The State of Colorado and Denver are in fee mode, charging residents and business owners fees for many services that, in the past, taxes covered. Since Governor Ritter’s term, the State has used service fees to get around increasing taxes. In a Denver Gazette opinion piece by Colorado State Senator Paul Lundeen, dated January 5, 2025, titled “Coloradans Deserve Better,” the Colorado Senate Republicans have identified thousands of dollars per family in potential savings by cutting government waste and repealing burdensome regulations and fees. We all know that inflation has made groceries, gasoline, and utilities more expensive, forcing many families to live paycheck to paycheck. To relieve Colorado families and businesses, the Senate Republicans believe the solution lies in reforming the State’s overwhelming regulations and fees.
Is Colorado Is Slipping Economically?
Not too long ago, economic growth was once a hallmark of Colorado’s success. The State was a magnet for well-educated young people who flock here to get their first job and start a family. For decades, Colorado was considered business-friendly. Not anymore. Colorado slipped to 16th in the nation, with the cost of doing business falling to 39th. The State’s economic growth has fallen from fifth to 41st over the last 15 years. Most people believe that housing affordability is the main culprit. Lundeen believes another cause of the decline is regulation and fees. According to a recent study by the Colorado Chamber of Commerce, Colorado is the sixth most regulated State in the nation. Colorado families and businesses are struggling. The Senate Republicans want to target reforms and relief by dividing the destructive regulations into two categories.
Plain and Annoying Regulations
These regulations do not make sense to most people; they wonder why city and state taxes don’t cover these fees. Most are small but added up over a year and hit our pocketbooks.
SB21-260: Creates a new fee on retail deliveries. Eliminating 29 cents on every delivery saves $45 annually.
HB21-1162: Adds ten cents for each bag shoppers use in stores. Its elimination will save families $150 per year.
SB18-193: Reducing occupational licensure fees gains $21 in relief.
SB2 -260: Repealing fees from the Transportation System Act generates $172 in savings.
Denver Side Walk Fee: A flat fee of $150 will be added to the stormwater bill and split over two payments. The fee goes into effect this year and is explained below.
Trash Fees: The average household will pay about $50 per quarter. City taxes should cover trash pickup, it seems.
Promoting the “pay as you throw” program in 2022, the government promised weekly recycling pickup. After collecting millions of dollars in fees over the last two years, they are cutting the recycling to every other week. This is a typical government approach: overpromise and underdeliver or send money to underfunded programs. Let’s hope the same thing does not happen with the new sidewalk program that went into effect this year.
Inspection and Rental Property License: Property managers who rent and manage residential rental properties in Denver require a license. A rental is any building, structure, or accessory dwelling unit that is rented or offered for rent as a residence for 30 days or more at a time.
Repealing or reforming these bills will save small amounts of money that together add up.
SB19-198: Repeal the waste tire fees.
SB20-204: Reform or repeal the per-ton pollutant fee.
Onerous Regulations
These regulations or mandates do not make sense, are poorly thought out, and are usually ideologically based.
SB24-094: The Senate passed a new Warranty of Habitability Law. The complex law will increase rents across Colorado as landlords pass compliance costs to their tenants. Lundeen estimates a $2040 in annual savings.
Governor Polis and Denver Energize Mandates: The cost of converting natural gas heating systems to electricity to heat buildings over 50,000 square feet will cause commercial property leases to skyrocket in Denver and across the State. Click here to get more informaton about status of Coloroado green mandates.
Denver Sidewalk Fees
Property owners used to be responsible for repairing sidewalks adjacent to their homes, but compliance was based on an honor system. City Hall claims that 40 percent of walks are missing, broken, or too narrow. Denver voters approved the fee increase in 2022. Owners with sidewalks in good repair are not exempt. All Denver property owners will have the $150 fee added to their stormwater bill. Owners with more than 230 linear feet of frontage will pay more.
Denver does not have a timeline for when sidewalk replacement or repairs will start. As the fee revenue accumulates, the City will develop a long-term plan for repairing, reconstructing, and constructing the new sidewalks over time. Let’s hope this money does not land in the City’s general fund, never to be seen again.
DenCO Property Management believes our responsibility is to keep our owner clients up to speed on city and state regulations affecting their rental cash flow. DenCO manages over 175 rentals in the DU, Washington Park, and other neighborhoods in the Denver area and has been in business since 1999. Call us at 303-722-9688 or click here to complete a Contact Us form.
DenCO believes its job is to keep its owners informed about local and state rental regulations and to keep all properties compliant under its control. DenCO manages over 175 rentals in the DU, Washington Park, and other neighborhoods in the Denver area and has been in business since 1999. Call us at 303-722-9688 or click here to complete a Contact Us form.
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