EDITOR: As a current Arapahoe County Commissioner I’ve had the distinct honor of being elected – and re-elected – by my community to represent their interests, respect their priorities and keep a watchful eye on how their tax dollars are managed. I am humbled to have been chosen for public service here in Arapahoe – the best county in Colorado!
As a member of the board of county commissioners, we’ve taken steps to address the demands of population growth, mandated sentencing requirements, and wear and tear on the physical plant at the jail and courthouse – without raising taxes.
Unfortunately, after taking several half-measures to address the many problems at the jail, we have exhausted our short-term options. County planning and finance staff, several consultants and a 25-member citizens committee all have come to the same conclusion: Arapahoe County needs to build a safe, modern facility with the updated technology, infrastructure physical capacity needed by our inmate population, visitors, staff and the public at large. Despite our best efforts, the Arapahoe Detention Center has become unsafe, overcrowded and expensive to maintain.
Despite what you might hear from skeptics who claim that County has the money in it’s coffers to address the challenges at the new jail, I can attest with absolute sincerity and with great conviction there is no amount of “tightening up the budget” the County can do to come up with the needed revenue.
No one can remember the last time the Arapahoe County Commissioners went to the voters with a property tax increase. We are the only county in the Denver Metro region that has never asked for time-out or some other modification of TABOR (taxing and spending) limitations. Asking voters for more their hard-earned money is a request the Board of County Commissioners takes very seriously.
Referred Measure 1A – if passed by the voters will: 1) make our jail safer for inmates and sheriff’s deputies; 2) address serious and on-going structural challenges; 3) fund the critical programming needed to help keep inmates from re-offending and ending up back in jail; 4) help keep non-violent and first-time offenders from going to jail in the first place. For $5.66 per month we can build and operate a new detention facility that releases inmates into our Arapahoe communities with vital connections to mental health and faith counseling, substance abuse solutions, employment opportunities, social services and more.Please join them – along with your County Commissioners – and vote YES on 1A when your ballot arrives next week.
Arapahoe County Commissioner Bill Holen — via letters@Sentinelcolorado.com