Denver Post endorsements Vote “yes” on Denver’s 2A-2G for a growing city

It’s no secret that Denver is growing. At times it seems too fast. So we’re pleased to see Denver’s elected leadership going to voters with a meticulous plan to issue bonds to invest in needed improvements, expansions and repairs for transportation and transit projects, bike lanes, pedestrian bridges and sidewalks, parks, libraries, city buildings, recreation centers and museums.

To make it happen, voters must vote “yes” on seven related initiatives: 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F and 2G. We urge them to do so.

As The Denver Post’s Jon Murray has reported, the bond package would invest in more than 460 projects across the city. It would raise $937 million. The last time Denver went to voters to approve general obligation bonds was back in 2007, and those projects, worth $550 million, are wrapping up.

Mayor Michael Hancock and the Denver City Council spent months working with city departments and members of the community to craft the bond package. Yes, the package could have saved residents a little cash in property taxes by reducing a mill levy and seeking $700 million in improvements instead, as originally intended.

But the revised request — which maintains the current tax rate — is a smart one and we have argued for it since this summer. Rising property values mean the existing rate will cost taxpayers a little more. But for the less than $30 a year in savings that sticking to the $700 million target would have generated, residents will see substantially more investment in the amenities that make Denver work.

Denver’s request is a reasonable one, and residents would be better served to see it through.