Last year, after a bill-drafting error kept nine special districts in Colorado from collecting their already voter-approved tax revenue from retail marijuana sales, Gov. John Hickenlooper decided a legislative fix couldn’t wait until lawmakers returned in January and called a special session. Many Republican lawmakers, however, felt that the special session was a waste of time and taxpayer dollars, and ultimately stopped a solution from passing through the Colorado Senate.

Now, with the 2018 legislative session underway, lawmakers once again have the opportunity to fix their mistake.

Hickenlooper’s decision to call a special session was based on the “serious amount of money” at stake for special districts in Colorado that provide transportation, run scientific and cultural programs, tackle the affordable housing crisis in mountain communities, ensure access to high-quality healthcare facilities in southwest Colorado, and more.

Here’s a numerical snapshot of how much those special districts are losing, and what the revenue they’ve lost could have helped fund.

  • Revenue loss expected for the Regional Transportation District (RTD) in 2017-2018: $6 million
  • Revenue loss expected for RTD in 2018-2019: $7.4 million
  • Cost of raising bus operator wages by a dollar per hour: $1.5 million
  • Number of Light Rail Vehicles (LRVs) RTD bought in 2017: 27
  • Cost of a single LRV: $1.3 million
  • Yearly cost of oversight for Denver’s Union Station: $5.5 million
  • Revenue loss expected for the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) in 2017-2018: $597,000
  • Revenue loss expected for SCFD in 2018-2019: $742,000
  • Money received by SCFD per $10 spent in the seven-county metro area: 1 cent
  • Number of organizations that received funding from SCFD in 2016: 240
  • Funding provided by SCFD to the Colorado Black Arts Festival in 2016: $7,908
  • Funding provided by SCFD to the Chicano Humanities and Arts Council in 2016: $24,428
  • Funding provided by SCFD to the Broomfield Veterans Memorial Museum in 2016: $7,500
  • Funding provided by SCFD to Environmental Learning for Kids 2016: $103,751
  • Funding provided by SCFD to the Children’s Museum of Denver 2016: $898,067.32
  • Funding provided by SCFD to the Denver Botanic Gardens 2016: $4.2 million
  • Revenue loss expected for the Summit Combined Housing Authority (SCHA) in 2017-2018: $87,000
  • Revenue loss expected for the Summit Combined Housing Authority in 2018-2019: $111,000
  • Summit Combined Housing Authority’s total 2017 operating budget: $498,150.86
  • Cost of homebuyer classes in 2017: $1,000
  • Percent decrease in homes available in Summit County compared to 2013: 60
  • Percent average annual increase in home sale prices from 2012-2015: 3.8
  • Average single-family home sale price in 2015: $850,000
  • Income level for which most homes are priced: Over 150% of the Area Median Income
  • Percent increase in rental prices in Summit County in 2015 alone: 10
  • Average Summit County rental price in 2016: $1,898
  • Number of new units needed to house the Summit County workforce by 2020: 1,685
  • Revenue loss expected for Roaring Fork RTA in 2017-2018: $124,000
  • Revenue loss expected for Roaring Fork RTA in 2018-2019: $154,000
  • Total 2016 RTA operating budget: $32.8 million
  • Number of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses purchased in 2016: 6
  • Approximate cost of one CNG bus: $740,000
  • Revenue loss expected for the Gunnison Valley RTA in 2017-2018: $66,000
  • Revenue loss expected for the Gunnison Valley RTA in 2018-2019: $79,000
  • Revenue loss expected for the Montezuma Hospital District in 2017-2018: $62,000
  • Revenue loss expected for the Montezuma Hospital District in 2018-2019: $79,000
  • Revenue loss expected for the San Miguel RTA in 2017-2018: $10,000
  • Revenue loss expected for the San Miguel RTA in 2018-2019: $12,000

Sources:

Legislative Council Staff’s “Impacts of Senate Bill 17-267 on Special Districts”

Regional Transportation District’s 2017 Budget

Scientific and Cultural Facilities District 2016 Annual Report

Summit Combined Housing Authority’s 2017 Budget

2016 Summit County Workforce Housing Demand Update – Executive Summary

Roaring Fork Regional Transit Authority 2016 Audited Financial Statement