Keller Williams Realty of Northern Colorado

On January 26th, Fort Collins Mayor Doug Hutchinson and City Manager Darren Atterberry presented the Fort Collins 2010 ‘State of the City’ address. If you were unable to watch live, you can still access the video at: www.fcgov.com/stateofthecity or click on the video link below:

Some of the recent city accomplishments:

• The city recently launched Open Book which opens the City’s books up to you. Open Book is on the City website and it posts every dollar the City spends for the public to examine. The City of Fort Collins is one of the first in the United States to offer this level of information to its citizens. You can access the Open Book program at: http://www.fcgov.com/openbook/
• Last year the city released Fort Collins’ first-ever community scorecard which reported progress in reaching community goals.
• Fort Collins unemployment rate of 7% is lower than the state, and significantly lower than the national rate which hovers at 10%.
• The revitalization of North College has broken ground and jobs are being created as a result.
• The Mason Corridor project has changed from a transportation project to an economic health initiative enabled by transit. The shift allowed the city to leverage approximately $60 million of federal funds and kick-start economic activity along the corridor.
• Advanced Energy recently opened a new manufacturing facility in south Fort Collins to serve a growing demand for alternative energy products.
• The Rocky Mountain Innovation Initiative – or RMI-squared – expanded significantly. They are providing services to more entrepreneurs, which in turn creates and supports high-paying jobs.
• In 2006, the City was a driving force behind the creation of the Northern Colorado Clean Energy Cluster. Since its creation, clean energy jobs have increased by 19%. The 60-some businesses now within the cluster have set a goal to add an additional 1,650 new primary, clean-energy jobs over the next five years.
• The federal government awarded FortZED $6.3 million to create a zero-energy district that extends from CSU’s main campus through downtown.
• Through efficient buildings, lighting retrofits, increased recycling, and other efforts, the city reduced the city’s government operating expenses by $250,000 last year alone.

Looking Ahead

• A reality the city is tackling head-on in 2010: the city does not currently have the resources to fund our well-defined needs in police, fire, transportation, and parks.
• The city is working to diversify revenue, but sales tax is still their primary source. So, the city may need citizens to consider a sales tax increase this year.
• The good news: our current city sales tax rate currently is the second lowest among comparable Front Range cities and our base sales tax rate has not been changed for almost thirty years. A penny sales tax increase would generate $20 million annually. It would add a dime to every $10 a consumer spends.

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Posted By: Keller Williams Realty of Northern Colorado - Fort Collins CO Realtor,
specializing in Fort Collins CO Real Estate and Northern Colorado Real Estate
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