Note: The following is the mayor’s opinion and not an official position for the city of Manitou Springs. Manitou Springs City Council will entertain a resolution to support Issue 7A on Nov. 1. Until then, the city has no official position. The mayor serves on the nine-member Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority board.
Issue 7A is a critical concern for Manitou Springs residents. It provides substantial transportation funding to the city through the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority. It also deserves some explanation.
Voters created the PPRTA in November 2004. It has generated consistent funding for maintenance and capital transportation projects. Member jurisdictions plan, fund and complete significant projects. Money is dedicated, projects are identified, work is completed. Promises are kept.
Issue 7A asks that you continue the existing tax; it is not a move to create a new tax or to raise the rate. Revenue comes from a 1 percent sales tax, the same tax that went into effect in 2004.
The ballot specifies the projects PPRTA will tackle over a 10-year period starting Jan. 1, 2025. If you’ve looked at your ballot, you will see that the question is an itemized list that takes up two-thirds of the page. The January 2025 start time allows for planning new projects and completing old ones.
These are ranked into A and B lists, the former having the highest priority. B list items will begin when the A list is completed.
The tax is raised locally and controlled locally. Capital projects receive 55 percent of the tax collected. Maintenance claims 35 percent, while the remaining 10 percent goes to transit (bus) programs.
Thus, for a $1 sale, the tax would be 0.55 of one cent for capital, 0.35 of one cent for maintenance, and 0.1 of one cent for transit. Allocations are based on the populations of the member communities. In Manitou’s case, this is 0.7 percent, a little more than a million dollars.
This year, Manitou receives $364,937 for maintenance and $689,967 for capital projects. In comparison, all the property taxes paid this year to the city amount to about $857,000.
PPRTA is composed of six member governments — El Paso County, the cities of Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs, and the towns of Green Mountain Falls, Ramah and Calhan.
Each jurisdiction submits proposed projects that are vetted by a 17-member Citizens Advisory Committee. (Two of those members are Manitou residents.)
That committee studies the merits of each and makes recommendations to a board composed of three El Paso County Commissioners, three Colorado Springs Councilors and the mayors of Manitou Springs, Green Mountain Falls, Ramah and Calhan.
Final approval rests with this board. (If you want to delve deeper in the organization’s projects, finances or history, check out www.pprta.com.)
The Pikes Peak region is growing. It’s important to have a solid 10-year plan, backed up with dedicated funding, to meet those challenges.
Beyond our city limits, there are many projects that will benefit citizens of all jurisdictions. Any driver in the area knows that transportation is a regional problem that spills over city limits. PPRTA effectively addresses those problems.
Let’s go back to your ballot. Look closely. Two columns show what you are being promised. Ballot issues are seldom that clear, but clarity is fundamental because these are commitments the PPRTA board takes very seriously.
PPRTA’s motto is: “Promises Made, Promises Kept.” Over its 18 years, PPRTA has earned that motto.
In the coming decade, we will continue to keep our promises. I urge you to vote in favor of 7A.