There’s a Vacancy on Colorado’s Transportation Investment Board. You Should Apply.

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project

A reader sent in a tip about an upcoming vacancy at CTIO. Before getting more on that, let’s back up and talk about what CTIO is. The first link below is to their “About” page, but in brief they’re one of the copious number of enterprises (government “businesses”) that do so much of Colorado’s work. Quoting their page:

“The Funding Advancement for Surface Transportation and Economic Recovery Act (Part 8 of Article 4, Title 43, Colorado Revised Statutes), otherwise known as FASTER, created the Colorado High Performance Transportation Enterprise (HPTE), now doing business as the Colorado Transportation Investment Office (CTIO), in 2009 as an independent, government-owned business within CDOT. CTIO has the legal responsibility to aggressively seek out opportunities for innovative and efficient means of financing and delivering important surface transportation infrastructure projects in the state. It has the statutory power, among others, to impose tolls and other user fees, to issue bonds, and to enter into contracts with public and private entities to facilitate Public-Private Partnerships (P3s). During the 2024 Colorado legislative session, Senate Bill 24-184 (SB 24-184), concerning the support for surface transportation development, was signed into law by Governor Polis. The bill creates a dedicated funding source in the form of a congestion impact fee for rail and transit projects through CTIO. This funding source presents an unprecedented opportunity for CDOT to advance multimodal projects and fortify the state’s transportation system to address the mobility needs of the present and future.”

The 2024 bill referenced above (and linked second if you’d like to study up) is one I’ve mentioned multiple times. It is the enabling legislation for Front Range Passenger Rail; it is the legislation that puts a fee on rental cars and moving trucks to put choo choo trains all over the state.

Clearly CTIO controls a lot. Besides “innovative financing alternatives” (their words) to fund transportation that we already pay for, they take more of your money to fund trains.

This board is in need of people besides the usual suspects. That’s where you come in. The board has a vacancy (see screenshot 1) in their I-70 corridor representative.

If that’s you, or someone you know, I urge you to apply. There is, of course, no guarantee that Jared Polis won’t appoint another political crony, but I think there’s value in tossing your hat in the ring. If nothing else, remove their excuse that no one else applied.

You’ll find information and application materials in the third link below.

One more thing to mention. If you do apply, and feel up to it, send me a heads up. There’s nothing I’d enjoy more than publicizing it and/or sharing your experience in the application process.

Get involved in shaping this state instead of sitting on the sidelines and feeling powerless.

https://www.codot.gov/programs/ctio/assets/about
https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb24-184
https://cdhs.colorado.gov/our-partners/boards-and-commissions/governor-appointed-boards-and-commissions

READ THE FULL COMMENTARY AT COLORADO ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT

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