LovelandPolitics.com
| RTA -- Now Albatross Around Don Williams' Neck |
During a meeting with the Loveland City Council in early July, Loveland
City Manager Don Williams stated that Ft. Collins departure from the RTA
wasn't fatal since Greeley will still be onboard with Loveland. He also stated
that the RTA concept would not be feasible any longer if Greeley dropped
out since Loveland would be the last medium size city left holding the bag.
The Greeley City Council joined Ft. Collins on July 24 in not supporting the
RTA and left Loveland alone as the last medium size city in the RTA. Only
Larimer County and now eight small towns (Berthoud, Eaton, Evans,
Johnstown, La Salle, Milliken, Severance, Timnath, and Windsor) are left in
the RTA.
Don Williams may regret those words as he now struggles to lobby
Loveland’s City Council to continue supporting the RTA despite the
fact it is now facing another deficit in the plan of approximately $27 million
as a result of Greeleys departure. Williams' credibility as the dominating
influence over Loveland's City Council on the RTA appears to be sinking as
he is either unwilling or unable to release the RTA albatross from around his
neck and admit defeat.
"Its important to have not only a plan that can work but also a plan that
works," he said frequently to the Loveland City Council in defense of his
rigid support of Centerra being a primary beneficiary of the RTA.
Councilmembers in both Ft. Collins and Greeley cited Loveland's unbending
demands that RTA money be used to improve intersections in or around
Centerra that the McWhinneys were already on the hook to fund (with sales
taxes provided to them by Loveland in a master financing agreement signed
years earlier) as the reason for not supporting the RTA.
A common joke floating around the other RTA cities is that Williams really
meant to say, "Its important to have not only a plan that can work but also a
plan that works for the McWhinneys." This is because Williams is viewed
by some as backing the McWhinneys to a fault. Even when the
McWhinneys are willing to compromise their interests, Williams is not.
A case in point was a compromise struck earlier last month between Rich
Shannon, the chief McWhinney lobbyist on the RTA (Regional
Transportation Authority) steering committee, and the other cities (Ft.
Collins and Greeley were still onboard.) To allay their fears that too much
money was being funneled to supplant transportation improvements already
funded through Centerra's special district, Rich Shannon agreed to a
required percentage of funding from the McWhinneys and Loveland to still
fund well over 35% of the project costs. This didn't sit well with Williams
who argued the McWhinneys' special district should not be treated
differently from any other project areas. He stated, "they are punishing us
for having solved the problem in Centerra."
Williams finally prevailed in his approach and as a result the cities of Ft.
Collins and Greeley are no longer supporting the RTA. The perception that
Loveland is a partisan simply for McWhinney interests instead of regional
transportation needs remains the primary wedge between Loveland and the
neighboring cities of Ft. Collins and Greeley.
Absent Ft. Collins and Greeley, the RTA plan contemplates exporting sales
tax dollars raised in Loveland to little towns like Timnath and Severance
where very few Loveland commuters need to drive. A vast majority of the
45% of Loveland households that work outside the city actually commute
south to cities like Longmont and Boulder. Their commutes will not be
impacted by road improvements in the eight smaller communities mostly
north of Loveland where tax dollars from Loveland will flow to anyway.
Another concern raised by members of the Loveland City Council when Ft.
Collins left the RTA was the differential in sales tax the plan will create.
Shoppers in Loveland's Centerra district will pay 2% more sales tax than
shoppers in Greeley and Ft. Collins even though all will be benefiting from
the regional transportation projects “especially those crossing the I-25.
Councilman Walt Skowron has voiced concern that this significant
difference in sales tax between neighboring communities will drive retail out
of Loveland.
In order to qualify the RTA proposal for the ballot next November, the
Loveland City Council will need to pass a resolution endorsing the regional
sales tax increase (first and second reading required) on its first reading by
August 7, 2007 unless special meetings are called. It is still uncertain
whether the Council will continue following Williams' lead or strike out a
new position of their own.
The former Mayor of Ft. Collins, now working for Colorado Governor Bill
Ritter, has been recruited to lobby Ft. Collins' city council to reverse their
decision. If this fails, it will be hard to imagine the voters of Loveland will
want to stand alone in carrying the flag and costs of the RTA.
City Manager Don Williams stated that Ft. Collins departure from the RTA
wasn't fatal since Greeley will still be onboard with Loveland. He also stated
that the RTA concept would not be feasible any longer if Greeley dropped
out since Loveland would be the last medium size city left holding the bag.
The Greeley City Council joined Ft. Collins on July 24 in not supporting the
RTA and left Loveland alone as the last medium size city in the RTA. Only
Larimer County and now eight small towns (Berthoud, Eaton, Evans,
Johnstown, La Salle, Milliken, Severance, Timnath, and Windsor) are left in
the RTA.
Don Williams may regret those words as he now struggles to lobby
Loveland’s City Council to continue supporting the RTA despite the
fact it is now facing another deficit in the plan of approximately $27 million
as a result of Greeleys departure. Williams' credibility as the dominating
influence over Loveland's City Council on the RTA appears to be sinking as
he is either unwilling or unable to release the RTA albatross from around his
neck and admit defeat.
"Its important to have not only a plan that can work but also a plan that
works," he said frequently to the Loveland City Council in defense of his
rigid support of Centerra being a primary beneficiary of the RTA.
Councilmembers in both Ft. Collins and Greeley cited Loveland's unbending
demands that RTA money be used to improve intersections in or around
Centerra that the McWhinneys were already on the hook to fund (with sales
taxes provided to them by Loveland in a master financing agreement signed
years earlier) as the reason for not supporting the RTA.
A common joke floating around the other RTA cities is that Williams really
meant to say, "Its important to have not only a plan that can work but also a
plan that works for the McWhinneys." This is because Williams is viewed
by some as backing the McWhinneys to a fault. Even when the
McWhinneys are willing to compromise their interests, Williams is not.
A case in point was a compromise struck earlier last month between Rich
Shannon, the chief McWhinney lobbyist on the RTA (Regional
Transportation Authority) steering committee, and the other cities (Ft.
Collins and Greeley were still onboard.) To allay their fears that too much
money was being funneled to supplant transportation improvements already
funded through Centerra's special district, Rich Shannon agreed to a
required percentage of funding from the McWhinneys and Loveland to still
fund well over 35% of the project costs. This didn't sit well with Williams
who argued the McWhinneys' special district should not be treated
differently from any other project areas. He stated, "they are punishing us
for having solved the problem in Centerra."
Williams finally prevailed in his approach and as a result the cities of Ft.
Collins and Greeley are no longer supporting the RTA. The perception that
Loveland is a partisan simply for McWhinney interests instead of regional
transportation needs remains the primary wedge between Loveland and the
neighboring cities of Ft. Collins and Greeley.
Absent Ft. Collins and Greeley, the RTA plan contemplates exporting sales
tax dollars raised in Loveland to little towns like Timnath and Severance
where very few Loveland commuters need to drive. A vast majority of the
45% of Loveland households that work outside the city actually commute
south to cities like Longmont and Boulder. Their commutes will not be
impacted by road improvements in the eight smaller communities mostly
north of Loveland where tax dollars from Loveland will flow to anyway.
Another concern raised by members of the Loveland City Council when Ft.
Collins left the RTA was the differential in sales tax the plan will create.
Shoppers in Loveland's Centerra district will pay 2% more sales tax than
shoppers in Greeley and Ft. Collins even though all will be benefiting from
the regional transportation projects “especially those crossing the I-25.
Councilman Walt Skowron has voiced concern that this significant
difference in sales tax between neighboring communities will drive retail out
of Loveland.
In order to qualify the RTA proposal for the ballot next November, the
Loveland City Council will need to pass a resolution endorsing the regional
sales tax increase (first and second reading required) on its first reading by
August 7, 2007 unless special meetings are called. It is still uncertain
whether the Council will continue following Williams' lead or strike out a
new position of their own.
The former Mayor of Ft. Collins, now working for Colorado Governor Bill
Ritter, has been recruited to lobby Ft. Collins' city council to reverse their
decision. If this fails, it will be hard to imagine the voters of Loveland will
want to stand alone in carrying the flag and costs of the RTA.
| Loveland City Manager, Don Williams |
| Loveland City Council study session where City Manager Don Williams angrily protested a compromise the McWhinney lobbyist Rich Shannon made to save the RTA - he may regret that desicion today. |
| Political Cartoon |