Property tax refunds are in the mail in Jefferson County. Why it's costing Colorado residents to get their money.
Colorado property owners in Jefferson County will receive nearly $40 million in tax refunds this week.
The county hit its revenue cap under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights -- or TABOR -- so Monday, it began mailing checks that average $185.
But, the checks are arriving with a flyer that's sparked some controversy. While the county could have just refunded the TABOR surplus by lowering property taxes, it mailed checks -- at a cost of $250,000 -- so it could include a flyer about the impacts of the refunds on services, as it considers a ballot measure to get rid of them.
RELATED: Jefferson County taxpayers can expect TABOR refund checks in the mail soon
"The county commissioners are going to use this letter to try to sway voters and lay the foundation for a ballot issue again next year," says Natalie Menten, a Jefferson County resident and government watchdog.
She has successfully fought previous attempts to lift the cap on how much revenue the county can keep under TABOR and points to a job posting by the county for a political consultant as proof it plans to try again.
She says county commissioners are only mailing TABOR refunds so they can include political propaganda, "It's a one-sided letter."
She says it's also a waste of taxpayer dollars: "Do I want my taxpayer money trying to sway me? No. No. I think that's just, it's despicable."
The county has mailed refunds for the last two years. Before that, it simply lowered the mill levy. But County Commissioner Andy Kerr says most property owners didn't even notice: "We think that it's worth it to make sure that our constituents are getting the best information possible."
He says the flyer is educational, not political: "We feel that the information in there is as accurate as possible and middle-of-the-road without taking sides."
He admits he'd like to get rid of TABOR, but he says commissioners decided to hire a political consultant to find out if that's what voters want: "We're looking for someone to help us have that communication, have that conversation with the community and find out, do people want to get a $4 check in the mail or do they want to make sure the potholes are filled?"
Menten says the county has enough money to do both: "The problem here isn't a revenue problem. It's a spending problem."
Kerr says that while the county can afford to issue TABOR refunds this year without any cuts to services, that hasn't been the case in the past, which is why he would like to see the revenue cap lifted altogether.
Jefferson County is one of only about a dozen counties that still has the TABOR cap fully in place.
