Greetings,
Official results on the passage of the PILT amendment #333 to H.R.1 proposed by the Gentle Congresswoman Kaptur from Ohio were not close:
The amendment was defeated by a margin of 394 to 32. Since there was no exact time set for this amendment to be heard we had CSPAN on via laptop all day yesterday. They got to it in the late afternoon/early evening.
Please thank our Colorado Congressional Members who showed their support for county governments by voting no on amendment #333. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2011/roll117.xml
While we should all be pleased that this was not a close vote, PILT was only first fully funded by Congress in 2008—and that full funding which was part of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 is going to be a big topic for the 2012 budget. This proposed amendment offered an opportunity to have a strong response to start educating many new Representatives and those Representatives from the east that simply do not understand western rural counties, that full funding of PILT is essential now and for the future. Full funding of PILT is not just to benefit local governments, it is a matter of national interest. These lands are federally owned for reasons that have been deemed to be important for all Americans – lands with unique mineral or water resources, wildlands, critical habitats, cultural resources, most of which are open for all the public to experience and enjoy.
Thank you for mobilizing on this issue. I heard from NACo staff that the materials supplied by Ouray County were the best they had ever received from a county – because they were very clear as to what PILT was used for, and what loss of PILT would cut. We were clear about the services our local governments provide (road maintenance, emergency response, search and rescue, sanitation cost-share, back country ranger cost-share, etc.) because of these public lands. NACo staff shared the materials you received widely with staffers and lobbyists across Capitol Hill, and I am sure they made a difference in this vote. We still need to be watchful and participatory on this issue in the near future.
I will be travelling to Washington D.C. in March for the NACo legislative conference as part of the Colorado Counties Public Lands Steering Committee. We are developing a brochure that will be handed out to explain to each Representative what PILT means to their state and local governments.
I appreciate the opportunity to serve such a dedicated group of citizens.
Warmest Regards,
Lynn Padgett
970-258-0836
p.s.
For more information on resources for economic development and sustainability of Gateway Communities – portals like Ouray, Ridgway, Silverton, Durango, Telluride, Montrose, Gunnison, Crested Butte – to popular public lands, check out these links:http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/sustainable/about_gateway_communities.html
http://www.allacademic.com//meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/0/8/7/8/3/pages87835/p87835-1.php
If this topic interests you, I would like to know. I think it would be a great “happy hour” round-table discussion topic.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Action Needed -- PILT in jeopardy!
Greetings,
As an active member of the Public Lands steering committees at National Association of Counties (NACo) and Colorado Counties, Inc. (CCI), I have just been made aware this afternoon by staff of both NACo and CCI, that Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) will be offering an amendment to the Continuing Resolution (H.R. 1) which would cut PILT funding for FY2011 by 75% in the current fiscal year!
I and other active Colorado County Commissioners were advised this afternoon to contact all the members of Colorado's Congressional Delegation to:
• Request that our Colorado Congressional Delegation representatives vote NO to any amendment which would cut the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program.
First, some compelling background information that I compiled in July 2010 in a letter to the Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar:
Ouray County, Colorado is roughly 50% federal public land (159,584 acres). In 2008, PILT funding was "fully appropriated" for the first time in several decades. PILT is federal funds to compensate counties since counties must provide services to its citizens and those who use these non-taxable public lands. Services provided by the county include emergency services and mountain rescue, maintenance/plowing of forest access roads, sanitation, and other services. The federal government should offer counties compensation because federal lands will never be part of the local tax base.
We have been very grateful for the PILT funds we received during this period of full funding due to passage of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. In 2008 Ouray County received approximately $334,000 in PILT funds. In 2009 Ouray County received approximately $344,000 in PILT funds. Much of these funds have been utilized by our Road and Bridge Department.
Since PILT has been fully funded the County has increased the amount of other federal public lands payments, namely Secure Rural Schools (SRS) payments, that has gone to our local school districts (Ouray School District, Ridgway School District, and Montrose School District). In fact Ouray County worked with our local school districts) to adopt Ouray County Resolutions 2010-014 (attached) which allocated 75% of our FY2009 SRS payments to our local schools this March. Thus of the $86,000 Ouray County recently received for SRS payments, $64,500 was immediately passed through to our local schools.
The PILT funds we receive are extremely important for not just our schools but also our Road and Bridge Department. Without these funds we would have to forgo crushing rock to use on our County roads, which alone cost $110,000 in 2010. The rock is applied to our soft surface county roads to keep them passable. Ouray County has over 200 miles of soft surface county roads and less than 20 miles of paved or chipsealed County Roads. Without the crushed rock being applied each year, the roads would be natural clay material and would be impassable when wet. We crush rock in the later winter/early spring so that our County roads can be mended, graded, compacted and finally, have a dust control agent applied in time for the summer tourist season. Most of our County roads are the primary access for popular public land areas such as the Alpine Triangle, Sneffels Wilderness, Owl Creek Pass, etc.
The PILT funds also allow us to plow through 12 to 20 feet of snow to have the high country jeep roads in the Alpine Triangle and Yankee Boy Basin open before July 4 for the outdoor recreation enthusiasts that come from all over the country. If these roads are not open to allow access into the Uncompahgre National Forest for 4-wheel drives, OHV’s, and hikers, then people won’t come. Our regional economy has evolved over the last 50 years from primarily ranching and mining to recreational tourism. If visitors do not come to enjoy the unparalleled beauty, pristine wild areas, and heritage tourism opportunities that Ouray, San Miguel, San Juan, and Hinsdale Counties are gateways for, the whole San Juan Mountain region suffers.
Receiving reduced PILT funds will cause Ouray County to reduce or stop funding the following programs which are a matter of federal interest with respect to maintenance and access of public lands.
Examples:
* Applying road base and crushed rock to County roads that are the primary access roads to public lands in our county ($150,000/year);
* Grading, compacting, and applying magnesium-chloride for dust control on County roads that are public lands access roads ($60,000/year);
* Spring snowplowing to open the 4-wheel drive roads in the Alpine Triangle, Yankee Boy basin, and other popular public lands areas ($70,000/year);
* Providing funds and in-kind work for weed control along USFS and BLM roads ($20,000/year);
* Providing funds for portapotties and the backcountry ranger in Yankee Boy Basin area ($6,000/year);
* Providing funds and in-kind administration and legal research into historic trails and rights-of-way crossing public and private lands--in partnership with the BLM and USFS, as part of the Public Access Group, $25,000/year);
* Providing funds, staff, and emergency coordination services for backcountry rescues ($10,000/year).
PILT payments help gateway communities provide important resources that are critical to the operation and maintenance of our federal public lands. Without the County providing volunteers and county services these public lands would certainly be negatively impacted. County Road 361, a rugged dirt road for high clearance traffic only, leading to Yankee Boy Basin, has experienced over 20,000 4-wheel drive vehicles in a 10-day period spanning the 4th of July. Summer monsoons can and have washed this road out in a matter of minutes. It is the County Road and Bridge Department that responds to washouts and makes emergency repairs to reopen the road for stranded backcountry enthusiasts.
In summary, the 56 counties that receive PILT payments in Colorado believe it is in the best interest of the U.S. Department of Interior to make full and timely PILT payments to counties. We are the gateway communities for these public lands. Our citizens work very closely in cooperative and collaborative partnerships with our public lands management agencies, including the BLM and U.S. Forest Service building and maintaining trails, providing portapotties, facilitating alpine hosts for backcountry campgrounds, providing signage and barriers to keep closed areas closed, providing weed management services along U.S. Forest Service and BLM roads, and finally we and adjacent counties provide funding to the Forest Service to employ a backcountry ranger in a Jeep, to patrol the 4-wheel drive roads in the summer.
Some of our Colorado counties are over 90% federal public lands, and reduced funds would cause an immediate local recession by causing local governments to immediately lay off critical staff. Please fully fund the PILT payments to Colorado's counties. In 2010 Colorado Counties received a collective total of $24,267,593 out of a total of $367 million PILT payments made nationwide. In 2009 Colorado Counties received $28,660,622.
In anticipation that reducing PILT payments would be a topic taken up by the House of Representatives and the Senate, I have been working with CCI and the CCI Public Lands Steering Committee, to compile information about how PILT funding is used by the 56 Colorado Counties that receive it and deliver the information on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. in March.
In 2010, the 3rd Congressional District represented by Congressman Tipton, 29 counties received $14,151,801 in PILT funds for the 17.7 million acres of federal public lands and 706,000 people within this district.
I am attaching a PILT fact sheet, although prepared by CCI in 2007, it is still a good primer on the subject. I am also attaching a letter sent from the Ouray County BOCC to former Congressman Salazar and then Congressman-elect Tipton in December 2010.
Here is a link to the contact information, web sites, and phone numbers for Colorado's Congressional Delegation: http://www.contactingthecongress.org/cgi-bin/newseek.cgi?site=ctc&state=co
Click here for State by State PILT figures: http://www.nbc.gov/pilt/pilt/search.cfm
When you call our Colorado Congressional Delegation, ask to speak to the staff member most knowledgeable about PILT and public lands issues.
Key talking points:
1. It is in the best interest of the federal government to make full and timely PILT payments to counties. For local governments to continue to provide these essential services, we need a public commitment from members of Congress to support long term funding at full authorized levels.
2. It would be far more expensive for the federal government to provide the essential services that the local governments and volunteers in gateway communities provide.
3. To make up for a severe reduction in PILT, counties would be forced to consider raising the property taxes of residences and businesses in the gateway communities or reduce county services like maintaining roads and providing public safety. Either way this will certainly cause local jobs to be lost, and ultimately result in driving away those that care most for our important public lands and national treasures.
4. PILT payments at levels authorized under P.L.103-379 are critical for local governments.
5. Ask your Congressman/Senator's office to contact the Kaptur office immediately and request that the amendment be withdrawn.
6. Request that our Colorado Congressional Delegation representatives vote NO to any amendment which would cut the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program.
Last, please know it is very important for you to contact our Colorado Congressional Delegation. Eagle County Commissioner Peter Runyon had this comment tonight via email:
"You may all not see eye to eye with Eagle County (and me) as much as we all would like. But I would ask you to do your very best to make your representatives aware of this issue. Jared Polis’ office has promised that he would speak to the poor misguided Representative from Ohio.
PILT payments is very important to our budget and after laying off 77 people over the past 2 years it is positively squeaking it is so tight.
So anything you can do for the Forest communities by making your representatives aware will be most appreciated. Polis’s office said that they were not aware since there have been over 500 amendments to the continuing resolution. So I guess the message is don’t assume that your representative knows about this. Please give them a call."
Thank you for your consideration and diligence in these matters. Please do not hesitate to contact me about this or any other County matter.
Sincerely,
Lynn Padgett,
Ouray County Commissioner, District 1Click Here for a printable pdf verion of this post
As an active member of the Public Lands steering committees at National Association of Counties (NACo) and Colorado Counties, Inc. (CCI), I have just been made aware this afternoon by staff of both NACo and CCI, that Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) will be offering an amendment to the Continuing Resolution (H.R. 1) which would cut PILT funding for FY2011 by 75% in the current fiscal year!
I and other active Colorado County Commissioners were advised this afternoon to contact all the members of Colorado's Congressional Delegation to:
• Request that our Colorado Congressional Delegation representatives vote NO to any amendment which would cut the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program.
First, some compelling background information that I compiled in July 2010 in a letter to the Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar:
Ouray County, Colorado is roughly 50% federal public land (159,584 acres). In 2008, PILT funding was "fully appropriated" for the first time in several decades. PILT is federal funds to compensate counties since counties must provide services to its citizens and those who use these non-taxable public lands. Services provided by the county include emergency services and mountain rescue, maintenance/plowing of forest access roads, sanitation, and other services. The federal government should offer counties compensation because federal lands will never be part of the local tax base.
We have been very grateful for the PILT funds we received during this period of full funding due to passage of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. In 2008 Ouray County received approximately $334,000 in PILT funds. In 2009 Ouray County received approximately $344,000 in PILT funds. Much of these funds have been utilized by our Road and Bridge Department.
Since PILT has been fully funded the County has increased the amount of other federal public lands payments, namely Secure Rural Schools (SRS) payments, that has gone to our local school districts (Ouray School District, Ridgway School District, and Montrose School District). In fact Ouray County worked with our local school districts) to adopt Ouray County Resolutions 2010-014 (attached) which allocated 75% of our FY2009 SRS payments to our local schools this March. Thus of the $86,000 Ouray County recently received for SRS payments, $64,500 was immediately passed through to our local schools.
The PILT funds we receive are extremely important for not just our schools but also our Road and Bridge Department. Without these funds we would have to forgo crushing rock to use on our County roads, which alone cost $110,000 in 2010. The rock is applied to our soft surface county roads to keep them passable. Ouray County has over 200 miles of soft surface county roads and less than 20 miles of paved or chipsealed County Roads. Without the crushed rock being applied each year, the roads would be natural clay material and would be impassable when wet. We crush rock in the later winter/early spring so that our County roads can be mended, graded, compacted and finally, have a dust control agent applied in time for the summer tourist season. Most of our County roads are the primary access for popular public land areas such as the Alpine Triangle, Sneffels Wilderness, Owl Creek Pass, etc.
The PILT funds also allow us to plow through 12 to 20 feet of snow to have the high country jeep roads in the Alpine Triangle and Yankee Boy Basin open before July 4 for the outdoor recreation enthusiasts that come from all over the country. If these roads are not open to allow access into the Uncompahgre National Forest for 4-wheel drives, OHV’s, and hikers, then people won’t come. Our regional economy has evolved over the last 50 years from primarily ranching and mining to recreational tourism. If visitors do not come to enjoy the unparalleled beauty, pristine wild areas, and heritage tourism opportunities that Ouray, San Miguel, San Juan, and Hinsdale Counties are gateways for, the whole San Juan Mountain region suffers.
Receiving reduced PILT funds will cause Ouray County to reduce or stop funding the following programs which are a matter of federal interest with respect to maintenance and access of public lands.
Examples:
* Applying road base and crushed rock to County roads that are the primary access roads to public lands in our county ($150,000/year);
* Grading, compacting, and applying magnesium-chloride for dust control on County roads that are public lands access roads ($60,000/year);
* Spring snowplowing to open the 4-wheel drive roads in the Alpine Triangle, Yankee Boy basin, and other popular public lands areas ($70,000/year);
* Providing funds and in-kind work for weed control along USFS and BLM roads ($20,000/year);
* Providing funds for portapotties and the backcountry ranger in Yankee Boy Basin area ($6,000/year);
* Providing funds and in-kind administration and legal research into historic trails and rights-of-way crossing public and private lands--in partnership with the BLM and USFS, as part of the Public Access Group, $25,000/year);
* Providing funds, staff, and emergency coordination services for backcountry rescues ($10,000/year).
PILT payments help gateway communities provide important resources that are critical to the operation and maintenance of our federal public lands. Without the County providing volunteers and county services these public lands would certainly be negatively impacted. County Road 361, a rugged dirt road for high clearance traffic only, leading to Yankee Boy Basin, has experienced over 20,000 4-wheel drive vehicles in a 10-day period spanning the 4th of July. Summer monsoons can and have washed this road out in a matter of minutes. It is the County Road and Bridge Department that responds to washouts and makes emergency repairs to reopen the road for stranded backcountry enthusiasts.
In summary, the 56 counties that receive PILT payments in Colorado believe it is in the best interest of the U.S. Department of Interior to make full and timely PILT payments to counties. We are the gateway communities for these public lands. Our citizens work very closely in cooperative and collaborative partnerships with our public lands management agencies, including the BLM and U.S. Forest Service building and maintaining trails, providing portapotties, facilitating alpine hosts for backcountry campgrounds, providing signage and barriers to keep closed areas closed, providing weed management services along U.S. Forest Service and BLM roads, and finally we and adjacent counties provide funding to the Forest Service to employ a backcountry ranger in a Jeep, to patrol the 4-wheel drive roads in the summer.
Some of our Colorado counties are over 90% federal public lands, and reduced funds would cause an immediate local recession by causing local governments to immediately lay off critical staff. Please fully fund the PILT payments to Colorado's counties. In 2010 Colorado Counties received a collective total of $24,267,593 out of a total of $367 million PILT payments made nationwide. In 2009 Colorado Counties received $28,660,622.
In anticipation that reducing PILT payments would be a topic taken up by the House of Representatives and the Senate, I have been working with CCI and the CCI Public Lands Steering Committee, to compile information about how PILT funding is used by the 56 Colorado Counties that receive it and deliver the information on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. in March.
In 2010, the 3rd Congressional District represented by Congressman Tipton, 29 counties received $14,151,801 in PILT funds for the 17.7 million acres of federal public lands and 706,000 people within this district.
I am attaching a PILT fact sheet, although prepared by CCI in 2007, it is still a good primer on the subject. I am also attaching a letter sent from the Ouray County BOCC to former Congressman Salazar and then Congressman-elect Tipton in December 2010.
Here is a link to the contact information, web sites, and phone numbers for Colorado's Congressional Delegation: http://www.contactingthecongress.org/cgi-bin/newseek.cgi?site=ctc&state=co
Click here for State by State PILT figures: http://www.nbc.gov/pilt/pilt/search.cfm
When you call our Colorado Congressional Delegation, ask to speak to the staff member most knowledgeable about PILT and public lands issues.
Key talking points:
1. It is in the best interest of the federal government to make full and timely PILT payments to counties. For local governments to continue to provide these essential services, we need a public commitment from members of Congress to support long term funding at full authorized levels.
2. It would be far more expensive for the federal government to provide the essential services that the local governments and volunteers in gateway communities provide.
3. To make up for a severe reduction in PILT, counties would be forced to consider raising the property taxes of residences and businesses in the gateway communities or reduce county services like maintaining roads and providing public safety. Either way this will certainly cause local jobs to be lost, and ultimately result in driving away those that care most for our important public lands and national treasures.
4. PILT payments at levels authorized under P.L.103-379 are critical for local governments.
5. Ask your Congressman/Senator's office to contact the Kaptur office immediately and request that the amendment be withdrawn.
6. Request that our Colorado Congressional Delegation representatives vote NO to any amendment which would cut the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program.
Last, please know it is very important for you to contact our Colorado Congressional Delegation. Eagle County Commissioner Peter Runyon had this comment tonight via email:
"You may all not see eye to eye with Eagle County (and me) as much as we all would like. But I would ask you to do your very best to make your representatives aware of this issue. Jared Polis’ office has promised that he would speak to the poor misguided Representative from Ohio.
PILT payments is very important to our budget and after laying off 77 people over the past 2 years it is positively squeaking it is so tight.
So anything you can do for the Forest communities by making your representatives aware will be most appreciated. Polis’s office said that they were not aware since there have been over 500 amendments to the continuing resolution. So I guess the message is don’t assume that your representative knows about this. Please give them a call."
Thank you for your consideration and diligence in these matters. Please do not hesitate to contact me about this or any other County matter.
Sincerely,
Lynn Padgett,
Ouray County Commissioner, District 1Click Here for a printable pdf verion of this post
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Bottom-up Economic Development Meeting with Governor Hickenlooper--Jan 14th
On January 14, 2011 Governor Hickenlooper and staff held the second event in a series of 8 economic development meetings following Executive Orders he signed on his first day in office that are directed at promoting economic development and increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of state government.
All Ouray County Commissioners, Town Council Members and City Council Members were invited along with representatives of the Ouray Area Chamber of Commerce, Ridgway Area Chamber of Commerce, Community Development Committee, Region 10, Ouray County Multijurisdictional Housing Authority, and Town/City Managers.
Included in those attending the meeting from Ouray County were Gary Hansen, Ouray City Council Member; Jennifer Smith, President of the Ouray Community Development Committee, Jennifer Mandeville, Development Coordinator of the Ridgway Area Chamber of Commerce (RACC), Brian Scranton, RACC Vice President, who also serves on the Ridgway Planning Commission. Lynn Padgett, Ouray County Commissioner, was present at the table of county representatives with Governor Hickenlooper, Lt. Governor Joe Garcia, Head of the Colorado Department of Tourism, Al White; Head of the Department of Local Affairs, Reeves Brown; Region 10 Director Paul Gray; and Beth Taylor, who is the Western Colorado Business Development Representative for Ouray County and other western Colorado counties out of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. San Miguel County Commissioner Elaine Fischer, Hinsdale County Commissioner Allen Brown, and Gunnison County Commissioner Paula Swenson were also present at the table.
The Governor spoke about cross-promoting Colorado’s businesses, landscapes and small-business innovation as a key to driving economic development during hard times. He also spoke about the need for creating and retaining jobs in our counties and the need for a regional economic development plan and state economic development plan that includes county economic development plans by May 15. The Governor views this as a "bottom-up" "county driven" process. He said that the State could be more business friendly but not at the expense of natural landmarks and land use regulations.
Around the table, Commissioners and other representatives took turns highlighting the challenges and some successes of economic development in the 11 counties that comprise Region 10 and Region 11.
Commissioner Padgett discussed with the Governor how important tourism, including heritage tourism, adventure tourism, recreational tourism, and family tourism was to our county. Commissioner Padgett discussed how hard it is for a county as small Ouray to have “shelf-ready” projects to go after grants which pop up with tight timelines, and that Ouray County needs assistance and resources to do strategic planning and economic planning, and to accomplish the projects local business owners and leaders know will be beneficial to our economy by enhancing and diversifying it. Commissioner Padgett gave the examples that enhancing trails systems, bike paths, and having the resources to follow through with Ridgway’s Streetscape Plan will be beneficial for economic development.
Others at the table vocalized concerns that Ouray County has brought up to this Governor (as Governor-elect in December) and continues to share—the importance of sustaining the Enhanced Rural Enterprise Zone incentives, the need for broadband bandwidth and redundancy to attract more entrepreneurs and businesses that depend on the internet, the importance of having our popular State Parks (such as Ridgway State Park) be open year-round, and the importance of looking at state regulations to see if they can be streamlined or simplified for local governments and businesses, and the need for working capital for small businesses.
Former State Senator Al White was introduced as the new head of the Colorado Department of Tourism. He explained that when Colorado quit promoting tourism as a state in 1992, Colorado lost ⅓ of its market share. "Tourism is the number 2 industry in Colorado." White stated that for every $1 the State spends on promoting tourism, $6.75 is returned to the State in the form of revenue and $193 goes to Colorado businesses. The floor was opened up to comments from the 100 or so people in attendance.
For next steps Commissioner Padgett thinks, “A state-wide economic development plan that supports what locals know they need is very exciting. To have the State Tourism office appropriately funded and marketing Colorado beyond our state borders again is going to be very helpful. We need to form a core group of countywide stakeholders’ representatives, including the two Chambers, governments, businesses, and schools, to look at the existing strategic plans within the county, look at recent plans of similar counties, and synthesize the key ideas into a strategic plan outline to present to our citizens and businesses for input. The Governor wants to get strategic plans, in any form, from counties in May.” Padgett goes on to explain, “If we have an outline in early April, we could have a plan to present for incorporation into the statewide plan in early May.“
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Ouray County's Enhanced Rural Enterprise Zone Status is Good For All
Ouray County is part of 6-county Enterprise Zone that includes Delta, Montrose, Gunnison, Ouray, San Miguel and Hinsdale Counties. Ouray County has also been designated by the State of Colorado as an Enhanced Rural Enterprise Zone (EREZ) since 2003. Being designated as an Enterprise Zone allows businesses access to lucrative tax benefits designed to encourage business growth. Being located within an Enhanced Rural Enterprise Zone provides even greater financial incentives to businesses of all sizes to promote and encourage new job creation in designated economically lagging rural Enterprise Zone counties. Many of these credits can be back-claimed up to 5 years, but in January 2012 businesses will need to be precertified BEFORE claiming credits. Download the linked brochures for moe info.
Some significant incentives that Ouray County businesses may take advantage of include:
* New job credit for EREZ: $2,500 total state tax credit per each new job over 20 hours/week;
* New Ag job credit for EREZ: $3,500 total state tax credit per each new agricultural product processing job;
* Investment tax credit: 3% of qualified equipment purchases (can include computers and vehicles);
* Job Training tax credit: 10% of qualified training expenses (can include travel, tuition, meals);
* Vacant Building Rehabilitation tax credit: 25% of rehab expenses (hard costs) for buildings 20+ years old and that have been vacant at least 2 years prior to the rehabilitation;
* Research & Development tax credit: 3% of increased R&D expenditures;
* Manufacturing and Mining Sales and Use tax credit: Expanded State sales and use tax exemption;
* Health insurance credit: for employers paying a portion of employees' health insurance premiums -- $400 for each additional new job
A huge Enterprise Zone benefit to citizens of Ouray County is that additional tax incentives to those who give charitable donations are available if the donations are given to qualified organizations and projects that successfully apply to become an Enterprise Zone Contribution Project. Examples of groups and project that are already qualified through Region10 and the State of Colorado are Wright Opera House Foundation (Ouray), Museum of the Mountain West (Montrose), (Habitat for Humanity Re-Store) and 17 others in the 6-county Enterprise Zone. To qualify projects are subject to review and approval by the Economic Development Commission. Those present at the happy hour thought local museums and even the Ridgway Streetscape Plan could be good fits. A Colorado taxpayer who contributes to a Enterprise Zone Contribution Project can receive a 25% state tax credit for cash donations and 12.5% state tax credit for in-king contributions, in addition to any federal tax deductions they qualify for. This encourages greater contributions to these projects and significantly greater tax incentives for those making donations. The first step for an organization or project to get this designation is to contact the Enterprise Zone Coordinator, Rhona Keckler at Region 10.
Besides business tax incentives and contribution project incentives there also is an Enterprise Zone Marketing Grant program administered by Region 10. In the past the Ridgway Area Chamber of Commerce has applied and received funds to help pay for advertorials and advertising among other marketing tools. Grant funds can be used for preparation, production, and distribution of market research, printed materials, advertizing, web promotions, and other items. The Ouray Resort Chamber Association used these funds to bring in prominent national newspaper travel writers to highlight the area to potential visitors. The grant program typically accepts grant proposals between November 1 and November 30. Rhona Keckler of Region 10 is the contact person for those interested.
Region 10 also coordinates small business loans available to Ouray County businesses. The funds used by Region 10 for the loan program come from both federal and state programs including Colorado Development Block Grants, Small Business Administration Microloan Program, "Revolved" Loans, and participation loans with financial institutions. Applications and eligibility requirements vary between funding sources. Loan interest rates vary between very low to low. Due to the various options, Ouray County Businesses desiring a loan for working capital, equipment, inventory, real estate, or other supportable expenditures should contact Paul Gray at Region 10, 970-249-2436 for a custom-fit loan.
All of these programs are designed to promote economic development of the Region 10 Enterprise Zone and Ouray County as an Enhanced Rural Enterprise Zone. If any of these programs sound like something a Ouray County business could have utilized in the past, please still contact Region 10, as many incentives can be still captured if the qualifying activities are five or less years ago.
Region 10 reported that over 4.6 million dollars in tax credits had been realized by businesses just in the 6-county Enterprise Zone during a portion of 2009. These incentive programs really help our businesses and circulate dollars in our region.
For full information about your specific situation please call Rhona Keckler at 970-249-2436x10 and visit Region 10's EREZ page. Brochures are linked to this post.
Some significant incentives that Ouray County businesses may take advantage of include:
* New job credit for EREZ: $2,500 total state tax credit per each new job over 20 hours/week;
* New Ag job credit for EREZ: $3,500 total state tax credit per each new agricultural product processing job;
* Investment tax credit: 3% of qualified equipment purchases (can include computers and vehicles);
* Job Training tax credit: 10% of qualified training expenses (can include travel, tuition, meals);
* Vacant Building Rehabilitation tax credit: 25% of rehab expenses (hard costs) for buildings 20+ years old and that have been vacant at least 2 years prior to the rehabilitation;
* Research & Development tax credit: 3% of increased R&D expenditures;
* Manufacturing and Mining Sales and Use tax credit: Expanded State sales and use tax exemption;
* Health insurance credit: for employers paying a portion of employees' health insurance premiums -- $400 for each additional new job
A huge Enterprise Zone benefit to citizens of Ouray County is that additional tax incentives to those who give charitable donations are available if the donations are given to qualified organizations and projects that successfully apply to become an Enterprise Zone Contribution Project. Examples of groups and project that are already qualified through Region10 and the State of Colorado are Wright Opera House Foundation (Ouray), Museum of the Mountain West (Montrose), (Habitat for Humanity Re-Store) and 17 others in the 6-county Enterprise Zone. To qualify projects are subject to review and approval by the Economic Development Commission. Those present at the happy hour thought local museums and even the Ridgway Streetscape Plan could be good fits. A Colorado taxpayer who contributes to a Enterprise Zone Contribution Project can receive a 25% state tax credit for cash donations and 12.5% state tax credit for in-king contributions, in addition to any federal tax deductions they qualify for. This encourages greater contributions to these projects and significantly greater tax incentives for those making donations. The first step for an organization or project to get this designation is to contact the Enterprise Zone Coordinator, Rhona Keckler at Region 10.
Besides business tax incentives and contribution project incentives there also is an Enterprise Zone Marketing Grant program administered by Region 10. In the past the Ridgway Area Chamber of Commerce has applied and received funds to help pay for advertorials and advertising among other marketing tools. Grant funds can be used for preparation, production, and distribution of market research, printed materials, advertizing, web promotions, and other items. The Ouray Resort Chamber Association used these funds to bring in prominent national newspaper travel writers to highlight the area to potential visitors. The grant program typically accepts grant proposals between November 1 and November 30. Rhona Keckler of Region 10 is the contact person for those interested.
Region 10 also coordinates small business loans available to Ouray County businesses. The funds used by Region 10 for the loan program come from both federal and state programs including Colorado Development Block Grants, Small Business Administration Microloan Program, "Revolved" Loans, and participation loans with financial institutions. Applications and eligibility requirements vary between funding sources. Loan interest rates vary between very low to low. Due to the various options, Ouray County Businesses desiring a loan for working capital, equipment, inventory, real estate, or other supportable expenditures should contact Paul Gray at Region 10, 970-249-2436 for a custom-fit loan.
All of these programs are designed to promote economic development of the Region 10 Enterprise Zone and Ouray County as an Enhanced Rural Enterprise Zone. If any of these programs sound like something a Ouray County business could have utilized in the past, please still contact Region 10, as many incentives can be still captured if the qualifying activities are five or less years ago.
Region 10 reported that over 4.6 million dollars in tax credits had been realized by businesses just in the 6-county Enterprise Zone during a portion of 2009. These incentive programs really help our businesses and circulate dollars in our region.
For full information about your specific situation please call Rhona Keckler at 970-249-2436x10 and visit Region 10's EREZ page. Brochures are linked to this post.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Small Business Happy Hour at Colorado Boy on January 8th @ High Noon
PLEASE SAVE THE DATE AND FORWARD TO ANY SMALL/MICRO BIZ IN OURAY COUNTY:
I am hosting a experimental small/micro business happy hour at the Colorado Boy this Saturday, Jan 8, from noon to 2pm. Paul Gray, Executive Director of Region 10 will be there.
The purpose of the happy hour is to reach out to our Ouray County, Ridgway & Ouray small and micro businesses and highlight the opportunities such as tax credits, job training reimbursements, and other incentives to doing business in Ouray County that are currently available right now. The entire County is an enhanced rural enterprise zone, and this does not seem to be commonly known. Also, Region 10 has enhanced its Small Business Loan program recently, so those who may have had trouble in the past, should come and learn what's new and if they could benefit.
In addition Beth Taylor, Western Colorado Business Development Representative of the Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade, will either be present or will have info for us to give out about free business development and enhancement programs that are available to small businesses such as help with marketing plans, business plans and more.
We also hope to hear from our small and micro businesses what barriers and challenges we have, and what local government's role should be in encouraging economic development. I will be carrying the take-home messages and action items from those present to the Governor's economic development team later this month, and to Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. in March.
I apologize that this event conflicts with the Ice Festival this weekend. It is my hope that the happy hour concept can be repeated in the future at various small businesses and venues around Ridgway and Ouray, to really reach out to those who might not be able to attend a forum, may not be Chamber members, and may not be using a CPA.
This happy hour is free, and open to all. I hope to see you there, and that you will forward this info to your friends and colleagues, even if they are working as a consultant out of a home office. These are opportunities for us all.
Sincerely,
Lynn Padgett
Lynn Padgett | 970-417-9901
Ouray County Commissioner, District 1
Bin C, Ouray, CO 81427
alt email: d1bocc@mtngeogeek.com
Official County web site: http://www.ouraycountyco.gov Lynn's web site: http://www.lynnpadgettforouraycounty.org
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
BOCC Meetings will be on Tuesdays in 2011!
The BOCC started discussing the merits of moving regular meetings from Mondays to Tuesdays back in March 2010. I attended a leadership seminar as part of the National Association of Counties Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. I learned there are a lot of really good reasons to allow for at least a business day in between receiving an agenda and meeting materials and actually having the meeting.
It turns out that a minority of Colorado counties hold meetings on Mondays. Citizens can use that business day to call on Commissioners or staff to query an agenda item and decide if they want to attend the meeting. Commissioners can request staff be ready with additional information. The majority of County holidays are on Mondays, so regular business items, such as warrants, must wait another week or two to be approved, meaning that payments to contractors in some cases might have been processed a little bit faster. When partners from the State, such as CDOT or CDPHE or DOLA are coming to a BOCC meeting, they won't have to travel on the weekends.
So if regular Board of County Commissioner meetings are going to be on Tuesdays in 2011, what about the work sessions? Wednesday afternoons will now be reserved for work sessions. Moving to an afternoon work session schedule will allow staff to still proces public notices Wednesday mornings (that may result from actions taken during the Tuesday meetings) in time to make the Wednesday noon publication deadline with the County Newspaper of Record: The Plaindealer.
It turns out that a minority of Colorado counties hold meetings on Mondays. Citizens can use that business day to call on Commissioners or staff to query an agenda item and decide if they want to attend the meeting. Commissioners can request staff be ready with additional information. The majority of County holidays are on Mondays, so regular business items, such as warrants, must wait another week or two to be approved, meaning that payments to contractors in some cases might have been processed a little bit faster. When partners from the State, such as CDOT or CDPHE or DOLA are coming to a BOCC meeting, they won't have to travel on the weekends.
So if regular Board of County Commissioner meetings are going to be on Tuesdays in 2011, what about the work sessions? Wednesday afternoons will now be reserved for work sessions. Moving to an afternoon work session schedule will allow staff to still proces public notices Wednesday mornings (that may result from actions taken during the Tuesday meetings) in time to make the Wednesday noon publication deadline with the County Newspaper of Record: The Plaindealer.
Whereas, it is the consensus of the Board to meet on the first, second, and fourth Tuesdays of each month for calendar year 2011, except for the month of June when the Board will meet on the second and fourth Tuesday; and
Whereas, it is the consensus of the Board to reserve each Wednesday afternoon following a Board meeting for work sessions as needed to discuss county business; and
Whereas, it is the consensus of the Board to meet on the first and second Tuesdays of each month at the Ouray County Courthouse located at 541 4th Street, Ouray, Colorado; and
Whereas, it is the consensus of the Board to meet on the fourth Tuesday of each month at the Ouray County 4-H Event Center located at 22739 Highway 550, Ridgway, Colorado.
Now, Therefore, Be It Resolved by the Board of County Commissioners of Ouray County, Colorado that Resolution 2010-047 is adopted setting forth the meeting schedule and work session schedule for calendar year 2011 as indicated in the paragraphs above.
Approved and adopted this 6th day of December, 2010. (Resolution 2010-047)
Monday, October 25, 2010
FACTS about the Visual Impact Process
I would like to clarify some misunderstandings and myths in a recent Letter to the Editor signed by Dave Calhoon that was published in the local newspapers last week. Mr. Calhoon's letter contains misrepresentations about Section 9 of the Ouray County Land Use Code, AKA Visual Impact Regulations, and the ongoing review process that may lead to revisions of Section 9. The letter also contains misrepresentations about the county Land Use Department, the County Attorney, and the 2009 South Alpine Proposal. Many of these misrepresentations have been repeated for quite some time. Having this misinformation spread is unfortunate because it causes citizens to be misinformed and leads to conclusions that may be different than if they had factual information.
MISREPRESENTATION: Section 9 has been in the Ouray County Land Use Code for 24 years and has never been amended.
FACT: The process to amend Section 9 began 7 years after it was first passed. OCPC worked with a paid consultant for 4 years in the 1990s. Section 9 was amended in 1997, 11 years after it was first adopted in 1986.
Mr. Calhoon's letter stated that Section 9 of our Land Use Code, titled Visual Impact Regulations were adopted on March 4, 1986. He notes that Section 9 was "readopted" 11 years later on December 29, 1997. He states that Section 9 has not had any amendments or additions in the 24 years since 1986.
Land Use Code is not "readopted" without changes. Actually, in 1993, just 7 years after the adoption of Section 9 in 1986, the Ouray County Planning Commission (OCPC) began holding work sessions to rewrite Section 9. The Board of County Commissioners paid an Aspen-based consultant some $8,000 to craft the wording, point system, and other elements that are indeed in the current Section 9 (but were not in the 1986 code). The OCPC worked on the current Section 9 for over 4 years, with a paid consultant. There were significant changes from the 1980s version, which basically required new subdivisions (planned unit developments) to comply but did not have a point system, to the 1990s version which required all new houses within the visual impact corridors to comply utilizing the point system.
MISREPRESENTATION :. It was never brought up that changes to Section 9 needed to be made.
FACT: Revisions to Section 9 have been requested by citizens, the last 4 County Planners, and the County Building Inspector, for almost 10 years. Section 9 has been an official BOCC priority for over 4 years.
Throughout the last decade, Section 9 has continued to generate controversy and complaints by public and County staff because of certain outcomes, what has been called an onerous process, a subjective point system, and confusing language and diagrams referring to "viewing windows" and so on. It has been requested to be a priority for revision by the last 4 County Planners.
In 2005 a citizen proposed to delete a certain portion of County Road 1 from the current Section 9. The OCPC and BOCC considered the requested revisions and the BOCC reached a decision with Resolution 2005-042.
The Board of County Commissioners has by Resolution, formally adopted "Priorities for Land Use Code Amendments". Section 9 has been listed as a priority for the last 4 years, in Resolution 2007-041 and 2009-002 (back when Don Batchelder was a Commissioner), Resolution 2009-030, and Resolution 2010-007. Setting Land Use Code priorities by Resolution occurs as a formally noticed agenda item, during a regular public meeting of the BOCC. Public who want to hear the rationale for the priorities set by the BOCC, or who even wish to disagree with the priorities set by the BOCC are welcome to come and give input during these public meetings.
MISREPRESENTATION: The majority of public input on the May 27 proposal for Section 9 was negative.
FACT: The majority of public input received agreed that visual impact regulations are needed in Ouray County. Many people expressed they are happy with the current regulations and many expressed desire for strong visual impact regulations that achieve natural blending and screening, have a flexible and objective process, are fair and equitable, protect significant view corridors, and are true to the Master Plan.
To say that the majority of public response was negative is untrue. The noisiest response is primarily from certain well-funded special interest groups and is largely negative. One of these groups spent thousands of dollars this summer to send every County landowner a postcard claiming the county wanted to diminish property values, mandate house color, mandate building materials, and reduce building height. Despite the postcard's content, relatively few postcards were returned to the originators as a show of anti-Section 9 sentiment. The County has received numerous favorable responses from citizens who attended the May 27 presentation and individually filled out surveys that evening, as well as through emails, letters, and comments while participating in the process.
The purpose of the May 27 draft was to interest the public in an evolving topic PRIOR to work sessions being held by the Planning Commission (OCPC). It was also to frame the purpose and need, and suite of possible options for the OCPC, to help them concentrate their efforts. No process is perfect, but the main objectives of the BOCC have been accomplished--to have a transparent process with considerable and timely public input. The Planning Commission will soon be taking up Section 9. From the public input received, the BOCC will direct the OCPC to make recommendations to the BOCC on tweaking the current point system, rather than further contemplating a tier system.
The BOCC believes our deliberation on Section 9 to date has been exemplary of democracy in action. The process is still in its early stages. As the BOCC turns its deliberations over to the OCPC the continued input from all citizens is needed. Citizens should not be dissuaded by those who wish to undermine the process to their own ends.
MISREPRESENTATION: BOCC work sessions on Section 9, which began in fall 2009 and continued through summer 2010 were held without public input and without OCPC involvement.
FACT: Considerable public input was collected during approximately three-dozen work sessions, several members of the OCPC participated regularly in the development of the draft presented on May 27.
Based on the comments received on the Planning Commission's South Alpine Zone proposal, and recognizing that Section 9 has been controversial for two decades, the BOCC chose to hold public work sessions on the topic prior to sending it to Planning Commission. This was to allow the public to become aware of the discussion early on and to participate before, during, and after the subject was worked on by the OCPC. The 36 BOCC work sessions were noticed in two newspapers, on the county web site, emailed to the entire county email distribution list, and posted on bulletin boards outside of the Land Use office and County Courthouse. 3 to 4 members of the OCPC regularly participated in the work sessions, along with 10 to 20 members of the public. The work sessions were shaped by public and staff input, and the proposal presented at the May 27 Town Hall style meeting was the result of majority consensus among all those who participated.
MISREPRESENTATION: The Land Use Department has a large deficit, from using the County Attorney as a "land use planner".
FACT: The Land Use Department is not an enterprise fund . Land Use is a department within the General Fund that generates some revenue from building permits, septic permits and land use fees. Revenue is dependent upon building/development activity and may change from year to year. Processing applications and permits is not the full scope of the Land Use Department and fees are not intended to fully support it. As a direct result of the current economic recession, the 2009 and 2010 revenues budgeted for the Land Use Department were down due to a reduction in the amount of building permits and PUD applications. Thus in the interim Land Use staff focused on a backlog of administrative tasks with reduced staffing. The County Attorney is on salary. Prior to 2006, the duties of the County Attorney were contracted out to other law firms or individuals. Since 2006, the County has had a dedicated full-time Attorney for less than the cost of part-time contract legal representation. As one of her duties she has worked with the OCPC and BOCC on recent Land Use Code matters, as well as performing numerous other day-to-day services for the county regarding a variety of legal matters, without incurring overtime or additional costs to the taxpayers.
Having the County Attorney on salary has saved the County thousands of dollars and has absolutely resulted in "Doing More with Less". This arrangement allows the County to have dedicated legal services without inherent conflicts of interest that arise when a law firm is representing both the County and other interests.
One of the reasons the BOCC sets priorities for Land Use Code revisions by Resolution is to allow for strategic and timely revision of the Code, while also allowing for other staff duties to be accomplished in a timely manner. The County Attorney has worked with the OCPC and BOCC on recent Land Use Code matters, along with various other projects, without overtime or additional costs to the taxpayers. For example, the County Attorney provides legal service and advice to the Board of County Commissioners and their divisions and departments, and, when appropriate, initiates and represents the county in litigation. If directed by the BOCC, the County Attorney also represents the various County departments, appointed advisory boards, and other elected or appointed officials, when those interests are compatible with those of the County. The BOCC has indeed directed the County Attorney to work with the Planning Commission, the Public Access Group, and other county boards/commissions.
When the County Attorney is working with the OCPC or BOCC on Land Use Code matters, she works to help the boards to understand State Statutes and to put concepts into the appropriate code language. This is different than the County Planner's duties. The Planner advises the OCPC or BOCC on implementation, best practices, and technical details.
In addition to the above duties, the County Attorney coordinates with our insurance carrier in all public liability and tort actions. The County Attorney handles all general civil litigation matters for Ouray County, including land use, zoning and building code violations; employment issues; property tax issues; election issues; and provides legal services and review on all contracts. The County Attorney is licensed and authorized to appear in all Colorado State Courts and also before the U.S. District Court of Colorado and the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
State law mandates the County Attorney's Office to represent the People of the State of Colorado in certain social services/human services and mental health proceedings, thus the County Attorney prosecutes Dependency and Neglect actions.
MISREPRESENTATION: The BOCC in the last 2 years prepared its own version of the South Alpine Zone without involvement of the entire OCPC.
FACT: In 2008 BOCC members Batchelder, Albritton, and Meinert asked the OCPC if regulations specific to residential development on mining claims should be considered. Based on the "yes" answer, those BOCC members passed Resolution 2009-002 listing development of " A new section to address residential development of mining claims" as a priority. Proper process was followed. Following a joint meeting between the BOCC and OCPC in March 2009, the OCPC held work sessions and did develop a new section of code named the "South Alpine Zone."
The OCPC is assisted by County Planning Department staff, the County Building Inspector, and the County Attorney in the process of developing modifications, amendments and additions to the Ouray County Land Use Code. As far as development of what became the South Alpine Zone proposal, the history is as follows: January 15, 2008 -- BOCC had a work session discussing possible new regulatory structure for mining claims; July 15, 2008 – Planning Commission held a work session on whether new regulations were necessary – consensus was “yes". The Planning Commissioners “agreed that regulation of mining claim development needs to be addressed in balance with the protection of private property rights . . . .”; October 14, 2008 -- BOCC held a work session on residential development of mining claims and directs Staff to begin preparing a draft based on Board’s guidelines; January 2009 -- BOCC passes Resolution 2009-002 and passes a 6-month moratorium on residential development of mining claims; March 17, 2009 -- joint work session with BOCC and Planning Commission to review proposed regulations; April - June 2009 -- OCPC has 5 work sessions and a public hearing on the proposed South Alpine Zone. The entire OCPC that showed up for their regularly scheduled meetings did participate in this process. In July of 2009 the BOCC and OCPC jointly hosted a Town Hall Style presentation on the South Alpine proposal. Public comment received at the presentation included comments that some public was unaware of the OCPC work until after they concluded it with the public hearing.
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