A Herald op-ed (“Vote No on 2; city can afford new police station now, “Oct. 13) purports to compare Durango’s finances with those of Montrose as reason to oppose Ballot Issue 2A. The author lumps together all city expenses, personnel and debt, but fails to compare all taxes and services.
Durango spends more than Montrose on some functions such as police and utilities because we serve more tourists and commuters. Montrose County has about 22,000 residents; outside Durango, La Plata County has about 37,000.
Montrose has no municipal property tax, but residents and businesses in Montrose pay 15.7 mills in property taxes to special districts for fire protection, parks and recreation, and library.
Durango provides or pays for these services with a property tax rate of 5 mills. The Montrose County property tax rate is 20.1 mills, compared to 8.5 mills in La Plata County. The Montrose city sales tax is 3.3 percent. Durango’s is 3.0 percent.
Durango runs the airport and our own transit system. We also manage the 911 Communications Center. In Montrose, other entities serve these three functions.
Durango now provides excellent and more extensive services with lower taxes than Montrose, but we cannot continue to do so without additional revenue.
Vote YES on Ballot Issue 2A.
Dick White, city councilor
Durango
