Meet the Candidates: District 1
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October 14, 2016
Kevin Sipple
Tell voters about yourself:
In Boulder County since 1969. Background in business. One of the founders of Eldorado Artesian Springs, Inc. Good practice for being a county commissioner, company owns roads, water utility, Resort, every parking spot in town, and all surrounding property. My specialties: Quality Control, Regulatory Compliance, Operations. Project Manager for construction of new bottled water manufacturing plant in Louisville. Volunteer Service: Placement Alternatives Commission, PAC 1992 to 2002, a social services board that manages seven programs with the mission of keeping families together. Sheriff’s Office Victim Advocate Program, 2001 to present, with the mission of providing services to victims of crime, personal tragedies and natural disasters.
Q What makes you the best choice?
A Fiscal Responsibility: Boulder County’s budget is going wild. In 2004 the budget was $223 million. The 2016 budget approved last December was $426 million. During 2016, the budget has increased to $474 million and there’s still two months left. That means we’re adding $1.26 Million to the approved 2016 budget every week. While not performing the Core Services like road maintenance and public safety. If I’m elected we’ll live within our budget, perform the core services, and bring common sense back to spending our taxpayer’s money.
Q Boulder County recently signed on to be a plaintiff in the lawsuit regarding TABOR. Do you support this, and why/why not?
A I am a strong supporter of the TABOR Amendment. It was created to keep government from taxing us into the “poor house”, and growing unchecked. It has already saved us many millions of tax increases since 1992 when it was passed to prevent any tax increase without a vote of the people. Many millions of tax increases have been prevented and over two billion in over collected taxes have been refunded. TABOR is always under attack, for example the Road and Bridge “fees” on our license plates, which are obviously additional taxes. Boulder County has no business opposing TABOR.
Q The paving of rural subdivision roads is also an issue, how do you propose to resolve this?
A I would restore the funding that was removed from the Road and Bridge fund of our property taxes over the last 20 years. It went from 8% of the general fund in 1997 to .75% currently. I would propose restoring this to 3% of the general fund on a permanent basis, which should be more than adequate to support the maintenance of our roads including our statutory responsibility to contribute to the city roads in our county, and in addition to repurpose the .0125 % “sustainability” tax which our county commissioners have put on this year’s ballot to catching up on the deferred maintenance of about $25 million dollars. Sustainability means “Global Climate Change” cures.
Q If elected, what would be your main priorities?
A Making sure our tax money is spent wisely.
-Reducing the Boulder County Land Use Code from 450 pages to 150 pages and restore a “customer service” attitude to Boulder County personnel.
-Restore prioritizing the Core Services such as road maintenance and public safety
-If elected I will support the best interests of all Boulder County Citizens, regardless of political affiliation.
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