Woodland Park sales tax up 1.5% for 2024; December dip tied to state payment timing, staff says

Erin, a city staff presenter, told the Woodland Park City Council on Feb. 26 that year‑to‑date sales tax receipts through December 2024 totaled $8,561,000, $123,707 (1.5%) higher than the previous year.

Erin said December was the city’s weakest month, down about 5.5% (roughly $50,000 year over year), and that the decline followed an unusually early state remittance for November. "November was our best month of the year, and now December is our worst month," Erin said. She explained the timing: sales tax payments arrive to the city about a month in arrears and the city remits the school district’s share roughly mid‑month. "We usually remitted about the fifteenth of the month that we've done the sales tax report," Erin said, adding that for December 2024 the remittance to the school district was made on Feb. 15.

The presenter also reported lodging tax receipts for the year of $386,283, down 15% (a decline of $68,290 compared with the prior year); December lodging tax was down 11.8% ($21,993). Erin said the city had otherwise tracked near the 2.5–3% growth rate for much of the year before the late‑year swings.

Council member John Slick Baum noted that budget projections used 2.5% sales tax growth during the budget process; Erin confirmed the figure when asked. On a question about franchise taxes, Erin said, "They are not. They are separate line item in the budget for franchise taxes," distinguishing franchise fees from sales tax collections.

During the public comment period, Patricia Stinner of Woodland Park urged the council to review the city’s utility surtax and the local franchise fee structure. Stinner said an added city surcharge effectively increases residents’ utility bills and asked the council to "do a deep dive" into whether the city should revoke or reduce the tax on groceries or otherwise change local taxation. "I'm going to request that council do a deep dive into what the impact would be should we decide, the citizens decide, to revoke tax on groceries or to at least ask for a reduction," Stinner said.

Erin responded in the meeting that the city does not currently itemize sales tax receipts by product category in a way that would make calculating the exact lost revenue from exempting groceries straightforward. "All I could say is that it would be a a significant portion," Erin said.

Why it matters: sales tax is the city’s primary general‑purpose revenue source and remittances to the school district are time‑sensitive. The council and staff framed December’s decline as a timing anomaly rather than an ongoing shortfall; staff said they remain "completely up to date" on remittances.

Council did not take formal action on the sales tax presentation at the Feb. 26 special meeting; staff said they would continue to answer community questions and field requests for further analysis.