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State Issues
Colorado Wasteful Spending (FY 2024-25)
Department of Corrections: $ 7,995,411 Increase 28.3 FTE
● Transgender Unit and Healthcare
- $2,677,911 to create two transgender living units totaling 148 beds.
- $5,317,500 for “gender-confirming surgical care.
●Clinical Staff Incentives
- $6,312,464 General Fund to provide incentive payments for certain DOC clinical staff up to $25,000.
- The bill includes an increase of $6,312,464 General Fund to provide incentive payments for certain DOC clinical staff up to $25,000.
●HB 24-1389 School Funding 2023-24 for New Arrival Students (immigrants): $24,000,000
- The bill provides $24,000,000 to be distributed to school districts and charter schools for new arrival students. It increases state expenditures and school district funding in the current FY 2023-24 only.
● Office of New Americans Expansion (immigrants): $119,029 General Fund and 1.5 FTE
- $119,029 General Fund and 1.5 FTE for an administrator to manage ONA grants, coordinate with other entities, and identify opportunities for new migrant career pathway enhancement and a full-time program assistant to support the ONA Director.
-This office has had difficulty expending grants.
●SB 24-182 Immigrant Identification Document Issuance: $ 122,855
- The bill changes certain requirements for the issuance of driver licenses or state identification cards to individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States. The bill increases state expenditures for FY 2024-25 and FY 2025-26 only.
●HB 24-1280 Welcome, Reception, Integration, Grant Program:
$ 2,436,862
- The bill creates the Statewide Welcome, Reception, and Integration Grant Program to provide assistance to migrants. It transfers funds in FY 2024-25 only.
●Immigrant Legal Defense Fund: $ 350,000
- Long Bill budget amendment
- A doubling of the fund for FY 2024-25 making a total budget of $700,000. This funding is used for public defense for people facing immigration legal issues. Sponsored by Rep. Mabrey and Sen. Gonzalez.
●Office of Health Equity and Environmental Justice: $ 2,840,715
- Funding for the Office
- Mission: Build partnerships to mobilize community power and transform systems to advance health equity and environmental justice.
- What this office does to advance their mission:
1. Build relationships with communities and across sectors to address root causes of health disparities.
2. Use equity in decision-making and partner with all sectors of government to embed health and equity considerations into their decision-making process.
3. Use data to support the narrative of the social determinants of health and tell the story of what creates health.
4. De-center communications from the English language or any one dominant language, and prioritize language justice when engaging with communities.
5. Develop, implement, and provide guidance on health equity training, practice, and policies within CDPHE and across the state of Colorado.
6. Focus on upstream determinants of health, guided by the Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative.
●HB 24-1197 Department of Public Safety Supplemental: $ 9,800,000
- Funding for Community-based organizations providing service for migrants.
- Funds to provide grants to community-based organizations providing services to people migrating to Colorado.
●Department of Education: $ 56,100,000
- Expanding Healthy Meals for All Program.
- Adds $56.1 million total funds for the Healthy School Meals for All Program, including $40.6 million from the Healthy School Meals for All Program General Fund Exempt Account and $15.5 million from the General Fund. This includes an increase of $56.0 million for meal reimbursements and $100,000 for consulting resources.
●HB 21-1318 Department of Public Health & Environment: $ 198,192
- Outdoor Equity Program
- This bill injected identity politics into access to the outdoors.
●Department of Public Health & Environment: $2,840,715 total funds and 8.3 FTE
- Creating the Office of Health Equity and Environmental Justice by combining two offices.
- The bill includes an increase of $2,840,715 total funds and 8.3 FTE, including a reduction of $11,349 General Fund, to join the Environmental Justice Program with the Office of Health Equity to form the Office of Health Equity and Environmental Justice (OHEEJ) for the purpose of centralizing environmental justice staff. OHEEJ is responsible for ongoing environmental justice work, including administration of environmental health mitigation grants through the Community Impact Cash Fund.
●Department of Revenue: $714,515 total funds and 8.3 FTE
- GENTAX & DRIVES SUPPORT FUNDING: The bill includes an increase of $714,515 total funds and 8.3 FTE, comprised of $442,906 General Fund and $271,609 cash funds from the Colorado DRIVES Vehicle Services. Account, in FY 2024-25. Funds will address the backlog of upgrades and system enhancements to the DRIVES and GenTax systems stemming from legislative, user experience, and system operational demands.
Democracy Is Messy
by Michael J Badagliacco, “MJB”
Sit through enough City Council meetings and the “circus” talk starts to sound like a convenient label that doesn’t quite fit. What’s actually happening is simpler: more people are participating.
Democracy is messy. That line is getting a workout in Montrose. The gallery is getting fuller, public comments run longer. A small group has been a regular presence for months, and plenty of people in town agree with them and plenty don’t. That doesn’t cancel out the fact that they are there. Local government is supposed to hear from the public, not only from the ones already lined up with the Council.
Most people would prefer a quiet, orderly meeting. Not everyone who shows up is looking to cause chaos. The worse option is an empty chamber and a city that has checked out. Better to hear all sides in the same night. A town where everyone nods along doesn’t help us learn much, any more than muscle grows from sitting still.
Once Council meetings and work sessions opened up to real back-and-forth, the tone changed. Some of what gets said is pointed. Some of it is hard to sit through. That is not a breakdown or a “circus.” That’s what happens when “we the people” get open, spirited debate.
Elected office is not a dinner party. The people who like what you are doing rarely take up the microphone. The ones who don’t will. It’s easy to enjoy the public comment period when the speakers are on your side. It’s another thing when they are not.
The September 1 meeting saw a full gallery. People who previously stayed home filled the seats, and the crowd looked more like the whole of Montrose, this is what the hope has always been, meaningful diverse opinions that are representative of ALL of Montrose. That is public participation at work. I for one appreciate that
How can you help?
- Become informed on the issues
- Be an active participant
- Vote
When you attend a City Council meeting, be respectful of others, whether you agree with them or not. I ask that you always show respect for your fellow citizens and for the business before the Council, especially when we disagree.
We are a community of differing views and strong opinions. That can sometimes create tension. It is still important to respect those differences, even when it means we agree to disagree.
Councilor Reed and I have come together to find common ground to begin moving things forward in the best interest of the community. If we can do so, our community can follow our lead. Your participation in this effort is vital
To some it may look like a circus, to me it looks like civic engagement in action. But every opinion deserves to be heard and respected. Understanding that, Democracy is messy. We must understand that we won’t always agree. Not every comment is helpful. Not every meeting is buttoned down and tidy. But the process is working.
