The Montezuma-Dolores County Metropolitan Recreation District, which provides over-the-air television and FM radio service to southwestern Colorado, is asking voters to give it some help in handling growth.

The special district, doing business as the Southwest Colorado Television Translator Association, is requesting that voters lift the revenue limitations placed upon taxation districts by the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR Amendment) in 1992. That amendment to the state constitution restricts the amount of revenue that taxation entities can keep and spend. As assessed valuations have increased, the television district’s mill levy has steadily decreased.

In a ballot question before the voters next Tuesday, the district requests that its mill levy be kept steady at the 1999 level of .777 mills (77.7 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation) and that it be allowed to spend all revenue collected from that mill levy.

Wayne Johnson, manager of the television district, said voter approval would allow services to keep pace with growth.

"If we can keep that level then that will take care of increases in equipment and programming costs," Johnson said. "We have higher costs when people move in.

"The board is not asking for an increase," Johnson said. "They’re just asking that this remain level to take care of things down the road."

For example, new equipment may be required to provide programming for High Density Television, and the mountaintop translators that send television programming to non-cable subscribers via antennas requires periodic maintenance and upgrading. Programming costs are going up as well.

"Last year we had an increase of 5 percent in programming for the Denver stations," Johnson said.

The district includes most private property in Montezuma County, the west end of Dolores County, and a portion of western La Plata County from Mancos Hill to Hesperus and south to the state line. Last year its budget was approximately $190,000.