Channel 1 Networks
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Boulder gets heavy hitter law firm for first swing at Xcel
Jan 23rd
Law firm chosen to aid city in potential condemnation proceedings with Xcel Energy
The City of Boulder has selected the law firm of Duncan, Ostrander & Dingess, PC to help the city as it begins potential condemnation proceedings for the electric utility system within city limits that is currently owned by Xcel Energy. The firm will advise the city in all matters related to the acquisition of electrical distribution facilities and will work to determine the fair value of those facilities.
The city has retained this counsel to provide expert assistance as it moves towards potential municipalization of the electrical distribution system in Boulder, which stems from the passage of ballot items 2B and 2C in November. The city has said it intends to hire outside legal counsel, as well as engineering consultants, to perform some of the work necessary to determine the final costs associated with acquiring Xcel’s system and starting a city-owned electrical utility. City Council will not make a decision about whether to issue bonds to pursue municipalization until those costs are known.
If the city decides to proceed with asset acquisition, and a price cannot be negotiated with Xcel Energy, Duncan, Ostrander & Dingess, PC will file all legal actions that may be necessary to work through the condemnation process. The firm will work closely with city staff and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) counsel, engineers and appraisers as the city creates a separation plan and conducts negotiations.
Duncan, Ostrander & Dingess, PC was chosen from a field of 10 original submissions that was narrowed down to three finalists after a review of all credentials. In evaluating submitted proposals, the city looked at whether the firm had prior experience representing governments in condemnation proceedings, and the nature and extent of its practice in Colorado.
Duncan, Ostrander & Dingess, PC has more than 30 years (as individuals and then as a firm) of service helping governments, urban renewal authorities and utility companies to acquire property for public projects in a timely manner and at fair prices, and has previously represented the City of Boulder in condemnation proceedings. In 2011, U.S. News & World Report designated the law firm as “Best Lawyers Tier One – Eminent Domain and Condemnation, and Litigation – Eminent Domain and Condemnation.”
The firm and its individual members have served as lead counsel for a number of high-profile public projects that required acquisition of multiple parcels in numerous jurisdictions under time restraints imposed by bond financing or other public financing. These include E-470, T-REX, Prairie Waters, FasTracks, the White Cliffs Pipeline and the Rocky Mountain Express Pipeline.
For more information on Duncan, Ostrander & Dingess, PC, visit www.dodpc.com. Visit www.BoulderEnergyFuture.com for more information on the city’s work related to potential municipalization.
TV weathermen don’t want to know which way the wind blows
Jan 23rd
American Meteorological Society Delays Vote on Climate Change Statement
Members of drafting committee have reportedly threatened to resign;
Forecast the Facts campaign calls on the AMS Council to offer a full explanation
New Orleans, LA – On Sunday, January 22, the Council of the American Meteorological Society voted to delay passage of its new statement on climate change, deviating from its plans to release a new statement by Feb. 1, 2012. Daniel Souweine, director of the Forecast the Facts campaign—a new initiative to hold T.V. meteorologists accountable on climate change reporting—said this in response: “The AMS Council is calling this a ‘routine’ delay. But the statement is taking considerably longer than expected, and members of their drafting committee have threatened to resign. Something isn’t adding up.”
Forecast The Facts staff attended the Council meeting, where AMS Council member Peter Lamb explained that the Council had sent the statementback to the drafting committee because of unspecified “concerns.” Councilor Lamb indicated that the drafting committee was frustrated by the process, and that multiple committee members had threatened to resign. On Friday, January 20, the AMS posted an update on their blog about the statement’s release. The AMS is the leading national organization for meteorologists, with over 14,000 members. Its information statements are “intended to provide a trustworthy, objective and scientifically up-to-date explanation of scientific issues of concern to the public at large.“ According to a national survey, T.V. meteorologists trust information from the AMS more than almost any other source, including climate researchers, making their statement on climate change a closely watched document in the meteorological community.
The current statement, passed in 2007, was originally set to expire onFebruary 1, 2012. The new statement, being drafted by a panel of experts, requires approval by the 21-member AMS Council. The Council’s decision to delay the vote means that the process for drafting will take longer than the AMS’ internal guidelines, which state that: “The period of time from appointment of the drafting committee to approval by the Council must not exceed eight months.”
The issue of climate change denial among television weather reporters has gained increasing attention of late, especially with the release of a national study by George Mason University in March 2010. The study found that 63% of T.V. meteorologists think climate change is due to natural causes, and a full 27% think global warming is a scam.
Recent increases in extreme weather have added further impetus for meteorologists to report on climate change. In 2011, the United States experienced a record twelve “billion-dollar” extreme weather events, including flooding from Hurricane Irene, unprecedented tornadoes in the Midwest, and crippling droughts and wildfires in the Southwest. Most scientists believe that climate change exacerbates extreme weather, a conclusion affirmed by the International Panel on Climate Change’s November 2011 report on the subject.
Boulder Co. homeowners– the Big Bite is in the mail
Jan 21st
Property tax notices to be mailed
Boulder County, Colo. – Tax notices will be mailed to 122,045 taxpayers this upcoming week, according to Bob Hullinghorst, Boulder County Treasurer. The taxes collected this year will exceed $485 million, up from $462 million in 2011 or 4.7 percent, to help pay for schools, roads, public safety and other expenses for 135 taxing authorities.
Homeowners are 79 percent of the taxpayers in the county, but under the “Gallagher Amendment,” they pay only 51 percent of the tax bill, with businesses required to pay the remainder. Personal property taxes are also collected from 5,737 businesses, utilities and energy companies on the equipment they own or lease.
Taxpayers without mortgage escrow accounts may choose to make two payments, starting Feb. 29, or a single payment on April 30. Under Colorado law, taxpayers who are late must be charged 1 percent per month as interest to cover extra processing, not as a penalty. Taxes postmarked before the deadlines will not be charged interest.
Payments may also be made in person at the Boulder County Courthouse from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Treasurer has two collection locations for taxpayers who bring their coupons and pay by check (no cash) at the Longmont Senior Center, 910 Longs Peak Ave. or the Louisville Recreation Center, 910 Via Appia from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Feb. 24 and 27-29, April 25-27 and 30, and June 12-15. The Treasurer’s regular branch offices will also be open in Longmont every Monday and in Lafayette every Tuesday.
Electronic checks and credit card payments may only be made on the web at www.bouldercounty.org/treasurer or by calling 800-272-9829. E-checks are still being accepted at no charge, but the company processing credit card payments is charging 2.5 percent, or $50 for a $2,000 tax bill.
Any taxpayer who does not get a notice by Feb. 1 should call the Treasurer’s Office at 303-441-3520, as Colorado law states failure to receive a notice is no excuse for not paying taxes when they are due. “We do our best to get each notice delivered to the right address, but with moves, sales and refinances all impacting addresses, we get about 1.5 percent of our notices returned as undeliverable,” Hullinghorst said.
Hullinghorst commented that getting the notices out this year was a minor miracle, as the Boulder County Assessor delivered tax data to the Treasurer from new software that had never produced a tested tax roll. Hullinghorst complimented the staff of the Assessor’s Office, especially Deputy Assessor Cindy Braddock, and their software contractor, Bill Witham, an ex-marine with Manatron. Hullinghorst also recognized key Treasurer’s staff, especially Lola Nelson and Alycia Allshouse.
“Taxpayers may be like students wishing for a snow day,” said Hullinghorst. “But if I had to delay our notices by two weeks, it would have cost thousands more and delayed major distributions of needed revenue to many governments. Our printer and mail contractor, Output Services Inc. of Boulder, bent over backwards to help us meet our deadline.”
