Last Tuesday, April 24, the Longmont Chamber, along with our Chamber Alliance partners in Boulder, Broomfield, Latino and Superior, met with Governor Hickenlooper, CDOT, and legislators including Senator Jones. Our topic was transportation, as it has been in previous years. We’ve stressed this topic for the past few years at the Capitol because it’s so fundamental to economic vitality. Michael Lewis, Director of CDOT, reminded us of this in his comments: the mission of CDOT is not to build and maintain transportation infrastructure, but to build and maintain a robust economy in Colorado.
I’ve been asked by a few Chamber members where the Longmont Chamber stands on the Denver Metro Chamber’s transportation proposals. The Denver Chamber is to be commended for being proactive in trying to solve the state’s immense transportation needs. Currently, there is a $9 billion shortfall in funding for projects around the state. The Fort Collins Chamber of Commerce with their partner, the Northern Colorado Legislative Alliance (NCLA), is also working hard on fixing our transportation problems with different funding mechanisms.
At our Day at the Capitol, the Northwest Alliance supported several aspects of Senate Bill 1. SB1 would provide $500 million from the general fund for transportation and $250 million every year after FY18-19. This doesn’t add up quickly to the $9 billion (and growing) shortfall, but it is a start. Currently, no monies from the general fund support transportation and the Alliance believes that should change. Other items are also underfunded, such as education, and we certainly understand this is crucial as funding for education has not been fully restored since the Great Recession. Certainly, our legislators have a difficult balance to achieve.
Currently, as an Alliance, we do not have a position to support or oppose either plan yet from the Denver or Fort Collins Chambers. We’ve chosen for now to support/oppose specific points that are crucial for our area. To view our current list from the Day at the Capitol, click here.
If you have followed our Northwest Alliance activities, you will notice a new name in our mix of Chambers. We are excited to welcome the Superior Chamber of Commerce. The Northwest Alliance from its inception, was intended to be a regional effort to promote business interests in the northwest metro area, particularly in Boulder and Broomfield counties. I am excited that we have now progressed to a point of adding more members. The Latino Chamber is also a relatively new addition in the past few months. Working collaboratively with our partners, the Longmont Chamber now has a larger voice when it comes to policy issues. For you as a member, that also means that your policy concerns are joined by thousands of others making your voice more powerful.
Scott Cook
CEO, Longmont Area Chamber of Commerce