Glenwood Springs voters are deciding in the Nov. 5 election whether to not only extend, but also increase a dedicated sales tax from a ½ cent to 1 cent on every dollar spent in the city for future street improvements.
New to the tax funding mix with the measure would be a dedicated portion of the tax (25%) to pay for the simultaneous repair and/or replacement of the subsurface water, wastewater and electric utility infrastructure whenever a street gets torn up for reconstruction.
Ballot Measure 2A that’s before City of Glenwood Springs voters seeks to extend the streets tax for another 20 years, until 2044. The proposed increase would generate an estimated $5 million in 2025, according to the ballot proposal.
Unlike Carbondale and other neighboring municipalities, Glenwood Springs does not dedicate a portion of its general fund tax revenues for streets, aside from the wages paid to streets department workers.
Instead, the money for street repairs, maintenance and reconstruction comes from the dedicated streets tax that was last extended by voters and increased from ¼ to ½ cent in 2005.
The tax measure is being supported by Community on the Move, a political action committee of the Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association.
It is opposed by a vocal group of residents who say that the City has enough money in its existing budget, including from other previously approved taxes, to pay for new streets and utilities.
“The need for improved, maintained and rebuilt streets in Glenwood Springs is undeniable,” Mike McCallum, chairman of Community on the Move, wrote in a pro 2A column that appeared in the Sept. 23 Glenwood Springs Post Independent.
“Addressing the underlying infrastructure at the same time just makes sense to reduce redundant costs and construction impacts for residents,” McCallum wrote.
Otherwise, that money would have to come from an increase in utility rates, with no guarantee that it could be done at the same time as the street work, he said.
A sales tax also allows the burden to be shared by visitors to Glenwood Springs and residents of neighboring communities who shop in Glenwood, and who use the city’s streets and utilities, McCallum said.
If approved, the sales tax collected by the city of Glenwood Springs would increase from 3.7% to 4.2%, for a total sales tax rate of 9.1% including state and other local taxes.
“The obvious benefit of this measure is distributing the increasing costs of maintaining and improving our roads and infrastructure more fairly — especially by sharing some of the burden with those who use our roads but do not pay water or electric bills,” McCallum wrote.
A subsequent “no on 2A” column in the Post Independent, penned by Glenwood Springs residents Zac Parsons and Gary Vick on Sept. 27, claims the city could come up with $3.7 million per year for streets and utilities using existing revenue streams.
The city has benefitted from increased sales tax revenues in recent years under the existing tax, they wrote.
The city could also redirect funds from the city’s separate Acquisitions and Improvements (A&I) fund that’s being used for various beautification projects and that’s being banked for the future South Bridge connection to Highway 82 south of city limits, Parsons and Vick claim.
“For years, council after council prioritized projects like a festival area, north landing (6th Street), city-wide beautification, land purchases, park and alley improvements and other non-critical expenditures,” they wrote. “We have a beautiful town with first class amenities, but it has come at the price of neglected roads.”
A similar measure to extend and increase the sales tax collected for streets was rejected by voters in 2019.
“Since then, the City has completed or begun over 25 street projects without a tax increase,” Parsons and Vick wrote. “We can continue on this path.”
City officials and 2A proponents, however, have noted that the A&I tax was extended by voters in 2015, and bonding authority approved in a separate ballot question that year to pay for specific projects.
That includes the work currently underway along 6th Street and the so-called “North Landing” parcel, where the old Grand Avenue Bridge used to connect to 6th Street/Highway 6&24, and which will become a new public park and events venue.
Funding from the A&I tax has also gone to Midland Avenue and 27th Street improvements, and future funding for the South Bridge project.
Ballots for the Nov. 5 election were mailed out to all registered voters earlier this month, and must be completed and returned by 7pm on Election Day.