The Keep Fort Collins Great Tax – It’s Up For Renewal

By Citizens for Fort Collins Now

If you spend any time in Fort Collins, chances are you are both utilizing City services and helping to pay for those services.  Whether it’s driving on the streets, walking on a trail, spending time in a park, or needing the immediate services of Poudre Fire Authority or Fort Collins Police Services, a lot of what happens around you is provided by the City and paid for through taxes.

In 2010 voters approved a new .85-cents sales tax (Keep Fort Collins Great) that was designated for Streets, Police, Fire, Transportation, Parks, and Recreation.  The term of the tax was for 10 years.

That 10-year period is due to expire soon.  However, citizens have grown to rely on these services and facilities that are paid for by the .85-cent sales tax.

This April, voters will have the opportunity to vote on whether or not to continue the existing City sales tax rate that pay for these services. Ballot issue 1 will continue the current Keep Fort Collins Great (KFCG) .85-cent sales tax will be presented to voters. The 2019 Ballot Issue 1 campaign is called Fort Collins Now.

The ballot issue is intended to do two things with the .85-cents sales tax rate:

a) It continues and folds .60-cents of the tax into the City’s base tax rate (so it becomes a lasting part of the base tax rate)

b) It continues .25-cents of the tax rate for another 10-year period

These taxes are paid on purchases of goods OTHER than food and prescription drugs.  The tax revenues are the foundation of paying for core City services such as street maintenance, public safety, parks and recreation, and transportation infrastructure.

The City base rate, or on-going tax rate, has not been increased in 36 years!

If voters approve Ballot issue 1, it will add a portion of the current .85-cent sales tax (the portion is .60-cents of the.85-cents) to the City’s base tax rate.  Doing this ensures some certainty for a level of service that residents have come to expect and rely on for their well-being and security.

Ballot issue 1 also includes .25-cents sales tax that will be subject to renewal in 10-years. Fort Collins voters like the accountability that comes with a renewable tax as has been seen through dedicated taxes such as Open Space and the Community Capital Improvement Tax.

Core services, like police and fire, parks and recreation, streets and transportation that are vital to the community, are supported by these taxes and have been collected for the past 10 years.

The total ballot measure equates to 8.5 cents on a $10 purchase.  It is not a new tax. It is a tax that has been paid by our citizens and visitors since 2010. A portion of the current tax would be folded into the City’s base tax and a smaller portion would be subject to voters reviewing in another 10 years.  The revenues have been critical to ensuring these services are there when we or our neighbors and friends need them.

If you are a Fort Collins resident be on the lookout for mail-in ballots in mid-March.

For more information, visit: www.VoteFoCoNow.com

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