Denver councilman delays plan for tax to fund college scholarships

Denver Councilman Chris Herndon said Wednesday he is holding off, briefly, on asking the City Council to put an $11 million sales tax for college scholarships on the November ballot.

"I want to make sure I have the opportunity to hear from more of my council colleagues," Herndon said.

Herndon said last week he would present a bill, called the Denver Scholarship Promise, to the council's government and finance committee Wednesday. On Tuesday he pulled it from the agenda . The entire weekly meeting had been dedicated to the proposal, so the meeting was then cancelled.

Herndon said Wednesday he would talk to the committee's chairwoman, Jeanne Faatz, to get the measure back before the committee as soon as possible.

The committee meets each Wednesday, but next week's meeting is expected to focus on Mayor Michael Hancock's Good Government Committee recommendations to improve city services and operations, said a spokeswoman for Faatz's office.

Time is an issue. Herndon must get approval from the committee to get the proposal before the full City Council by the end of August to get it on the November ballot.

Councilman Charlie Brown said the tax is a "big deal" that shouldn't be rushed to the ballot. He said Herndon should have been campaigning for it a year ago.

"It was too much, too late, the groundwork was not laid and now the whole thing's sloppy," he said.

The scholarship tax could face a lot of competition for support from voters. The November ballot will ask voters statewide for $950 million for K-12 education.

Hancock also has proposed a 5 percent sales tax on retail marijuana sales in the city. That tax could be on the ballot in November, when voters statewide will be asked to approve a 15 percent excise tax plus a 10 percent statewide sales tax on pot.

Herndon was confident Wednesday that voters would decide on the taxes separately.

"I think people will look at each individual tax on its own merits," he said.

Not necessarily so, said Jon Caldera, president of the Independence Institute, a free-market think tank in Denver that has opposed scores of state and local tax proposals.

"What tends to happen when there are so many tax issues on the ballot is it has a negative impact on all of them," he said. "And passing the state tax issues just gets harder."

He said local voters are more likely to support taxes that benefit local needs than those statewide.

The tax for scholarships would raise the city sales tax by a tenth of a cent to augment private fundraising for the Denver Scholarship Foundation.

The tax would expire after 10 years, when supporters say the scholarship fund would have enough money to continue in perpetuity.

If it passes, the Denver Scholarship Promise would be the nation's first dedicated tax for college scholarships, according to supporters.

Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174, jbunch@denverpost.com or twitter.com/joeybunch

Source: http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_23723537/denver-councilman-delays-plan-tax-fund-college-scholarships?source=rss

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