23 chairman Max Tyler, Golden Mayor Jacob Smith and Lakewood Mayor Bob Murphy.

Jefferson County Democratic Party chairwoman Ann Knollman said no formal applications have been filed nor a date scheduled for an appointment committee. She said people are also discussing failed Jefferson County Commission candidate Jason Bane, who won more votes than any other Democrat before him.

Democrat Gwyn Green (HD-23) has resigned her seat in the state house effective June 1. Green had one more term left to run for, but had been rumored to be interested in stepping aside for a long time because of her age and health.

House District 23 is a probable top target in 2010 for both Democrats and Republicans. Likely replacements are activist Max Tyler or Golden Mayor Jacob Smith, with Tyler as the odds-on favorite.

Denver Post: Turn off the Jeffco Cash Spigot

by: Jeffco Pols

Tue Apr 14, 2009 at 11:37:49 AM MDT

A pool of bonus money without strict rules on how to award it sounds to us like a slush fund. Jeffco ought to take a cue from Denver, which awards bonuses and merit pay for initiatives with specific and measurable goals - projects the mayor approves ahead of time.

Jeffco officials say they use the term "bonus pay" as a catch-all. It could include compensation for taking on additional duties or a one- time lump sum. Nomenclature aside, as we mentioned before, this country has been in a recession since December 2007. No matter what you call such adjustments, they're tough to justify in this environment.

And the county has been aware of issues with the bonus pay system. In 2005, Jeffco hired a firm to do a compensation study - a task the company failed to complete. For the record, the county did not pay the firm a dime. Another firm was hired, and a new study is in under way.

At the end of 2006, then-treasurer Paschall allegedly offered a $25,000 bonus to a top aide with the promise that she split the post-tax proceeds with him. Two juries deadlocked on a charge of compensation for past official behavior and prosecutors declined to try Paschall a third time. At the time, officials said they were considering bonus policy changes.

We hope the county follows through this time and puts into place a unified and justifiable system. In the meantime, it might help if officials turned off the cash spigot.

Jeffco Taxpayers Take Brunt of Development Fees

by: Jeffco Pols

Mon Mar 23, 2009 at 11:23:52 AM MDT

Even as developers in Jefferson County raked in millions during the just-ended building boom, taxpayers were picking up most of the tab for their permitting, zoning and processing fees - and they still are.

The county charges the lowest overall development fees in the seven metro counties, with residents coughing up $1.6 million last year to make up the difference developers don't pay for processing, zoning and permitting costs, according to the county's development office. At the current rate, projections indicate taxpayers will subsidize the review process with $2.2 million by 2015.

"If I'm a property-tax payer in Jefferson County, I'm paying about 85 percent of those development costs," said Tim Carl, the county's development and transportation director. "There should be an equitable balance that brings the fees more in line with the costs of review and lessens the amount subsidized through the general fund."

The problem is that while a rezoning review, for instance, costs a developer $500 in Jefferson County, the cost to the county in hourly wages and benefits is $2,566, Carl said.

That same review in Denver costs developers much more: $1,000 plus $500 an acre. In Wheat Ridge, developers pay $1,200 plus $125 an acre.

Last year alone, Jefferson county processed 21,818 different development requests, charging fees to developers that in some cases have not risen in 23 years.

In order to remain consistent with other counties, Carl recently proposed an uptick in some fees, which would raise the developers' costs from 15 percent to 32 percent of the county's development expenses by 2011. In 2014, under the proposal, the fees would be adjusted every three years in accordance with the consumer price index.

But the County Commission rejected Carl's initial effort, asking him to try a more incremental approach to increasing fees.

Commissioner Kevin McCasky said he supports raising costs for developers a bit - but not until the economy turns around. He said he is looking for a longer-term proposal that would cap developers' responsibility at about 25 percent, with taxpayers picking up the remaining 75 percent.

"My philosophy is that development review is a general government function and a significant amount of the costs should be borne by the general coffers," he said. "Other jurisdictions might have a different philosophy."

Storey, Mink Want Three Terms

by: Jeffco Pols

Mon Mar 23, 2009 at 11:13:14 AM MDT

For Jeffco District Attorney Scott Storey, eight is definitely not enough.

Term limits mean that Storey must leave office when his second four-year term ends in 2012, but he's determined to stick around. And so, he will soon propose to the county commissioners that the limits be extended to let him seek another term.

"As it applies to the DA, and as it applies to those offices that are not necessarily policy-makers but have a specialty attached to them - like the sheriff, for example - I felt like eight years is not enough," Storey said.

He has broached the subject with the commissioners and County Attorney Ellen Wakeman. Wakeman would have to prepare a resolution for the commissioners to put the proposal on the November ballot in Jefferson County...

Sheriff Ted Mink has expressed interest in the idea but so far hasn't asked the commissioners to approve a resolution. He gave several reasons why he would favor adding another term.

"There are a lot of people out there reluctant to run for office because of term limits," Mink said. "They could be out of a job in eight years, and they're not financially in the position to do that. The system leaves it to people in the back side of their career to run for office in these positions."

Mink agrees with Storey, saying the first four years are spent "getting comfortable and knowledgeable" about the office. If voters in the county don't like the job the sheriff or any other elected official is doing, "they can vote them out," Mink said. "If it's that glaring to the public that the (elected official) isn't fulfilling the contract with the voters, they can vote them out."

Jefferson County Human Service BLAMES economy for "problem" child

by: JeffcosSuperman

Wed Mar 11, 2009 at 23:17:16 PM MDT

Jefferson County Human Services has had problems with their Medicaid and food stamps office for at least 5 years. This office had files lost, "misplaced" and caseworkers not follow up. Technicians were basically doing their own thing. Programs and procedures were not being followed. Jefferson County Human Services has untrained people not utilizing programming that would catch any kind of error regarding eligibility,determination and case worker error. Even County Management AGREED with many of the findings in this audit.

From the December 31 2004 Audit:
The link to the audit report is now fixed

South Jeffco Resident Taking Run at Congress

by: Jeffco Pols

Wed Mar 11, 2009 at 12:07:48 PM MDT

Republican Tom Tancredo represented South Jeffco in Congress for 10 years after first winning the seat in 1998. His successor, Aurora Republican Mike Coffman, has been in office for less than three months - and the potential challengers already are lining up.

One is John Flerlage, a South Jeffco Democrat who says he's the only one who can go toe to toe against Coffman and win.

"I cede nothing on security or economics as a Democrat," Flerlage said during an interview at a South Jeffco Starbucks on March 4.

If anyone can battle Coffman on national security issues, an ex-Marine with years of military experience, it might be Flerlage.

He, too, is an ex-Marine. Flerlage served 22 years in the Marine Corps (11 on active duty and 11 in the Reserves) before he retired as a lieutenant colonel in 2000. During his Marine years, he flew the F/A-18 Hornet and A-4 Skyhawk, and was eventually placed in leadership positions to train young pilots in world affairs, strategic commitments and other tactical aircraft at the Marine aviation advanced tactics school. In the 1990s, he flew support missions in support of NATO operations in Bosnia.

After he retired from the Marine Reserves in 2000, Flerlage went to work at Delta Airlines, where he is now a captain and flies long-haul international flights.

Flerlage has at least one hurdle to clear before he can even match toes with Coffman - Democrat David Canter has also announced plans to run in CD-6.

Jeffco Line Updated

by: Jeffco Pols

Wed Mar 04, 2009 at 10:54:36 AM MST

Golden Recall Effort Fails

by: Jeffco Pols

Fri Feb 27, 2009 at 09:41:56 AM MST

The movement to recall six sitting city council members including the mayor fell short on Monday, Feb. 23 when recall organizers failed to turn in any documentation by the 5 p.m. deadline...

...Petitions to recall Smith, and council members Karen Oxman, Joe Behm, Diane Chesbro, Bill Fisher and Marjorie Sloan were filed with the City Clerk's office in December. The petitions claimed council had been fiscally irresponsible, lacked civility and improperly convened executive sessions.

Ward One Councilwoman Mary Weaver was the only sitting council member not recalled.

Recall organizers then had 60 days to collect enough signatures to force a special election with an estimated cost of $50,000.

"I'm glad the citizens of Golden recognize that the recall petitions are intended for serious breaches of the public's trust, not for petty disagreements about city policy decisions" said City Manager Mike Bestor.

Phone calls made to two recall supporters were not returned, A third recall supporter declined to comment.

This is good news for many reasons, not the least that the city won't have to spend unnecessary money for a recall election when a general election will be held in November anyway. There was no real reason for the recall effort aside from the personal gripes of a small minority.

Coffman: Lack of Regulation a Problem

by: Jeffco Pols

Tue Feb 17, 2009 at 14:40:37 PM MST

From The Columbine Courier:

In a break from traditional Republican ideology, Coffman said a lack of regulation led to the current economic morass.

"The demise of this economy was really a failure of government to properly regulate the economy," Coffman said. "We had these subprime loans infecting a lot of balance sheets. I don't see the appropriate oversight there, and it eventually brought the economy down."

The lack of discipline wasn't limited to profit-seeking banks, Coffman said.

"Essentially, the problem was spending beyond our means," the congressman said. "Too much easy money, too much easy credit, and spending beyond our means as individuals and collectively as a nation. I don't know how, again, spending and borrowing is going to be the cure here. It's a real concern."

Coffman, of course, doesn't have an answer of his own for what should have been done - specifically - to fix the economy. But at least he shows that he may be willing to break the party line on the talking points that really make no sense at all. Like pretending a lack of regulation wasn't the problem, for example. Because Republicans need leaders who can sound reasonable, for a change.

Former Jeffco Commissioner Dave Auburn Dies

by: Jeffco Pols

Thu Feb 12, 2009 at 15:31:04 PM MST

Former Jefferson County commissioner Dave Auburn died Feb. 11 after a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer.

Auburn, 63, was appointed as commissioner by a Jeffco GOP vacancy committee in March 2005 to replace Rick Sheehan, who had resigned his seat. Auburn served until January 2007, after losing the seat to Democrat Kathy Hartman in the November 2006 election.

Jeffco Dems, GOP Get Ready for Reorg

by: Jeffco Pols

Mon Feb 02, 2009 at 13:11:22 PM MST

Candidates for the Democrats are listed below; if anyone has information on declared candidates on the Republican side, please list them as well.