A key role of the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce is to communicate the values and positions of the business community to government officials.
This matters because policymakers are being pushed and pulled by a multitude of interest groups and agendas. And, to a large degree, they are captives to their own backgrounds and many of them have no business experience. Though it’s difficult to agree on a common set of values and positions, it’s worth doing to offer some guidance in the de...
As I write this on Tuesday afternoon, a bill is being discussed in a state legislative committee that would add a major new mandate on employers and employees.
Senate Bill 188, known as the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program or FAMLI. SB 188, would create a government-run employee leave program funded with a payroll tax on Colorado employers and employees. While paid leave is a desirable benefit, we do not support mandating an inflexible one-size-fits-all on Colorado employers.
There have been several news stories recently about a group pushing the Fort Collins City Council to adopt a resolution supporting 100 percent renewable energy by 2030. Though interesting, maybe even desirable to many people, it is not a good idea in the short-term.
The following is a message I sent to the Fort Collins City Council on the issue, which they are discussing at tonight’s City Council Work Session.
Mayor Troxell, Mayor Pro Tem Horak, and Council M...
Tomorrow morning (Wednesday, December 13) is the Regional Issues Summit at the Embassy Suites in Loveland. One of key topics will be North I-25 and funding for transportation.
The Colorado Department of Transportation’s new Director, Mike Lewis, will be a speaker followed by a panel of others working on North I-25 funding.
So far, $550.5M is pledged for North I-25. For a refresher, here’s what has been committed:
$350.5M for Segments 7 & 8 (Hwy 14 in Fort Collins to Hwy 402 ju...
Today is Election Day and on the local ballot is City Issue 2B. The measure was placed on the ballot by the City Council. It asks voters for the option of establishing city telecom services and issuing up to $150 million in bonds to build the system.
The Chamber opposes 2B. I’ve written about it here and here.
The ensuing media coverage and commentary have created some misperceptions, which I want to address.
First, the Chamber strongly believes having a well-connected community is im...
We continue to make important progress in funding expansion of north Interstate 25.
Last week the Colorado Transportation Commission announced an additional $200 million for north I-25. The money is contingent upon the award of a $95 million federal freight corridor grant being applied for by the North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization.
If it comes through, it would be applied to widen a segm...
As you may know, the Chamber opposes City Ballot Issue 2B, which would allow the City of Fort Collins to establish a telecom service to provide broadband.
We’ve written about our position and why we took it here and here.
Over the weekend an opinion piece was published by Ronald Rizzuto, Ph.D., a University of Denver finance professor that details why city-owned broadband is a bad idea. It is titled Fort Collins voters beware of Ballot Question 2B.
Election Day is this Tuesday. By now many of you have already turned in your ballots for the Fort Collins City Council races.
If you haven’t, you’ll need to drop yours off at one of that ballot collection centers before 7 p.m. Tuesday. It’s too late to mail it. The drop-off locations are available on the City Clerk’s election website.
The Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce does endorse candidates, people who we feel will bring integrity to the role of council member and focus on...
Two weeks ago I wrote about a bi-partisan transportation bill just introduced in the Colorado Legislature. You can find that post here. My feelings were decidedly mixed: happy to finally see a bi-partisan bill after years of inaction; disappointed to see something so expensive that didn’t adequately address the top transportation issue, that being the state and federal highways in Colorado.
The bill is HB 1242. You can find our analysis of the bill here. The group mentioned, Fix Colorado Ro...
A longstanding practice at the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce is to interview and endorse candidates for local public office. And, so it is again this spring relative to the Fort Collins City Council.
Before commenting on our endorsements, let me remind you of why we do this.
City or town government has a big presence in most communities. That’s not surprising in that citizens work through their local governments to provide important and essential services like police and fire pro...
