ߣÏÈÉú

The Colorado Legislature this year passed a law that allows counties to ask voters to increase the amount of lodging tax they’re allowed to collect. The law also expands the uses of those taxes.

The Eagle County Board of Commissioners spent some time this week pondering its options regarding the new law.

Voters have to approve any expansion of the current tax, and before that happens, county officials have to put forward a ballot question. That could happen as soon as this year.

Eagle County currently imposes a 2% lodging tax. That tax is imposed in unincorporated areas of the county and the town of Gypsum, the only town that currently doesn’t impose a lodging tax. A large portion of Eagle County’s lodging tax is generated by properties in Beaver Creek.

Collections from the tax passed in 2022 this year amount to roughly $3.5 million. Of that, the law requires 10% to be spent on advertising and local tourism marketing. The remainder is to be used for housing and child care for the tourism-related workforce.

Support Local Journalism

Donate

Those funds have been used, in part, to help fund a new child care facility that recently broke ground in Avon. Funds have also been used to provide stipends for child care providers.

The new law expands the uses of county lodging taxes to allow spending on public infrastructure spending or improvements, enhancing public safety through funding local law enforcement, fire protection services and emergency medical services.

While there are various deadlines to file paperwork with the Eagle County Clerk and Recorder, Commissioner Matt Scherr noted that the “real, official decision date” is Sept. 5 to get on the ballot this fall.

Former Eagle County Clerk and Recorder Regina O’Brien, now the assistant county manager, told the commissioners that the sooner the ballot language is submitted to the clerk’s office, the better.

A lot has to happen before that decision is made, though. Commissioner Jeanne McQueeney noted, however, that “we can send an email to our clerk and recorder stating that we’re considering something, although we haven’t gotten any farther than that.”

And, while additional lodging tax funds would generate far more money, they still wouldn’t approach the fiscal need for either housing or child care.

Commissioner Tom Boyd said work needs to be done to examine the impacts of raising the lodging tax, pro and con, on the local economy.

“This does look like something, in broad strokes, that could be a positive for our economy,” Boyd said.

Discussing the timeline for action, McQueeney warned other county officials not to get ahead of themselves, anticipating another source of revenue. And Commissioner Scherr also noted that county officials need to have conversations with people in Beaver Creek and other partners in deciding whether to go to voters.