Why is Silt's URA so appalling to BOCC?

If you are a mayor or council member from one of the six local governments and have economic development as a primary goal, due diligence demands you obtain a DVD of the Jan. 23 joint public meeting held by the Garfield County Board of County Commissioners and the Silt trustees.

Observe for yourself the circular logic of Tom Jankovsky and Mike Samson regarding Urban Renewal Authorities (URA) and Tax Increment Financing (TIF).

The constitutionality of a Colorado Urban Renewal Authority is well settled, black-letter law. The economic development toolkit of a URA enables a local municipality to create a new government entity, to redirect new property tax revenues away from one government (the local county), to the new government entity, the URA.

The new tax revenue, known as a “tax increments,” does not increase property taxes. It simply redirects any new property taxes (created by new development such as a new grocery store), away from the county and to the URA. The URA is only used when private sector capital will not venture into the URA project area, which is clearly the situation Silt now confronts.

Yet Jankovsky “begged the question” as his circular logic concluded the URA law of Colorado, is “very liberal,” and therefore the trustees of Silt should not exercise their constitutional authority and create the URA.

But what really needs to be observed is the hubris of Samson as he wagged his finger, again and again, at the Silt trustees. Samson behaved like a burnt-out public school teacher who demeans a teenager in front of his classmates, for claiming the dog ate his homework.

If the creation of a URA by the town of Silt is so appalling to Jankovsky and Samson; how can these two commissioners logically justify the creation of a new Federal Mineral Lease District? Fundamentally, there is no difference between a Colorado Urban Renewal Authority and a Federal Mineral Lease District.

Both government entities are authorized by Colorado statutes and both entities redirect new tax revenue streams from one government, to the newly created URA or Federal Mineral Lease District.

Carl Mc Williams

Silt

Fattor worthy to be Citizen of the Year

I was so happy to see that Mike Fattor of Western Petroleum was chosen as the man in which he is, and a lot more than that.

Mr. Fattor was an inspiration to me when I first met him. There was something about him that just touched my heart. I mean, a feeling came about, this is not just a businessman, this is a real man.

I cannot count how many times he looks at me and says, “Johnny, is there anything I can do, is there anything you need?” and keeps repeating it like he knows there is something I need or help for someone.

I look at him and think, is he for real? Nobody in today's world acts like Mike Fattor. He should run for president of the U.S.A.

I am so proud of Mike Fattor for the way he carries himself. I like him so much that I want to be just like him. He is an honest, down-to-Earth man with a big heart.

Johnny Gonzalez

Glenwood Springs