Keep Greeley Moving tax could appear on the 2021 ballot. Depending on poll results, the 0.65% food exempt sales tax could jump up to 0.95%.
By Kelly Ragan
Come November (yes, it’s already time to start thinking about these things) Greeley voters could once again see the Keep Greeley Moving sales tax on the ballot.
At a city council meeting Tuesday, council members gave city staff the green light to move forward with polling and research.
Last year, city council voted not to include the Keep Greeley Moving sales tax on the November 2020 ballot in light of economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic. Instead, it opted to put only the Food Tax renewal on the ballot then – which voters passed.
Greeley voters first approved the Keep Greeley Moving tax, a 0.65% food exempt sales tax, in 2015. The tax is set to expire in 2022.
According to city documents, during the first five years of the Keep Greeley Moving tax, the city was able to invest in:
$4.6 million worth of concrete repairs, including 13 miles of sidewalks
$5.8 million in seal coating 88 miles of roadway
$5.9 million in patching 148,000 square yards of roadway (about 23 football fields)
$29.1 million in overlaying 54.9 miles of roadway
$2.1 million in applying 1,145,130 pounds of crack seal
$20.4 million in roadway expansion, including 20th Street and 71st Avenue
Without that funding, according to city documents, the roadwork above would not have been possible.
“While the funding has enabled progress, a significant backlog of road maintenance needs remain for the city’s 380 miles of road,” according to city documents. “Additionally, there are over $55 million in curb, gutter and sidewalk needs that still exist today.”
At the city council meeting Tuesday, John Karner, the city’s finance director, said during his presentation that he recommends the city pursue the same 0.65% tax for another seven years.
If the tax is renewed, Karner said it would raise about $13 million. While there would still be a funding gap, he said, it would help various projects move forward.
Trent Howell, with the Citizen Budget Advisory Committee, said that the committee discussed the funding gap at length and concerns about loss of sales tax revenue due to the pandemic and due to consumers doing more online shopping.
While the Citizen Budget Advisory Committee supports the 0.65% tax rate, Howell said, it would also support an increase.
“We unanimously approved investigating a potential increase of up to 0.95% if polling data supported that,” Howell said. “If the poll showed citizens would be in favor of (an increase), we would be in favor of supporting that.”