There are ways to minimize our carbon footprint, but they’re normally not free, so Ballot Issue 2A could help by providing financial support for carbon reduction projects including renewable energy infrastructure.
City of Boulder Ballot Issue 2A would create a new Climate Tax on the delivery of electricity and natural gas to pay for climate-related actions described later in this post. The new Climate Tax would replace the city’s existing Climate Action Plan and Utility Occupation taxes. The Climate Action Plan tax is set to expire March 31, 2023, and the Utility Occupation Tax is set to expire on December 31, 2025. The new climate tax would be collected on Xcel Energy bills, as the expiring taxes were. It would increase the annual amount of tax revenue collected by the City for climate programs or actions, and would expire in 2040.
A second ballot measure, Ballot Issue 2B, would authorize a debt limit of up to a maximum principal amount of $52,900,000 in case bonding is necessary for climate projects. The maximum repayment cost would be $75,000,000.
Both ballot measures need only a simple majority to pass. Voters don’t have to vote for or against both measures – they can pick and choose if they so desire. I’m writing about both ballot measures in one post hopefully for the reader’s convenience.
According to the ballot measure language for Ballot Question 2A (readers can find the entire ordinance at this link), the funding would be used for general purposes including:
- Maintaining and expanding climate-focused programs and services
- Financing capital projects and stabilizing the funding for initiatives to meet the city’s
climate goals, including without limitation reduction of greenhouse gas emission, (and)
increasing resilience to climate-driven events - Providing energy-related assistance to disadvantaged members of the community,
including support for utility bill payments and access to renewable energy - Improving system reliability and modernizing and supporting clean energy-related
businesses, including, without limitation, new approaches in electrification of
buildings and transportation and enhancement of resilience - Implementing a partnership agreement with Public Service Company of Colorado (Xcel Energy)
- Increasing access to energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions.
More specifically, a City of Boulder outline says the revenue could be used for climate and wildfire mitigation improvements, including:
- Projects such as microgrids and energy storage to support resilience and renewable energy development
- Residential and commercial building electrification
- Expansion of transportation electrification projects and electric vehicle charging stations
- Funding for a dedicated fire risk assessment team
- Grants to support residential wildfire risk prevention measures like vegetation management, fence reconstruction and roofing/siding replacement
- Strategic undergrounding of power lines
- Ecosystem restoration
- Expanding current work to address wildfire risks on city open space, including targeted tree thinning, weed management, cattle grazing, and prescribed burns
- Updating and implementing a revised community wildfire protection plan for open space properties
The chart below shows how average tax burdens would change if 2A passes, with new figures in the right-hand column. Actual taxation would be based on energy usage.
Proposed Changes to Average Annual Costs, By Customer Type
Readers can find examples of what the City has done with climate-related tax revenues of the past at this link. In short, the money has been used for projects including solar panels and battery backup systems, vehicle electrification infrastructure, and energy efficiency projects for residential and non-residential buildings.
More Information On The Web:
https://bouldercolorado.gov/projects/funding-city-climate-work
https://www.beheardboulder.org/2022-climate-tax
Pro:
- Climate change is an existential threat, and many of the programs envisioned in 2A will take direct action to limit the greenhouse gas (carbon) emissions that contribute to planetary warming.
- Authorizing the City to take on debt through 2B will let Boulder get larger beneficial projects started sooner.
- This is a new type of tax, but it’s an incremental increase for residential customers compared to what ratepayers are already paying through the two expiring taxes, and the effects could help limit impacts of climate change that could be more costly over time than a small tax.
- Some of the actions envisioned in 2A, like energy efficiency programs, could help non-residential property owners make physical improvements that would help limit their utility bills into the future.
Con:
- This would be a new type of tax, and would burden all ratepayers to some extent.
- Commercial and industrial ratepayers would face a much higher annual increase in real dollars than residential customers, adding to the cost of doing business here.
- Some of these programs are already done in other ways, like the State of Colorado’s low-income energy assistance program.
- Bonding for projects includes interest costs for repayment, which adds to the public expense of larger projects, and adds to the City’s existing debt load.
- This is a relatively small tax increase for most individuals, but it’s one of six local tax measures on the 2022 ballot, and it all adds up.
Richard’s Take
I’ll vote yes on both ballot measures.
To the extent that revenue from this tax will lead to capital improvements known to reduce carbon emissions, like energy efficiency projects, I’ll give these proposals strong support. The upfront cost of new projects can be a sticking point for individuals or businesses hoping to reduce their carbon footprint, and city funding or financing assistance can help people get past the initial hurdle of deciding to launch a project.
The Marshall Fire also provided a harsh reminder that wildfires can strike local urban/suburban areas with serious consequences. It didn’t get the City of Boulder this time, but we have a substantial amount of residential property that’s not far from open lands, which certainly could be vulnerable if we have dry conditions, a major fire, and 100+ MPH winds like during Marshall. It would be wise for Boulder to undertake mitigation projects to minimize the risk.
I do have a few concerns, but they aren’t enough for me to oppose either measure. Like with several other taxes on this year’s ballots, the Climate Tax would cost commercial and industrial property owners more in real dollars in an uncertain business environment – though in this case they typically also use more energy. The 2022 Climate Tax proposal is only an incremental tax increase compared to what we’re already paying, but it’s one of six taxes on this year’s City of Boulder ballot (including Boulder County measures) and I can’t help pointing out that our multiple local governments are asking a lot this year of local citizens who aren’t independently wealthy and of businesses operating in cost-competitive environments.
Nonetheless, reducing carbon emissions is a top-tier modern necessity, and these ballot measures would enable tangible improvements into the future.
