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A 1% sales tax increase that La Plata County voters approved in November took effect Thursday on New Year’s Day.
The tax adds one cent to ever dollar spent – or $1 for every $100 – on most goods and services countywide.
A bottle of Honeyville honey priced at $11.99 drew 66 cents in sales tax on Dec. 31 and 78 cents on Jan. 1 – a difference of 12 cents – based on two receipts from south City Market.
By late afternoon on New Year’s Day, shoppers cycling through south City Market appeared unaware of the tax bump, or else they kept it to themselves.
An employee working the self-checkout register said no one had said anything about it all day. “I don’t think anyone noticed,” she added.
La Plata County resident Kenny Cochran, after checking out with groceries he was purchasing for someone else alongside Chelsea Cochran, said he possibly noticed the jump.
“It felt a little higher than it should have been,” he said. Chelsea Cochran, who unlike Kenny does not regularly shop at south City Market, said she couldn’t tell.
Regardless of whether they noticed, both thought the tax was needed.
“The marginal increase that it is, is absolutely worth it for what we’re getting in return,” Kenny Cochran said.
The measure is expected to generate an additional $19 million in annual revenue – a lifeline for county government or to some just another hardship.
In the months before the election, county commissioners aggressively promoted the tax hike as the solution to well-documented budget shortfalls.
They warned that without it, essential services like road maintenance and law enforcement would be noticeably reduced. The ever-growing shortfall was the result of declining gas revenues, additional unfunded mandates, and state and federal funding cuts.
Some residents pushed back. They criticized the county for inefficient spending, and said the extra financial burden a tax hike would place on already struggling households was unreasonable. Opponents also expressed concern over the ballot language that placed almost no restrictions or guidelines on the way the county is able to spend and delegate the generated revenue.
With the new year underway, an expanded budget in place, and residents paying that extra 12 cents for a bottle of honey, commissioners say they are ready to show the increased cost to taxpayers will be worth it.
“The citizens and residents of La Plata County will see the effects of it (the 1% sales tax increase) based on budget decisions that we’re making and will continue to make,” said Commissioner Marsha Porter-Norton.
“We know there is a sacrifice there, both to consumers and visitors, so we want to deploy those funds in a way that people can see,” she said.
The initial impact of the increased revenue is already apparent in the 2026 budget, she said.
Several positions that had been slated for cuts were retained, including a wildfire coordinator in the Emergency Management Department, a detention deputy at the La Plata County Jail, and two patrol officers with the Sheriff’s Office, Porter-Norton said.
Restoring even more patrol positions at a later date is a possibility commissioners will discuss in coming months, she added.
More than $8 million was immediately directed to the Road and Bridge Department, and $210,000 added to the Public Health Department budget, she said. Additionally, the county will begin maintenance projects on all county buildings and develop a five-year capital improvement plan now that revenue has improved.
To critiques and skeptics, Porter-Norton emphasized that the focus remains on core services and fiscal restraint.
“Our job is to be transparent, and our job is to spend those dollars in exactly the ways that we campaigned on, which was public safety, helping vulnerable neighbors, helping respond to disasters, and funding essential core government services,” she said.
The county must undergo a state financial audit each year, the results of which are posted online for anyone to access. Also available online – the monthly and quarterly financial reports capture account-level spending down to the smallest details.
“People can go into that report and look at every dime – literally every dime – spent by any department,” Porter-Norton said.
Additionally, during the redrafting of the 2026 budget, a contingency fund was added within the general fund. Now, she said, any contingency expenditures over $50,000 require board approval and would be placed on a public agenda for community input.
jbowman@durangoherald.com
A previous version of this story incorrectly said the La Plata County Health Department budget received an additional $2 million. The correct amount is $210,000.
