Colorado
Basic income programs remain popular in Colorado despite steep challenges
Budget gaps in cities across Colorado have made it more difficult to experiment with basic income programs despite their benefits, and experts argue that lack of municipal support could stifle the growth of programs intended to give unconditional payments to people to help pay for basic needs.
Last week, the Colorado legislature approved a spending package of more than $46.8 billion, and it includes deep cuts to Medicaid and other state services to cover a $1.5 billion budget shortfall. Cities like Denver, Boulder and Colorado Springs have also had to pare back services and programs to cover budget shortfalls.
Even so, Colorado’s economic conditions appear ripe for experimenting with basic income programs as the cost of living continues to soar. The Colorado Polling Institute’s April statewide poll shows that many voters agree with that assessment — more than 90% identified the cost of housing, healthcare, food and insurance as problems, with more than 44% calling each category a “very big problem.”
“In a world of finite budgets, we need to figure out what works and move away from what doesn’t,” said Kaitlyn Sims, an assistant professor of public policy at the Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs at the University of Denver. She and other experts convened for the Basic Income Programs in Denver and Beyond panel during Colorado SunFest 2026 on Friday.
What is basic income?
“Basic income” is most commonly known as a periodic, unconditional cash payment to all members of a community.
That is different from “guaranteed income,” which refers to an unconditional cash payment to members of a specific group, such as students, new mothers or people who are homeless, even though the two programs are commonly confused for one another.
Basic income is not a new idea, but it has gained steam since the COVID-19 pandemic. In the 1970s, former President Richard Nixon floated the idea of instituting a national basic income program to replace federal spending on social services.
Today, there are more than 80 basic income pilot programs either active or planned, according to the Income Movement, a nationwide coalition of lawmakers advocating for basic income pilots. More than 75,000 participants across 35 cities have received cash through these programs.
The idea behind the programs is that if people have help with basic income, it can bring stability in the workforce because people can afford to get to work and have childcare, housing stability, food security and better overall health with less stress about finances.
There are basic income-esque programs already in place across the country. In Colorado, the Family Affordability Tax Credit pays qualifying households $3,200 per child under age 6 and $2,400 per child between ages 6 and 16.
Another example is the Alaska Permanent Fund, a public program that pays state residents an annual dividend from oil sales.
Michigan’s Rx Kids program also fits the basic income mold. The program offers households an unconditional payment of $1,500 during pregnancy and $500 a month during the first year of a child’s life.
How does basic income work?
Denver was home to one of the nation’s largest basic income experiments. Between 2022 and 2025, the Denver Basic Income Project distributed more than $10.8 million to over 800 people experiencing homelessness who were categorized into three groups.
Group 1 received $1,000 per month for 12 months; Group 2 received $6,500 up front and $500 per month for a year; and Group 3, also known as the “active comparison” group, received $50 a month. Every participant also received a cellphone and a bank card.
The funding was pooled from a variety of sources, including capital gains realized by program founder Mark Donovan’s investments and a $4 million investment from the city of Denver, funded by the federal American Rescue Plan Act.
The results of the program were “mixed,” according to Daniel Brisson, another Colorado SunFest panelist and the director of DU’s Center for Housing and Homelessness Research, but not in a “good or bad” kind of way.
“There is so much happening in so many different directions,” Brisson said.
All three groups improved housing outcomes, reduced the number of days they spent in hospitals and jails, and improved self-sufficiency, according to the program’s randomized control trial data.
Perhaps most significantly, Brisson noted several subjective findings that point to the power of basic income. For instance, participants reported in surveys that they felt trusted, a rarity in traditional social services, which are often paternalistic.
Some participants also reported spending their money to help friends and family in need, which speaks to how basic income can repair or strengthen relationships and foster a sense of belonging.
“Many people took it as a sign that this meant something, and they were supposed to make something of it,” Brisson said.
Despite the impact, the Denver Basic Income Project stopped issuing cash payments in September 2025 after Denver’s government decided not to reinvest in the program due to budget constraints.
Other challenges
Basic income pilots also face headwinds outside of funding.
The Foundation for Government Accountability, which advocates adding work requirements to social services, has urged local governments to ban basic income programs, arguing that they “discourage work and are a drag on the economy.”
Some state officials have also successfully used the courts to shut down basic income programs. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton convinced a local court in 2025 that Harris County’s basic income pilot violated the Texas Constitution’s prohibition on giving public money to individuals. The lawsuit forced the Harris County program to reallocate its funding.
Some studies have also suggested that implementing basic income programs could increase poverty, since some proponents view them as a replacement for social services, thereby reducing the government workforce. Other studies suggest basic income could increase inflation by giving people more money to spend, similar to the pandemic stimulus checks.
Sims noted that the potential disruptions to the government workforce are “concerning” and could lead to a significant increase in unemployment. She added that concerns about inflation are likely overblown unless a basic income pilot is paying participants a living wage.
Right place, right time
Despite the challenges, basic income could help Coloradans navigate some budding economic issues, according to Scott Wasserman, a panelist and founder of the political consulting group Thinking Forward.
Wasserman pointed to the latest Colorado Polling Institute data showing that 68% of Coloradans are concerned about artificial intelligence replacing their job. That’s compared with 63% of voters nationally who share the same concerns. Those pressures are being felt by high-income earners, like lawyers and doctors, and low-income earners in jobs like manufacturing.
Meanwhile, Wasserman said many Coloradans support basic income programs that provide a “big dose” of help, especially for those living in poverty. He cited a privately funded poll that found 56% of voters support paying new parents, people experiencing homelessness and low-income households $500 per month.
“There is political will,” Wasserman said. “I was a little shocked.”
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – A Southern Colorado landscape photographer started a wildflower database for El Paso County.
Jason Fazio recently launched the El Paso County Wildflower Project.
It’s a community-built field guide designed to encourage people to get outside, explore local open spaces and trails and help document the wildflowers found throughout our county.
“A lot of what people post is stuff that I haven’t seen yet,” Flavio continued. “So it’s been really great to see people submit things.”
The project combines photography, local exploration and community participation.
Visitors can browse featured wildflowers and submit their own photographs for possible inclusion with photographer credit.
Fazio hopes the website becomes a growing resource that celebrates both Colorado’s natural beauty and the people who enjoy it.
Watch the full interview with Fazio at the top of this page!
Copyright 2026 KKTV. All rights reserved.
Colorado
Colorado neighbors lament likely closure of Roxborough library; $22 million regional library breaks ground nearby
For 22 years, the Roxborough library in Roxborough Village has served the entire Roxborough Park community. But that chapter might be coming to a close, as Douglas County Libraries prepares to break ground on a near-$22 million library in a growing master-planned Colorado community nearby.
A new regional library will be built near the intersection of West Titan Road and Taylor River Circle across from the incoming Douglas County School District elementary school in Sterling Ranch. It will also serve communities such as Louviers, Chatfield, Solstice and the greater Roxborough Park community.
“It’s an opportunity for this whole development to centralize a little bit,” said Alex Taylor, president for Sterling Ranch Community Board District No. 2
Taylor was among the first 100 residents to live in Sterling Ranch, and he can’t wait to take his two sons to the library when it opens near their home.
“Having an additional space for the kids to go and find the new set of books,” Taylor said. “Creating a centralized space for everybody in all of the various communities in this region to be able to congregate.”
The 18,000-square-foot library will break ground in Sterling Ranch this summer. But this developing situation does not satisfy everyone in the community.
“Don’t take ours to give them theirs,” community member Denise Martinez said.
Seven minutes away at the Roxborough library, some neighbors don’t want to say goodbye to their longstanding community hub. But the library board has set the lease to terminate next year.
“It would be devastating to this community on so many different levels,” Martinez said.
Martinez says the smaller Roxborough library is one of the only shared amenities in the community and is walkable for many.
“I truly believe that this is the hub of the community,” Martinez said. “This is the gathering spot.”
“Our community has been here for over 40 years, and people have paid into the library system for that amount of time,” said Ephram Glass, president of Roxborough Village Metropolitan District. They’ve been paying their property taxes. The library has been accumulating all this funding, so that they could build a new facility for Roxborough, and now for that money to then go to a brand new community that hasn’t been paying in for decades, I think a lot of people will be very pissed off.”
Glass and Martinez both enjoy taking their children to the library. They say it’s a close walk or bike ride from Roxborough Primary and Intermediate School and worry about children losing accessibility to the library.
“It would take an hour and 16 minutes walking to the new facility from this one, or a 25-minute bike ride. There’s really no shoulder,” Martinez said. “This doesn’t give our kids access at all. I mean, they will ultimately not be able to go to the library unless they have a ride.”
“I imagine some kids will take the e-bikes over. Many will just not go,” Glass said.
Glass is a member of the Roxborough Village HOA, which he says offered to donate a parcel of land near the existing Roxborough library with no strings attached.
“The board chose the Sterling Ranch site as the best site,” said Bob Pasicznyuk, executive director at Douglas County Libraries.
Pasicznyuk says there have long been plans to open a larger library in the area. He says DCL chose the other site, which was donated by the Sterling Ranch developer, partially because it was centrally located in northwest Douglas County.
“Ultimately around 35,000 people will live just in Sterling Ranch alone. The audience base would then go up to say (50,000) or 60,000. Right now it’s about half that many,” Pasicznyuk said.
Pasicznyuk says the all-in cost of the library in Sterling Ranch will be $21.6 million. That includes $250,000 for an outdoor porch, $200,000 for an outdoor children’s play area and $450,000 for other outdoor improvements, including a seating area, trellis and event and trail space.
Martinez is upset those outdoor amenities will come at the cost of the library and not the Sterling Ranch developer.
“I just think that it’s ridiculous to build a park and a veranda and even insist upon those things,” Martinez said. “I just do not understand what that really has to do with literacy or books or the library. I was kind of shocked by that actually.”
Despite terminating the lease, Pasicznyuk says the library board has not voted to close the Roxborough library just yet, but admits they have always consolidated smaller libraries when larger ones open.
“We’ve been 22 years in the second-floor strip mall rental, and while we’ve been glad for the opportunity, it’s going to be an amazing opportunity to move into a freestanding library with all the amenities that we have,” Pasicznyuk said.
“It isn’t good for this community. If you’re here to serve the community, why would you shut this down?” Martinez said.
Martinez started a Change.org petition to “Save Our Roxborough Library.” She now has more than 1,400 signatures.
“We need this. This is vital for our community,” Martinez said. “We just feel like we’re being absorbed.”
“It’s a prized amenity, so it makes sense that they want to keep it,” Pasicznyuk said. “I’ve never seen a reaction other than people love their library. So, even though you’re opening a new library, and I can describe 10 things about it that might be improvements over what we have today, people are going to, because they love their library, wish to keep what they have.”
Meanwhile, Taylor is excited for the library to open in Sterling Ranch next year.
“I’m absolutely empathetic to the fact that somebody might be disappointed that a library would move a few miles away from them versus where it’s historically been,” Taylor said. “The library will be something that everyone can enjoy. It’s going to be a library in Sterling Ranch, but not just for Sterling Ranch.”
Taylor says he’s been working with Sterling Ranch’s developers and the library on a partnership with the nearby Lamb Spring Archaeological Preserve. They are hoping to bring some artifacts or replicas into the library and use a mammoth hunter-gatherer theme for the children’s areas.
“It is a major archeological site in this region that there is evidence of mammoth activity and human activity going back possibly as far as 9,000 years ago,” Taylor said.
Roxborough-area residents say they plan to attend the next library board meeting on June 24 to make their voices heard.
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