When Glenwood Springs voters get their ballots for the November election, they’ll see a question asking them to approve a one cent sales tax for every dollar spent in town. The money will go to the city’s infrastructure fund, to cover road repair, replacement, and maintenance for the next 20 years. It will also fund the underground utility work that has to happen when roads get updated.
The current sales tax for the infrastructure fund is a half cent for every dollar spent, and is set to expire in 2026.
Mike McCallum is in the city’s “Community on the Move” group, which has advised the city on tax ballot questions over the past 40 years.
He presented to city council on Thursday, August 15 with the group’s recommendation for the ballot questions, as well as initial polling responses. McCallum said their communications to voters will focus on the urgent need for repairs.
“This is how we pay for our streets, there is no other funding in your budget to do that,” he said. “If we lose this… what, we all pitch together and throw rocks in the rocks in the potholes? I mean seriously, what do you do?”
He said part of what made the tax popular to voters in initial polling was that a big chunk of the money comes from tourists and visitors in Glenwood Springs.
“Our tourists use our streets and our water and sewer system and on and on, so it’s great that they help pitch in and pay for part of the wear and tear,” he said.
Mayor Ingrid Wussow agreed with McCallum’s assessment.
“They drive our roads, they stay in our hotels, they flush toilets and take showers, and they eat at our restaurants that, in turn, wash their dishes, and they do make an impact on the services here in this community,” she said.
There were some disagreements about whether the tax should have a 20-year sunset in 2044. Councilor Jonathan Godes said he didn’t see the benefit of sunsetting a road tax, when they’re never going to check all the road improvement items off their list.
“Streets are going to be ongoing,” he said. “A lot of these streets have been here for 120 years, hopefully they’re going to be here for another 120 years, and they’re only going to get more expensive to maintain. I think it’s actually disingenuous and non-transparent to tell the public that we have a 20-year checklist of things we’re going to do, and after 20 years, it’s kind of done.”
Councilors ultimately voted 6-1 to approve the language with the expiration date, with Godes as the dissenting vote.
