Greeley City Council is scheduled to send the following four items to the November 2024 ballot. These items have made their way through the first of two approvals. City Council is set to have a second reading and public speaking on August 20 before asking for a final decision to move these items to the November ballot.
Food Tax, (ORDINANCE No. 31): the continuation of the food tax initiated in 1990 and renewed every 5 years since then.
Debt Issuance, (ORDINANCE No. 32): a new measure that allows the city to benefit from a federally subsidized funding program for transportation infrastructure improvements.
Police Sergeants Collective Bargaining, Article V, (ORDINANCE No. 22): an amendment to allow police sergeants to become members of the Police Officers’ collective bargaining unit.
Delegation of Financial Operations, (ORDINANCE No. 30): an ordinance suggesting changes to the Greeley Municipal Code to allow the City Manager to assign financial tasks to a Financial Officer. This adjustment will make the Code match the city's Council-Manager government style, as required by Section 1-2 of the City's Charter.
FOOD TAX, ORDINANCE No. 31
Here’s the language you will see on your November ballot:
CITY OF GREELEY GENERAL SALES TAX ON FOOD EXTENSION
WITHOUT RAISING TAXES, SHALL THE EXISTING VOTER-APPROVED GENERAL SALES TAX ON FOOD CURRENTLY IN EFFECT AT 3.00% BE EXTENDED UNTIL SUCH AUTHORIZATION IS ALTERED OR REPEALED BY GREELEY VOTERS OR GREELEY CITY COUNCIL FOR THE PURPOSE OF FUNDING THE FINANCING OR REFINANCING OF CITY CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE ACQUISITION, CONSTRUCTION, IMPROVEMENT, MAINTENANCE, AND REPAIR OF:
- STREETS,
- PARKS,
- RECREATIONAL FACILITIES, AND
- PUBLIC BUILDINGS
WITH SUCH EXPENDITURES TO BE SUBJECT TO INDEPENDENT REVIEW BY A CITIZENS COMMITTEE, AND SHALL THE PROCEEDS OF SUCH TAX AND THE INCOME FROM THEIR INVESTMENT BE COLLECTED, KEPT, AND SPENT AS A VOTER-APPROVED REVENUE CHANGE AND AN EXCEPTION TO ANY REVENUE OR EXPENDITURE LIMITS THAT WOULD OTHERWISE APPLY?
PRO:
- The food tax has been in place since the citizens of Greeley approved it in 1990.
- The existing Food Tax is a critical funding source that’s supported transportation, facilities, and services for kids, seniors, and people with disabilities for the past 30 years. Greeley voters have re-authorized it every time it’s been up for approval.
- Voting yes on this measure is about making Greeley a safer, faster place to get around—whether you drive or take public transit. All of this is possible with no new taxes.
- If reauthorized by voters, the proceeds from revenue received from the food tax may be used to pay off the transportation debt issuance. This way, the city can meet its financial duties without putting too much pressure on other parts of its budget.
CON:
- Things are just too expensive right now for average people, and getting a tax cut would help a lot of Greeley residents afford everyday items like housing, childcare, and medical care.
- The city has funds and needs to improve its financial management by optimizing the use of its existing funds.
DEBT ISSUANCE, ORDINANCE No. 32
Here’s the language you will see on your November ballot:
CITY OF GREELEY TRANSPORTATION DEBT ISSUANCE
SHALL CITY OF GREELEY DEBT BE INCREASED BY $65 MILLION WITH A REPAYMENT COST OF $110 MILLION, TO BE REPAID WITH EXISTING VOTER-APPROVED CITY TAXES AND WITHOUT RAISING TAXES OR IMPOSING ANY NEW TAX, BY SECURING LOW-INTEREST FEDERAL FINANCING(S) AND FOR THE PURPOSE OF FINANCING OR REFINANCING TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE ACQUISITION, CONSTRUCTION, IMPROVEMENT, MAINTENANCE, AND REPAIR OF:
- NEW HIGHWAY 34 INTERCHANGES AT 35TH AND 47TH AVENUES TO IMPROVE SAFETY, REDUCE CRASHES, AND MINIMIZE CONGESTION;
- UPGRADE MAJOR TRANSPORTATION CORRIDORS FOR IMPROVED SAFETY, ACCESSIBILITY, AND TRAVEL EASE; AND
- EXPAND GREELEY’S REGIONAL BUS AND MOBILITY OPTIONS TO CENTERRA, DENVER, AND THE AIRPORT
WITH SUCH EXPENDITURES TO BE SUBJECT TO INDEPENDENT REVIEW BY A CITIZENS COMMITTEE AND WITH SUCH DEBT TO CONSIST OF THE ISSUANCE AND PAYMENT OF BONDS, NOTES, OR OTHER INSTRUMENTS AND BE ISSUED AT SUCH TIMES AND PRICES (AT, ABOVE OR BELOW PAR) AND IN SUCH MANNER AND CONTAINING SUCH TERMS, NOT INCONSISTENT HEREWITH, AS THE GREELEY CITY COUNCIL MAY DETERMINE?
PRO:
- Voting yes on this measure is about making Greeley a safer, more convenient place to get around—whether you drive or take public transit. All of this is possible with no new taxes.
- This will improve and streamline Highway 34 interchanges at 35th Avenue and 47th Avenue, which will improve safety and travel times for vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists. It will improve safety for local K-12 students by connecting neighborhoods through a new safe sidewalk and underpass beneath Highway 34. It will upgrade major transportation corridors for improved safety, accessibility, and travel ease.
- Residents will have access to all of these new services with no new taxes, instead the city is asking to extend the existing food tax at no additional cost to taxpayers to repay a low-interest, long-term financing mechanism that is subsidized by the federal government.
CON:
- While these transportation projects would be nice to have, we simply cannot afford things that are “wants” for the city and not “needs”.
- The city has other priorities they should be funding, like parks and open space, and this is not the right use of taxpayers’ money.
- The city cannot afford to take on so much debt, burdening our residents for decades to come.
POLICE SERGEANTS COLLECTIVE BARGAINING, ARTICLE V, ORDINANCE No. 22
Here’s the language you will see on your November ballot:
Shall subsection a of Section 14-4(b) of the City of Greeley Charter be amended to change the definition of the term “Police Officer” to include police sergeants, which would allow police sergeants the right to bargain collectively as members of the existing bargaining unit?
DELEGATION OF FINANCIAL OPERATIONS, ORDINANCE No. 30
Here’s the language you will see on your November ballot:
Shall Article V be renamed “Financial Operations” instead of “Department of Finance” and shall Part I be renamed “Administration” instead of “Finance”?
Shall the term “Director of Finance” be replaced throughout Part I of Article V with the term “Financial Officer”?