WSP03702 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

48 Colowyo mine which is located in Moffat County, but'may have major population impacts on Meeker (Rio Blanco County). Gunnison and Delta Counties could also work out a fair agreement relative to the North Fork coal mines. Much of the mining activity is in Gun- nison County, but the impacts are occurring in Delta County, par- ticularly in Paonia and Hotchkiss. (2) Special incentives. To encourage local governments to cooperate, the state could offer several inducements. A possible incentive for local government joint programs could be offered in the form of reduced interest rates on loans for public facilities and ser- vices; or state financial assistance for the construction of cer- tain public facilities could be conditioned upon local government cooperative efforts. The provision of state funding for law en- forcement is another example where funding could be made condi- tional on a cooperative municipal/county approach to provide law enforcement. Other local government services and facilities likely to lend themselves to this approach are recreation, airports, voca- tional schools or junior colleges, and street and highway improve- men ts. (3) Mandatory tax base and revenue sharing. The Minnesota Fiscal Dis- parities Act provides a model for a mandatory approach. (See Appen- dix B for explanation and analysis of this act.) This legislation provides a basis for sharing increases in assessed valuation in a large area, such as a multi-county metropolitan area, among each political jurisdiction within the area in proportion to total popu- lation. Its application in Colorado might ,best be on a regional level. For example, all local government jurisdictions in an energy- impacted area might share in a portion of the tax base generated from new energy facilities built in the region. Energy Impact Assistance Fund Sharing of tax base and revenue sources is only a partial answer to the front-end financing needs of local government. Additional funds will be