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COUNCIL HOLDS OFF ON DEVELOPMENT FEE INCREASES, FOR NOW

The Boulder City Council was preparing to act on proposed development fee increases, some approaching 100 percent, at its November 25, 2008 meeting. Input from the business community and the leadership from a couple of city council members pulled the item from the agenda. Meaning the fee increases will likely be reconsidered in December or after the newly formed Blue Ribbon Commission on Revenue Stabilization (BRC) files its report and recommendations to council in the first quarter of 2009. Last year the BRC reviewed city revenue and discovered a growing shortfall that could only be partly made up with new revenue sources or extended taxes. The BRC did not consider city spending or budget reductions to close the gap. This year, the City Manager appointed a newly constituted BRC to look at the expenditure side and make comprehensive recommendations to the city council. Days ahead of the November 25 council meeting, BARA and a broad base of business leaders were crafting a joint letter to council asking them to delay consideration of the fee increases until the BRC report is filed. We never sent the letter. Instead, a letter was delivered to council members supporting the decision to postpone the fee increases and to reconsider only after the BRC reports back to council. See an excerpt below under ‘Worth Repeating.’