Road project revival/ Delay may be averted

DENVER - Delayed highway improvements in Colorado Springs and around the state could be back on schedule relatively soon thanks to a late Christmas present from the 2000 Census and creative budgeting by state lawmakers.

It may take some financial gymnastics, but members of the General Assembly who two months ago were talking year-long delays for many transportation projects - including $55 million in Colorado Springs- area projects - are saying they may be able to find $260 million needed to keep Colorado's highway improvements on track.

After the general election, Gov. Bill Owens and many in the transportation community blamed Amendment 23, a ballot measure that requires surplus tax money be spent on education, for throwing a wrench in the highway improvement schedule, which also is funded by surplus tax funds.

"I think it was premature," said Senate Majority Leader-elect Bill Thiebaut, D-Pueblo, of the predicted year-long delays that would have hit highway projects across the state, including efforts to widen Interstate 25 through the Springs and the extension of Powers Boulevard.

Thiebaut and other Senate Democrats on Friday suggested borrowing cash from some of the state's rainy-day accounts to pay for the projects and reimbursing the accounts with future tax revenues.

"We were lulling ourselves to sleep by not using the funds that are there," Thiebaut said. "We have millions and millions just sitting there earning interest."

Thiebaut pointed to roughly $470 million in reserves for building, renovating and repairing state buildings that could be tapped, as well as an additional $248 million socked away for other maintenance projects.

Using those accounts, however, would require a change in the law to temporarily lower the amount state officials are required to keep in savings.

The Democratic proposal wasn't all that different from one Owens made Thursday afternoon, suggesting that the political will might be there to fix the problem quickly.

"We are looking at whether we can change the law to allow some of the transportation projects to go forward," Owens said. "There are some things we can consider to make it manageable."

It all hinges on an unexpected windfall that hit Colorado this week along with data from the 2000 Census.

"The new Census numbers are a huge change from just a week ago," Rep. Keith King, R-Colorado Springs said.

When the Taxpayers Bill of Rights passed in 1992, it capped state tax revenues with a formula based on inflation and growth. Anything more than that cap is handed back to voters in the form of a tax refund.

As it turns out, the state was underestimating population growth at 2.3 percent a year. The census numbers show the population actually grew by 2.7 percent each year.

As a result, the state should have kept more income tax revenue - an estimated $400 million - during the past decade and tax refunds should have been smaller. Lawmakers won't make the same mistake twice.

"Now we have to adjust that," King said. "It means...an extra $1.5 billion is going to be available to us in the next five years."

The first wave of what Senate Democrats are calling the "growth dividend" will be worth $395 million and should show up in state coffers in 2002. The so-called growth dividend could grow to almost $1 billion in 2004, Thiebaut said.

It's more than enough money to make up for the cash shortfalls created by Amendment 23, and it could be used to replenish savings accounts that are depleted now to pay for highway projects.

Because of the windfall, King said he is going to scrap a bill he planned to introduce that would have sent a referendum to voters asking to keep some of their tax refund for transportation needs.

Copyright 2001
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