Saturday, 01 October 2011 07:42

The Pitkin County Commissioners hold weekly work sessions on Tuesdays and bi-monthly public hearings on Wednesdays in the Plaza One building (next to the Courthouse) in Aspen.  Both meetings are televised live and repeated on locater CG12 TV.  They are also streamed live and available on the County website. Agendas are posted in the Aspen/Glenwood newspapers and on-line at www.aspenpitkin.com.   In this column, your District 5 Commissioner, George Newman offers his take on current matters.   You can reach him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .   



The Healthy Community Fund is a dedicated property tax that provides a stable source of critical funding to local Health and Human Services and Community Non-Profit agencies working to keep citizens independent, healthy and safe.

This fund sunsets in December 2012 and as the need in our Community continues to increase, the BOCC has authorized a ballot issue to continue this property tax starting in 2013 for 6 years.  We are asking the voters to approve a marginal increase of the fund by $446,000 to raise the current level of funding from $1,480,000 to $1,944,000.  This equates to an additional property tax of only $1.31/$100,000 assessed property value.

For the past 9 years, the Healthy Community Fund has provided millions of dollars to promote the social, emotional, physical and economic well-being of our children, families and seniors.  It is estimated that each year, the Fund assists agencies that reach over 10,000 people throughout the Roaring Fork Valley.  A volunteer Citizen grant review committee evaluates all grant requests based on “grant criteria” and their recommendations are then approved by the BOCC.  Last year, the Fund contributed $1,561,368 to 61 organizations but for the first time had to utilize some of its reserves to do so.  63% of those dollars went to health and human service agencies whose programs support family and youth issues, mental health, substance abuse and legal services.  24% went to programs that support the well-being of our Senior Citizens, and 13% went to community non-profits who address community problems and enhance our quality of life from cultural, recreational and educational programs to natural/environmental concerns.  

As funding from Federal and State agencies faces cut backs, our priority these next several years will be to support those agencies that provide basic health and human needs.  The Healthy Community Fund supplements fund-raising efforts by these community non-profits, providing approximately 6% of their total funding.   These critical dollars go directly towards:

*Protective and supportive services for children
*Connecting at-risk youth to community programs and activities to help them succeed and keep them safe
*Assisting victims of domestic violence and sexual assault
*Caring for the terminally ill and their families
*Mental Health and substance abuse counseling and preventative services
*A variety of physical, social, and educational activities for Seniors, including support for those who need one-on-one help to deal
  with the challenges of everyday life
*Preventative health services for low-income citizens (immunizations and teen pregnancy counseling) to avoid higher costs later
*Working with developmentally disabled citizens and their families to enhance their ability to live independent lives
*Programs that protect the quality of our natural resources

Where else can we as individuals contribute so little to help so many?   Please vote YES on Referendum 1A to continue to support the health and well-being of our citizens.

SPECIAL NOTE!  This is a MAIL-IN BALLOT ONLY!

If you have not voted in the last general election or you have a change of address, please update your current address by going on line to www.pitkinvotes.org or by calling the Clerk’s office at 429-2713.   Ballots must be RECEIVED by 7:00 pm on Election Day (not simply postmarked) in order to be counted.

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