John Torinus has a column in the West Bend Daily News about the boom going on in Denver and puts credit where credit is due.
DENVER — The potent mixture of TABOR, term limits, co-location of civic assets, smart urban planning and business leadership has produced a 20-year boom in the downtown here.
On a recent weekend there, as the Denver Broncos defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers, I counted 12 tall cranes, most with a Manitowoc brand, for the construction of offices, two hotels and condos — all within two square miles in the center of the city.
The city development department and the state have done a lot of things right to create the strikingly positive dynamics. Here are some of the smart decisions:
■ The state limits on taxes and spending under a Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) is two-decades old and has given business and developers a sense of certainty about the future business climate. That breeds confidence for launching big projects. (A similar TABOR was considered 10 years ago in Wisconsin and such limits are already in place for local government.)
We really missed an opportunity not getting TABOR (or it’s morphed child, TPA), passed. It’s not too late. Can we get TABOR back on the docket for the next legislative session?
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