For the second consecutive year, voters said no to boosting the lodging tax rate from two to five percent for those staying in short-term lodging facilities, such as motels, hotels and campgrounds.
Fifty-two percent of voters turned down the issue Tuesday, the same percentage as those who said no in 2017.
Dennis Wied, a member of 2A’s Tourism Group to Increase Funding and former longtime Cañon City Council member, said he was disappointed by the voter response, but he said there are two possible explanations as to why voters turned down a tax that they won’t even have to pay.
“Either it just wasn’t understood what a lodging tax is and who pays it, or maybe people are more informed than I think and they simply don’t want tourism here,” he said. “Maybe they aren’t interested in growing the area, they live here and they don’t want things to change, they don’t want more people to come visit, they are happy paying taxes and they are happy with the way the economy is here, and the potential for additional revenue from outside sources isn’t attractive.”
Ballot Issue 2A’s tax hike was projected to generate $300,000 in revenue for marketing and promotions in its first year, with the city, setting aside matching funds. With additional county taxes, it was estimated that the marketing operating budget, which would have been managed by the Royal Gorge Regional Tourism Council, would hover at about $700,000. By comparison, total lodging tax collections for Fremont County in 2017 were around just $220,000.
Wied said the FCTC will continue to exist and continue to manage the funds raised by the current lodging tax, and the RGRTC will continue to exist unless it is disbanded by the city council.
Mayor Preston Troutman said the city council will decide what the next steps are before the 2019 budget is approved.
He said he also was surprised that the question failed.
“I don’t think we ever thought it wouldn’t pass,” he said. “It’s a tax that doesn’t cost (local residents) anything. And everywhere you go, you end up paying a facility fee or tourism fee when you spend the night — we are getting our butt kicked by Salida and Buena Vista, but they are spending close to a million dollars a year because of their taxes.”
Wied said he seriously doubts if another such effort will move forward again.
“Me personally, I’ll keep doing what I do and I know that those of us in the tourism industry will continue to promote the area,” he said.
Wied said he would like to know the reasons why people voted against it.
“I absolutely am baffled,” he said. “I don’t understand what the opposition was.”
Separately, the Royal Gorge Bridge & Park spends about $875,000 a year marketing Cañon City and the Royal Gorge Region. The city will have received more than $2.7 million based on the lease agreement with the Royal Gorge Bridge & Park in 2018, which is distributed to the city’s quality of life fund, park improvement fund and general fund.