Aurora asks panel to review 'penny per pop' tax

Javier Erik Olvera, Rocky Mountain News

Published July 11, 2006 at midnight

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AURORA - A group of business leaders will review a proposed "penny per pop" tax and tell leaders if they think it should go flat.

The City Council on Monday sent the proposal - which would place a one-cent tax on all soda bottles and cans sold in Aurora - to the city's business advisory board.

The board will make a recommendation to council members, who will determine whether to put the issue before the city's 140,000 registered voters in November.

Councilman Bob Fitzgerald's proposal - intended to raise money for the city while drawing attention to the problem of obesity - could generate up to $1.8 million a year.

Fitzgerald said he would drop the issue if the board finds flaws in the proposal. But if it doesn't, he will ask council members at their July 24 meeting to consider putting the issue on the ballot.

Council members also decided Monday to postpone a decision on whether to ask voters if police and firefighter hiring practices should be transferred from the city's Civil Service Commission to the human resources department.

The delay will provide time to gather input from police and fire unions, who have argued that the change is not needed and could bring back a "good ol' boy" system of favoritism.

Voters created the five-member Civil Service Commission four decades ago to stop that.

Deputy City Manager Frank Ragan said current policies are outdated and put recruiters at a disadvantage when they go outside the area to search for candidates because they aren't allowed to offer off-site tests, among other things.

Police Chief Daniel Oates wants the department's hiring to be overseen by the city's human resources department, which he said would allow it the flexibility to offer tests and aggressively pursue candidates.

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