Use of funds to urge a "Yes" vote prohibited in Fair Campaign Practices Act
Face The State Staff Report
LITTLETON - A Face The State Investigation has discovered the Foothills Parks and Recreation District broke state campaign law when it urged a "yes" vote on a tax increase question in its Summer program catalog. In a letter to residents from the district's board of directors, voters are urged to "Vote Yes to invest in a healthy community."
Any use of public money to campaign for or against a ballot question is expressly prohibited by the state's Fair Campaign Practices Act. That statute reads, "No...political subdivision shall...expend any public moneys from any source, or make any contributions, to urge electors to vote in favor or against any...local ballot issue."
While no complaints have been filed with election officials in this instance, a similar situation played out in 2002 in Highlands Ranch. There, two special districts sent color mailers to voters promoting the "Enhance the Ranch" plan which would later become a bond proposal. The Colorado Court of Appeals later upheld the ruling of an administrative law judge who found the metropolitan districts had violated the FCPA.
News of the violation rankled John Burdan, a resident of the parks district which includes much of unincorporated Jefferson County near Littleton. "That is wrong," he said. "That's not their money to spend."
Voters living within the district's boundaries are being asked to approve a nearly $2.8 million increase to its budget beginning in 2009. The new money would be spent on infrastructure repairs and improvements to district property. The owner of a $300,000 home would pay $72 more per year should the tax increase be approved.
According to Foothills representatives, district attorneys reviewed the mailer for compliance with state law and gave a green light for its distribution. Colin Insley, director of parks planning and construction for Foothills, says the mailer is lawful because the request came from the board of directors, rather than paid district staff. "We put the catalog out and the letter is from our board of directors and reviewed by the board and our attorney," he said.
Walt Frankland, a member of the Foothills board of directors, was the sole dissenting vote on the motion to refer the tax increase to voters. "Foothills has been, in my opinion, mismanaged for a long time," he said. "They really do need to have extra funds if they're going to continue operating the way they have been."
Jefferson County commissioner Kathy Hartman says she considers the district's explicit call for a yes vote to be "ill-advised." Hartman, the only Democrat member of the county commission, represents most of the southern end of JeffCo including the communities served by Foothills.
Under Colorado's taxpayer's Bill of Rights, a constitutional amendment passed adopted in 1992, any tax increase - or increase of revenue going to government - must be approved by voters.