Forget fracking. When it comes to a high-stakes and costly battle about energy on the Boulder ballot, it鈥檚 dueling questions 310 and 2E that will chart the most significant course for the city.
In 2011 voters narrowly gave approval for Boulder to study the process and chart a path forward for municipalization and launching a city utility. But in order to do that they would have to buy the infrastructure for a new utility from current provider Xcel Energy.
offer competing views about how Boulder should issue debt to accomplish this goal.
Issue 310 would require voters to approve the total debt limit of a future city utility. The measure is backed by the group Voter Approval of Debt Limits.
鈥淭his is a huge operation that the city鈥檚 looking to take on,鈥� said Katy Atkinson, a spokeswoman for the Xcel-funded group. 鈥淎nd the people who will be paying for this鈥攚hich are the rate payers in Boulder鈥攚e need some idea of what the total costs of this are going to be.鈥�
Atkinson says Boulder citizens ought to know what the full costs of forming a municipal utility are before the process is launched.
City council members proposed 2E to compete with Issue 310. 2E asks voters to approve $214 million in debt for the acquisition of Xcel鈥檚 distribution system.
鈥淚 can understand why citizens are leery in many ways,鈥� said Boulder Mayor Matt Applebaum. 鈥淚t鈥檚 something new and it鈥檚 not something that gets done very often.鈥�
Applebaum says he鈥檚 concerned that requiring voter approval of total debt limits would crush the conversation and the leverage that the city has right now in the process.
"It's something new and it's not something that gets done very often."
His message to voters is simple:
鈥淲e鈥檙e saying, we understand you鈥檙e nervous about cost. We鈥檙e now saying we can put some limits on the big unknown costs鈥攎ost of the other costs are known well and have been modeled thoroughly,鈥� Applebaum said.
Proponents of both measures have deep pockets鈥攖housands of dollars have been raised for advertising campaigns.
So what if both measures are successful?
Boulder officials say the one that receives the most votes will be the one that is implemented.
