The special session leaves Polis with a $783M deficit — here’s how he can fix it without new taxes

By Russ Minary | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

Governor Polis recently called—and lawmakers have now concluded—a special session aimed at addressing the estimated State budget deficit of $1.2 to 1.6 BILLION. That means that every man, woman and child in CO has to pay $208 more this year. That’s in addition to all of the other current local, county, state, sales and special district taxes they are already paying. But kids don’t pay taxes; adults do. I think CO taxpayers and citizens already pay enough in taxes.

While lawmakers passed roughly $300 million in tax changes during the session, the ball is now in Gov. Polis’ court. He has been given authority to sign the bills and make deep spending cuts, up to $300 million, to close the remaining $783 million gap.

Rather than addressing the real underlying causes and finding ways to cut taxes or reduce costs, State officials blame TABOR or the Trump administration for withholding Federal funding. 

Irresponsible and out of control spending has put CO in this hole. I and many other CO taxpayers are tired of being treated like an ATM when the State needs more money. Enough is enough.

This massive (and entirely avoidable) deficit was created by Democrats who have controlled the CO State government with one-party rule since 2018. FACT: the CO legislature House and Senate majority, the Governor, Lt. Governor, the Secretary of State, Attorney General and Treasurer are all Democrats.

It is important to note that the largest group of ~4 million registered voters in CO are neither Democrats (1,017,086 or 25.29%) nor Republicans (916,004 or 22.77%). The majority of registered voters in CO are Unaffiliated (1,993,837 or 49.57%). This huge bloc of disaffected unaffiliated voters is growing every year. 

This is caused by the lack of vision, oversight and good governance by both parties who would rather fight each other than help CO citizens. Sadly, uninformed CO voters continue to elect them.

NOTE: rather than just pointing out problems, this article suggests some practical ways that CO can deal with this self-imposed crisis via fiscal discipline, business savvy, common sense and conservative principles. Some of these ideas will require hard choices; some can be easily implemented. But when there’s no more money, we all have to tighten our belts, cut and change a few things and share the burden. The State of Colorado does not have the ability or authority to print money. They can only get it from you, the taxpayer.

Here is a list of ideas in no specific order of priority:

1. Cut all state expenditures on costly and unsustainable green energy projects (solar and wind), related departments, personnel and programs. Privatize the industry and let the free market work. Most of CO, especially in rural or mountain areas, relies upon vehicles like heavy and small trucks, cars, buses, trains, heavy equipment, road construction and agriculture equipment that run on fossil fuels. Green energy is not practical in those areas. Most ‘green’ wind and solar generation facilities are backed up by diesel generators somewhere in the process.
2. Restart and unleash the CO fossil fuel industry (gas, diesel, oil, coal and natural gas) which are abundant and easily accessible in our State. Fossil fuels are an enormous contributor to the CO economy. The infrastructure already exists to extract, deliver and use fossil fuels. Consider: In 2022 oil and gas production activity directly contributed $1.9 billion dollars in state and local tax revenue, or an average of $321 per Colorado resident. That lost tax revenue will more than cover the current deficit now and into the foreseeable future. But don’t take my word for it. A recent report from the non-partisan Common Sense Institute (CSI) suggests that this problem can be fixed. You can read the full fact-filled report here: https://www.commonsenseinstituteus.org/colorado/research/energy-and-our-environment/impact-of-sb24-159-on-the-economy-revenue-and-emissions

Yet, the Polis administration released its first Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap (“GHG Roadmap”) in January 2021 to eliminate the use of all or most fossil fuels in CO by 2030 and replace them with green energy. Several laws have been passed to impose this agenda on all CO residents. It is the opposite of an ‘all of the above’ energy policy that would allow CO consumers to choose and use the type/s of energy that is most appropriate for them in their individual locales.

Here’s a breakdown of how those new energy policies will impact YOU if they are fully implemented (from the CSI Report):

• $1.2 billion in property tax revenue from oil and gas production – This is the largest single source of revenue to the State.
• $432 million went to schools.
• $768 million goes to fire, police, cities, counties and other local services.
• This was 6% of all property tax revenue and 7% of all school district property tax revenue.
• $31 billion to $48 billion loss over decade – The dynamic fiscal impacts on state and local tax revenue would total between $31 billion and $48 billion over the first decade.
• 181,800 jobs lost – The loss of oil and gas upstream activity would result in employment losses growing from 34,700 in year 1, to a reduction of 181,800 jobs by year 10.
• 70% of jobs lost from within Metro Denver – While 64% of oil and gas extraction employment is within Metro Denver, approximately 69% of all employment losses would be in Metro Denver.
• $321 billion in lost GDP over 10 years – State GDP impacts would decrease from a loss of $6 billion (-.9%) to a loss of $48.5 billion (-5.4%) by year 10.
  

3. Reduce the pay of all State officials, bureaucrats and employees across the board who make over $175K by 10%, beginning in fiscal 2026. To set the example for all of us, Gov. Polis (who has an estimated personal net worth of $400 Million) should refuse any salary or other benefits for his position. NOTE: the CO Constitution defines compensation ranges for many positions but no person is required to take this compensation. BTW, never ask a person who works for or gets income from the government if government should be eliminated or defunded.
4. Cut all taxpayer funding of arts by 50%. Arts should be funded solely by private sector donors, patrons and those who enjoy them. We use our own money to buy tickets to movies, concerts, plays, entertainment and other public events. So all other artistic endeavors can use the same model. If people want it, they’ll pay for it.
5. Implement a Colorado Dept of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to identify all redundant or unnecessary programs, positions, personnel and funding throughout CO state government. Then, publish ALL findings and implement these recommendations immediately. Those who hold redundant or unnecessary positions can find a similar job in the private sector, or train for a different career. That’s how people who’ve lost jobs in the private sector do it. Remember when many small businesses were shut down and their jobs were lost during COVID?
6. Promote private education or homeschooling as an alternative choice via major tax breaks (not subsidies or vouchers). Then reduce or eliminate funding of non- or under-performing or redundant public school programs, personnel and buildings. CO kids and their parents deserve and already pay for the best education available. Your kids do not belong to the government; they belong to you.
7. Restart the Colorado logging industry. Logging operations in our forests put green products and natural resources to a good use rather than watching our forests go up in smoke via wildfires. Modern forestry practices (which no longer use clear-cutting) actually make forests healthier. Logging operations create jobs, many of which are in small communities. Here are some facts to consider. Between 2020–2024, Colorado wildfire activity burned approximately 733,851 acres, or about 1150 square miles. Those forests went up in smoke causing massive air and water pollution, and the deaths of countless wildlife. When logging operations were stopped, no more logging roads were built. Those roads gave firefighters access to wildfire areas. But now, firefighting must often be done from the air, which is very expensive. Healthy forests are a renewable and sustainable green resource. Trees and other plant life absorb CO2 and turn it into oxygen.
8. Halt all funding and programs related to wolves and issue hunting permits to farmers and ranchers. Their livestock have been killed, hurt or destroyed because they are an easy food source for these predators. Reintroducing wolves has been a big, costly mistake. They pose a potential danger to humans, too. Wolves don’t stay put; they multiply and move to new territory. People will encounter wolves in urban or recreational areas of CO very soon.
9. Crack down on illegal immigration and cooperate with all existing Federal immigration agencies in all sanctuary jurisdictions in the state. This is the biggest and costliest unaddressed budget-buster for CO. Gov. Polis and Denver Mayor Johnston insist that CO is not a sanctuary jurisdiction. The US Dept of Justice defines this as cities, states, or counties that publicly declare themselves a sanctuary jurisdiction or equivalent, with the intent to undermine federal immigration enforcement; have laws, ordinances, regulations, resolutions, policies, or other formalized practices that obstruct or limit local law enforcement cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); and limit whether and how local agencies share information about immigration status of detainees with federal authorities. Illegal immigration is a major direct/indirect cause of massive spending on law enforcement, crime, drugs, human trafficking, homelessness, healthcare and education spending and insurance. Defunding all related immigration funding and programs will result in many voluntary deportations. One reason for the loss or withholding of Federal funding is that CO has refused to enforce existing Federal immigration laws.

Many people will be angry or offended by these suggestions, for a variety of reasons. After all, change is good, as long as it happens to those other people. 

Some ideas (like point #2) can happen with little or no negative impact on most people in our State. Increasing taxes on overburdened parents, small businesses, workers, property owners and every other CO taxpayer is not necessary to solve this problem. Bad policies create bad problems.

Here’s one last point for every legal, hard-working, law-abiding CO citizen and taxpayer to consider. You are not a piggy bank or ATM for the government to tap when their policies fail or their budget is busted. You can use your own money far more effectively for your own purposes than any government official or agency. 

With the special session wrapped up, it is now Polis who must decide whether the burden will fall on taxpayers yet again or whether he will finally confront the spending problem head-on.

Russ Minary is a retired sales executive, marketing consultant, small business owner and veteran. He helped businesses with hiring, talent consulting and organizational effectiveness before retiring.

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.