by Katherine Nettles

Gunnison County commissioners have agreed to move forward with a ballot issue this fall that would increase county-wide sales tax to improve local roads, bridges, and related transportation infrastructure. Commissioners approved of both referring the ballot issue for inclusion in the November ballots and the ballot language itself during their meeting on July 21. Gunnison County voters will have a chance to weigh in during the November election.

The sales tax increase, if approved by voters, will be for .5% with an exemption for utilities and groceries. The funds would be used to shore up the county’s transportation infrastructure coffers, which an independent consulting firm determined is in a $38 million deferred maintenance deficit due to a constrained road and bridge budget that has created budget shortfalls for the county for decades.

The county has estimated that the new sales tax increase would bring in an annual $3,388,719 for transportation infrastructure funding, which would chip away at the deferred maintenance for the next few decades.

The county considered multiple different funding mechanisms and lobbied the state for legislative relief for the past several years to find other ways to fund road and bridges. Ultimately, “the use of a small county sales tax was identified as optimally spreading the cost across both residents and visitors,” according to the memo accompanying the resolution that commissioners passed on Tuesday.

Gunnison County conducted a road and bridge ballot measure survey in mid-February with Magellan Strategies, an independent survey company, to learn more about the overall public response to its proposed road and bridge ballot measure.  Magellan representatives presented the results of the survey, which was weighed to represent the voter turnout demographics of a mid-term election in Gunnison County similar to 2022.

Data indicated there is around 50% approval among residents based on what people know currently about the proposal. There is potential to move the dial up with more targeted outreach, according to the consultants.

According to Magellan, the margin of error was +/- 4.16% with a 95% confidence interval. 64% of respondents said they approved of the job the county is doing with road and bridges, while only 46% said they thought the county has the resources it needs to maintain them. “This suggests they are open to targeted additional revenue,” Magellan representative Ryan Winger concluded. The survey also showed 50% of respondents indicating they would vote for a ballot measure, and that increased to 56% after voters received additional information. “This stresses the importance of educating residents about the current situation and the county’s funding needs,” according to Magellan in a summary memo.

The biggest concern Magellan identified among respondents was driven by cost of living as respondents said taxes are already too high and/or indicated they would prefer alternate funding sources such as tourism or lodging.

The county has tallied that it maintains approximately 419 miles of county roadway, maintains 48 bridges and major culverts, and provides snow removal services on approximately 215 miles of roadway throughout the county.

  Commissioner Liz Smith and Jonathan Houck approved the resolution unanimously, with commissioner Laura Puckett Daniels absent. They also approved the ballot language that will appear on the November ballot.

County attorney Matthew Hoyt advised that as elected officials, they can freely discuss and advocate for the ballot issue as individuals, but not on behalf of the county as a whole. He said county staff cannot advocate for the ballot issue while “on the clock,” but can discuss it and provide information about it with voters and can advocate in their own personal time. 

The county last sought approval for a sales tax increase in 1978 with the 1% sales tax it maintains currently. The resolution notes that the county’s 1% sales tax includes a provision requiring that the county “share back” 50% of all sales tax collected in any municipality. The county estimates that “share back” results in a 30-40% revenue reduction.