The proposal on the ballot in Rifle would have raised the city’s lodging tax from 3 percent to 5.5 percent, a move that would have brought the city’s tax more in line with neighboring municipalities. The increase in funding would have been used for citywide improvements, including beautifying the downtown area. Rifle Planning Director Zach Higgins says that despite the ballot measure’s defeat, the need for the funding still remains.
" In fact, we we're seeing like more people interested in the facade grant. I think that program could be made more robust. There's other improvements that can be made around, you know, shade structures and other economic development activities that we can see spur. Whether it's movement downtown, because that's one thing where, uh, the main street kind of program is focused, but the grit funds can be spent across the city.
So, like anywhere where existing businesses are now, we can start to see those things be improved, and whether it's facade grants, or we also use a significant portion of that budget to put on community events like the Third Thursday events that we had in Rifle throughout the summer. Hometown Holidays is funded through the lodging tax, as well as events that are not put on by the city, which we fund. Other programs like Rambo, their extravaganza event was just put on by, in part, with grit money."
Higgins believes that the lodging tax’s defeat was likely due to confusion over its wording on the ballot.
" Anytime you see, you know, 'should the city increase tax,' you're going to have a pause. And I understand that. I just hope that there is, you know, if it goes in the future, that there is a better understanding about what kind of a tax this is and who it affects most directly. You know, just to, maybe there's a better understanding around.... there's actually no local hotel owners that this is really affecting, these are all national chains and the majority of the folks that are, that are using this are just driving by on I-70, and they stop for the night. This isn't, you know, necessarily people who are coming to Rifle to vacation. They're just, you know, it's travelers. The folks that are staying longer term in our hotels, like the workers for Grand River Health and things of that nature, once they hit a certain time, I think it's 30 days, within that room, they stop paying that tax anyway. So it's only for short-term stays. It's not any sort of a longer-term rental tax."
Higgins also says that the lower voter turnout of an election off-year also likely affected the ballot measure’s defeat.
