2022 Proposed Climate Tax

Staff will be able to provide a more detailed breakdown of the potential funding once city Council determines the replacement Climate Tax will be placed on the November ballot for voter consideration.  

As a benchmark, within the current $3.8 million of the combined CAP and UOT, on average a third or less goes to staff salaries, $1.0 million supports voluntary community programs (advising services, rebates, grants, education), $0.1 million supports regulatory programs and reporting consultants  (e.g., help desk support, annual GHG reporting), $0.2 million supports community and equity organizations, and the balance goes to special projects and pilots (e.g., Boulder Energy Challenge, Vehicle to Grid Pilot, strategy development).  

We anticipate that the additional funding under the new tax would be used to support expanded voluntary programs, particularly in the areas of natural climate solutions and resilience, and to leverage grants and private capital to accelerate these programs. 

The city shares updates, educational material and community stories through biweekly climate newsletters, online newsroom articles and social media.  

This summer, the city is hosting three virtual information sessions – each with the goal of deepening the community’s familiarity with city climate work and inspiring collective action. Community members will learn about city programs, projects, initiatives and partnerships, and will have the opportunity to ask questions during a Q&A portion of each session.  

Staff will also collect feedback on the proposed Climate Tax ballot measure through focus groups with businesses and target communities. These sessions will be an opportunity to listen to and acknowledge concerns and aspirations voiced by community members most impacted by the climate crisis.  

The public can ask questions and contribute ideas related to Boulder’s climate work at any time on Be Heard Boulder, the city’s online engagement platform. Visit Be Heard Boulder to learn more and participate.  

Furthermore, the city has invited community members to record and share their vision for a climate resilient Boulder. Recordings will be accepted throughout the year and may be woven into an audio collage of community voices. Learn more about the project. 

The city has both conducted its own quantitative analysis and reviewed the analysis of other third parties.  Staff would offer some of the following as comprehensive references: 

Attachment B (PDF page 52), Staff Council Memo:  https://boulder.novusagenda.com/agendapublic/CoverSheet.aspx?ItemID=1610&MeetingID=508 

Independent Study by the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project:  https://swenergy.org/pubs/southwest-heat-pump-study-2022 

The Climate Initiatives Department invests in strategies that support the city’s climate-related goals and targets including:  

Since the original CAP Tax was passed by voters in 2006, the city has reported annually on the community's progress towards its climate-related goals and targets. Since 2016, the City of Boulder has contracted with Lotus Engineering and Sustainability LLC (Lotus) to complete an annual greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory as a means of measuring the effectiveness of the city’s efforts and the progress towards its climate goals. The inventory is prepared following the Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Emission Inventories (GPC). The GPC protocol provides a robust framework for accounting and reporting city-wide GHG emissions. The details and around our community’s accounting and the metrics for tracking progress are at: https://bouldercolorado.gov/projects/community-greenhouse-gas-inventory. 

Since Boulder started completing an annual GHG inventory, the city has experienced year over-year reductions in emissions. As of 2020, the Boulder community reduced emissions by 36% compared to the original 2005 baseline and 22% since the new 2018 baseline. Despite growth in Boulder’s population, gross domestic product (GDP), and square footage since 2005 (by 10%, 87%, and 12% respectively), Boulder continues to reduce its emissions year over year. 

At a high-level, community GHG emissions from electricity generation, natural gas combustion and vehicle emissions are measured in mt CO2e, and emissions by source sector is published on the Boulder Measures Website: https://bouldercolorado.gov/boulder-measures/community-greenhouse-gas-emissions 

In addition to community-based emissions measured in CO2e, the city also publishes metrics associated with related targets on the Boulder Measures website including:  

Staff has outlined many of the targeted strategies and projects to be funded should voters approve replacing the CAP and UOT taxes with a new Climate Tax. in their June 8, 2021, and February 22, 2022, memos to City Council.   

Attachment D of the June 8 memo, illustrates the targets and key performance indicators (KPI’s) by which project investments would be measured in addition to their contribution to community-based emissions:  https://boulder.novusagenda.com/agendapublic/AttachmentViewer.ashx?AttachmentID=4165&ItemID=3794 

Attachments C and D of the February 22 memo illustrates the types of “Big Move” projects and scales of costs associated with those efforts that are envisioned:  https://boulder.novusagenda.com/agendapublic/AttachmentViewer.ashx?AttachmentID=4786&ItemID=4279