Lafayette Ballot Issues

2A 

This ballot question asks voters to renew a non-exclusive franchise agreement with Xcel Energy for another 20 years. One of the major provisions is that through the agreement the City of Lafayette will receive 3 percent of the company’s gross revenues from sales of gas and electric utilities from paying residents to be redistributed towards whatever improvements in the city. That is an annual $720,000 paid by Xcel that goes into the city’s general fund.

 301 

Keep in mind this only goes into effect if Lafayette doesn’t vote in favor of 2A. Brought together by the initiative Lafayette’s Energy Future, the ballot issue imposes a tax on “public utility companies at the rate of $720,000 per company as an alternative” to the current franchise agreement with Xcel. That money will be solely allocated towards energy efficiency, projects related to renewable energy, although, Lafayette already makes attempts at addressing climate change. While the intentions are good, and should be continually pursued, it limits how the city spends its funds.

 300 

An issue brought by East Boulder County United, this issue prohibits corporations from extracting gas and oil within the city limits. While there hasn’t been any proof in Colorado that hydraulic fracturing has contaminated ground water, it’s widely agreed that few want fracking in his or her backyard. That’s why a 3-year moratorium has been put in place should gas and oil companies come to Lafayette with a permit to extract. The problem with the way this issue is drawn is that it strips companies of their constitutional rights. Companies violating the gas prohibition “shall not have the rights of ‘persons’ afforded by the U.S. … [or] protections of the commerce or contract clauses within the US Constitution.” As we’ve seen with the lawsuits in Longmont, which have landed the city hundreds of thousands in lawyer fees, the issue is better fought on a statewide level.

YS votes Yes for: 2A