10/11/2026
Should our dedicated open space and trails property tax (TNACC) pay for affordable housing for future development and future residents, or should it address the immediate needs of current residents?
My opponent for Council District 1 and the current Council minority favor an initiative that prioritizes future development over current residents.
In a recent voter guide publication, my opponent in District 1 was quoted saying: “I would also put the $3.6 million associated with the Page property into a dedicated affordable housing fund.”
While this might sound reasonable on the surface, what he is actually proposing is using TNACC — the dedicated 4.0 mill levy collected from our property taxes to fund open space, trails, and parks — to pay back $3.35 million over the next five years for the Page Property at Coal Creek once it is rezoned as Reserved Open Space. The proposed 2027 budget, as requested by the Council minority, allocates $670,000 per year through 2031 directly from TNACC funds for this purpose.
For background, federal ARPA pandemic relief funds were originally used to acquire half of this property in 2023. While the initial concept was to use the site for affordable housing, those federal funds could have been allocated toward almost any government service — including essential needs like street maintenance and public infrastructure projects — since the grant was claimed and reported as “revenue replacement funds” due to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (as a note: the Town did not have any Affordable Housing revenues prior to the pandemic, but did in fact see a decrease in property tax revenues due to property tax deferrals allowed during that time, which affected TNACC revenues).
Fast forward three years: Town staff are currently slashing departmental budgets by 10%, proposing a new utility bill fee to cover street maintenance, and shifting capital project funds between accounts just to cover basic services. Our funds are extremely limited at the moment as revenues across the board have either decreased or become stagnant in the various fund accounts.
Furthermore, the Town currently has no water allocations available for affordable housing projects, and may not for the next 5 to 7 years. Meanwhile, $1.4 million has sat unused in the Capital Improvements Fund for "Affordable Housing Projects" since 2023, with no viable projects on the horizon. If this new proposal moves forward, we will have nearly $5 million sitting idle instead of being put to work for our community today.
For example, those funds could immediately address severe connectivity issues, such as those faced by Compass residents who feel isolated in their own neighborhood. They lack a sidewalk, trail, or any safe route to walk or bike anywhere — including safe paths for children walking to Meadowlark School. Literally not a single sidewalk or permanent trail that allows them to travel north, east, south, or west out of their neighborhood.
For me, this decision is clear:
Our dedicated open space and trails tax dollars should not be diverted to fund future affordable housing developments at the expense of current needs.
Our tax dollars should be used to ensure residents in Compass and other neighborhoods can travel safely to school, local businesses, downtown, and beyond.
Our tax dollars must be prioritized to solve pressing health and safety issues for our current residents today, rather than set aside for uncertain future uses.
Common sense must prevail in our policy decisions, especially when our revenues are limited: focus on our immediate needs that serve the needs of residents who currently live here, not future residents. Anything else is a disservice to the town and our residents.
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