{"id":13346,"date":"2026-02-23T16:50:36","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T23:50:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/county-reviews-possible-sales-tax-ballot-question\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:36:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:36:25","slug":"county-reviews-possible-sales-tax-ballot-question","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/county-reviews-possible-sales-tax-ballot-question\/","title":{"rendered":"County reviews possible sales tax ballot question"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Voting
Voting stickers at the drop-off station at the Montezuma County Clerk\u2019s office on Nov. 7.<\/span>Emily Rice\/The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Montezuma County officials took steps late last month to begin the process of again asking voters to implement a countywide sales tax.<\/p>\n

However, action toward finalizing the proposal \u2013 a ballot question for November voters \u2013 is still in development, according to county spokesperson Vicki Shaffer.<\/p>\n

Although commissioners voted to hire marketing firm Magellan Strategies to focus on voter education, the contract has not yet been signed.<\/p>\n

Initial allocations totaled $45,000, according to the Jan. 27 meeting minutes, but officials agreed to pursue only Phase 1 of the marketing contract: a public survey at one-third the cost. They cited concerns after the county attorney said he wanted to research two of the other components before moving forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe concern is possible that as a board, as a public body, it might not be able to do some of the outreach and support for a ballot measure,\u201d said county attorney Stephen Tarnowski.<\/p>\n

The topic is slated for larger discussion at meetings next week, and it will also be the focus of next Tuesday\u2019s executive session. Shaffer said that session aims to answer, \u201cWhat are the rules for government actors and employees as it relates to discussing or promoting proposed ballot measures?\u201d<\/p>\n

Why the sales tax idea keeps returning<\/div>\n

Montezuma County has no sales tax. To shore up diminishing revenue, the commissioners are looking to pass one.<\/p>\n

The issue has long been on residents\u2019 minds after a history of failed ballot measures, including a 1% proposal voters rejected last year. Raising taxes, lowering them or reducing property assessments has also been debated by Republican commissioner candidates during recent election forums.<\/p>\n

Proponents say a major selling point for a sales tax is shifting some financial burden away from local property owners. Because 73% of the county is federal or tribal land that generates little tax revenue, the remaining 27% carries the full load, commissioner Jim Candelaria said Jan. 5.<\/p>\n

Commissioners have said declining revenues from Kinder Morgan Inc. and the broader oil and gas industry create a critical need for new funding.<\/p>\n

In a region shaped by tourism, commissioners and some candidates have argued that visitors should help pay for services they use, including public safety responses and road upkeep. Opponents argue against raising taxes or expanding government services.<\/p>\n

Officials outline early ideas for 1% proposal<\/div>\n

On Jan. 5, the commissioners met with David Flaherty, Jack Cutter and Courtney Sievers from Magellan Strategies. The workshop was a planned session to discuss the county\u2019s revenue deficits and strategize for a possible sales tax ballot measure in 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know some smaller communities, such as Cortez Fire (Protection District) and in Mancos, have had success in passing things, now countywide. \u2026 Counties can always be a tougher,\u201d said Magellan CEO Flaherty, noting that failed measures occur in all kinds of counties, big and small.<\/p>\n

Flaherty asked commissioners how much revenue they would need, at minimum, to make up for recent shortfalls.<\/p>\n

Relying on recommendations from the late 1990s comprehensive plan, commissioners discussed proposing a 1% sales tax. Candelaria said the revenue would be split 50-50 between the two largest departments: the Sheriff\u2019s Office and the Road and Bridge Department. He said the plan is antiquated regarding its figures, but \u201cit\u2019s still a good starting point.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, we are doing the upgrades as soon as we can get them but when you really look around there are many, many needs, but the average person has got to be able to understand that,\u201d Candelaria said.<\/p>\n

A tax going directly into the general fund is a tougher sell, Flaherty noted. Voters prefer more direct uses of taxpayer money, such as funding for public safety or new roads.<\/p>\n

\u201cIdeally, the best approach is for us to present the needs to voters,\u201d Flaherty said. \u201cSo that you know all the best practices of transparency are being honest and providing professional information.\u201d<\/p>\n

awatson@the-journal.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Commissioners plan more discussion next week<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13347,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-13346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13346"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13346\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77066,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13346\/revisions\/77066"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13346"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=13346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}