Colorado government gets C-plus for its management of fiscal crisis

DENVER - Colorado has gone further than any state in limiting government growth to the point of putting basic needs at risk, according to a survey released Monday by Governing magazine that gives the state a C-plus in managing its fiscal affairs.

The survey singled out heavy borrowing from one-time funds and the tax- and spending-limitation amendment known as the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, or TABOR.

"This problem has generated a decline in capital infrastructure, an increase in long-term debt obligations, a demoralized workforce and a budget that can be balanced each year only through a plethora of one-time measures," the analysts said.

The group also said policies set by the Gov. Bill Owens administration are limited mainly to issues without performance goals.

Mark Salley, Owens' deputy spokesman, said the magazine gave the state the same grade in 1999 when the state's economy was booming.

"The magazine does not like states that restrain spending and allow taxpayers to vote on raising taxes," Salley said.

Douglas Bruce, author of TABOR, said the measure has not forced cuts in spending. He said it has slowed increases.

"There has been no decline in revenue. A liberal's idea of a cut in government revenue is a lower rate of increase," Bruce said.

The magazine blamed lawmakers for failing to come up with reforms to deal with the budget crisis, including a plan to ask voters to loosen the financial restraints of TABOR and Amendment 23, which requires the state to increase funding for public education and at the same time cut other programs.

The survey said the measures make it difficult for budget planners to estimate revenues, and criticized lawmakers for not setting up a "rainy day" fund to cope with economic downturns.

The survey's analysts said state governments have shown mixed success in weathering the worst financial storm since World War II in which plunging revenues have coincided with surging costs.