Bayfield town trustees last week expressed a unanimous sentiment: They want to try again in November to get voter approval of a sales-tax increase to pay for street maintenance and related projects.
The ballot question to raise the town’s sales tax from 2 percent to 3 percent lost by nine votes, 66-75, in the April 1 municipal election.
Road-maintenance money left from $6.8 million the town received in 2011 to take over control and maintenance of Bayfield Parkway from the Colorado Department of Transportation will be gone in 2021, said Town Manager Chris La May.
“Unfortunately, the need for street maintenance does not diminish, and the town needs to determine how to address the future funding shortfall in street maintenance,” La May said in his written staff report.
Without added revenue from some source, the town intends to begin transferring $200,000 from the Capital Improvement Fund in 2021, and that in itself will have an impact on other needs in the town, La May said in the report.
The 2021 date is critical because the town spent $1.8 million of the CDOT money in 2011 to resurface Bayfield Parkway, and that maintenance has a 10-year life span, La May reported. So the town will need another $1.8 million then.
“If the town can come up with $500,000, we can solve the 2021 issue,” he said. “However, 2021 is only the beginning; the forecast includes future funding shortfalls after 2021 anywhere from $590,000 to $2 million. Again, that is with the $200,000 Capital Improvement Fund transfer.”
La May listed options to reduce other spending, defer road maintenance or seek additional funds.
Deferred road maintenance saves money short term but eventually costs a lot more, he said.
He listed several options for additional funds, including franchise and overweight-vehicle fees. But the additional 1 percent sales tax would have the most impact, generating around $260,000 per year.
Trustees wanted to try again on the sales-tax increase and also create a contingency plan if voters reject it again.
Trustee Ed Morlan noted that when the school district seeks approval for bonds, a volunteer group helps promote it. The town didn’t do that with this tax increase.
Trustee Michelle Nelson said higher utility and property-tax bills arrived in the mail right before the April 1 election. Those increases might have affected people’s votes she said, noting the small margin of defeat.
The need for street maintenance doesn’t go away, Mayor Rick Smith said. “We have to take care of the roads.”
