Subdivision Road Paving
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Most residents of unincorporated Boulder County have received recently a mail-in ballot from the Board
of County Commissioners. The purpose of this ballot is to determine the support for the formation of
a Local Improvement District (LID) to rehabilitate public paved roads in unincorporated Boulder County
subdivisions.
There is ample supporting information for this proposal in the Commissioners’ August 3rd letter and on the
web site (http://www.bouldercounty.org/transportation/subdivisionpaving.htm). That information will not be
repeated here.
•Boulder
County Transportation Paving Page
From my viewpoint, this proposal is not ideal. First, in the past, I have lived in places where County
roads were maintained by County workers supported by County taxes. Such is not the case in Boulder County.
We must accept that situation. As the Commissioners' letter says, we are paying only $8 a year in real
estate taxes for subdivision road maintenance. That is clearly not enough. Second, I would have preferred
that the taxes in this case were based on a mill levy as are most other Boulder County taxes. That way,
the owners of the more valuable properties would pay more and the owners of the smaller properties would
pay less. As this is proposed, the owner of the multi-million dollar home will pay the same tax as the
owner of the one bedroom apartment. Only those of us in the middle will pay a fair share. Third, I would
have preferred a permanent solution to the problem. As it stands, twenty years from now, another group of
Boulder County homeowners will be facing the same situation.
However, even with these shortcomings, this proposal is the right answer for us all. If it does not pass,
we will have to maintain our own roads. Can you imagine an individual, or a block, or a homeowners
association collecting money and hiring a paving company to repair one or more streets in a subdivision?
Very few of us are qualified to hire or supervise a paving company. How could we expect to do a better
job, or do it for less money, than the Boulder County Transportation Department? And the third option,
do nothing and let the roads deteriorate, is palatable only to those who do not expect to be living in
Boulder County much longer.
So, in my opinion, it is not a perfect solution, but it is better than the alternatives and I support it
for that reason.
Chuck Simmons
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page updated 8/08/10
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