Larimer County ballot will include 0.5% sales tax question to fund transportation, facilities

On Tuesday, Larimer County Commissioners voted unanimously to place a sales tax proposal on the November 2019 ballot to fund transportation and facilities improvements. The proposal is to increase the County sales tax by 0.5 percent, from 0.8 percent to 1.3 percent, for the next 20 years. This increase would add $0.50 to a $100 purchase, with food and medicine exempt from the sales tax.

The tax would bring in roughly $39M in its first year, with increases over the years as the County grows. The first $10M would be spent on I-25 between Loveland and Longmont. Other road improvements would include bicycle and pedestrian components. Between 15 and 20 percent of the transportation funding would go to regional transit projects. Some funding would be used to expand County facilities for programs such as Community Corrections and Alternative Sentencing and other health and human services.

From the transportation perspective, Commissioner Steve Johnson stated the revenue would allow the County to partner with municipalities and CDOT to complete projects the agencies otherwise could not afford. Commissioner Tom Donnelly stated if there are no improvements to the County's busiest corridors, time spent in traffic is expected to increase by 673 percent by 2045, compared to 2015.

Read more from the Coloradoan.