This commentary is by Judy Amabile, the state senator representing District 18: Boulder, Louisville, Superior, Niwot and Gunbarrel.
Boulder County is considering a behavioral health tax for November’s ballot. I’m disappointed that I can’t support the proposal in its current form.
I’ve spent 15 years of my life in the trenches of serious mental illness and addiction. It’s not a club anyone wants to join, but when you are fighting for a loved one, you acquire a deep understanding of the barriers they face in getting the health care they need.
I’ve worked for the last five years in the state legislature to try and improve our system of behavioral health, especially for people with the most serious and difficult-to-treat conditions: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder with psychosis, opioid and methamphetamine addictions.
Our current health care infrastructure does not provide adequate care for people with these conditions, and our communities are dealing with the fallout: homelessness, repetitive emergency room care, jail and suicides.
This churn is devastating in terms of massive direct and indirect costs and compromised public safety. We need an adequate continuum of care for individuals with serious mental illnesses to disrupt and address this cycle.
My constituents in Boulder are pleading with their elected officials to address the inadequacies in our system. I hear regularly from families whose loved ones can’t get the care they need and are literally dying in our streets. I also hear from Boulder business owners and community members who are deeply upset and sometimes frightened by people experiencing psychosis or using drugs in our public spaces.
They want to know: What are we doing about it? What tools, resources and partnerships are needed to combat this growing crisis?
I believe our community is willing to tax itself to create an adequate continuum of care, but I don’t think the current Boulder County proposal is going in that direction. Asking voters to pass a new tax is both a significant opportunity and a risk. We need a clearer, more thoughtful plan for how this tax will actually meet the needs of our community’s most vulnerable.
Here’s what I believe this proposal must include to earn the broad public trust — and to ensure the dollars raised truly change lives:
Residential and long-term care with step-down housing must be part of the picture.
We cannot keep cycling people with serious mental illness and addiction through ERs, jails and shelters. We need residential treatment options. We need transitional and supportive housing. Without those, we’re not building a system — we’re patching a crisis.
Transparency about what’s working — and what’s not.
Before asking voters to invest more, we need to be transparent about how current funds are being used and what outcomes they’re delivering. This isn’t about blame. It’s about clarity. If we can show people where the system is falling short, we can also show them exactly how new resources will make a difference.
A commitment to do more than maintain the status quo.
People need to see that this tax won’t simply fill budget gaps. It should expand access, build new capacity and improve care. Let’s be explicit: How much will go to new services? How much will replace existing funding? Where will we see change?
The proposed behavioral health tax could raise $15 million annually. We need a plan for those proceeds that prioritizes the most serious illnesses so we can address our most difficult problems. We need a tax and a plan to make transformational change.
If we get it right, I believe Boulder County voters will say yes — not just to a tax, but to a plan that improves our future by addressing those with the most serious needs. Let’s regroup, build a broader coalition and bring a more complete proposal forward in 2026.
You can share your thoughts on the tax proposal with the Boulder County commissioners by submitting written comments or signing up to provide public comment at their Aug. 12 public hearing on county ballot measures.
This commentary is clarifying and appreciated. The only thing I would add is that I believe the mental health/addiction/homelessness crisis is not just a local issue but something that needs to be addressed regionally, and with state and federal funding. “Residential and long-term care with step-down housing” is not something that each city can or should provide individually. While Boulder’s homeless shelter and BHP are to be applauded for their services, they do not provide the kind of complex care and continuity of support that the most troubled people in our homeless community need.
Hello, I think you are spot on here. While support this in theory and in heart, my current property tax on a 1/3 lot is $8,800.00 per year and my homeowner’s insurance is $11,800.00 per year because I’m in the 80302 zip code. When I retired in 2018, I had sufficient income but not these extraordinary expenses; I’m now looking for part-time work because I have no savings for an emergency. As I say, I would like to support these mental health programs, but, right now, I’m taxed and expensed out.