Mayor proposes wider uses for half-cent sales tax: economic catalyst, placemaking, and a 15% annual cap

Pueblo — Mayor Heather Graham on Monday presented a proposed amendment to the city’s criteria ordinance governing half-cent sales tax revenues, suggesting the city expand allowable uses beyond primary-job incentives to include economic catalyst projects, placemaking and measures to reduce economic leakage.

Graham said the proposed change would let the city support projects that drive new local spending and visitation — for example, site preparation for major retailers, tourism-related attractions such as an outdoor recreation facility, or infrastructure to activate commercial corridors. She said PEDCO and city leaders had discussed the changes and that the city’s current ballot language gives the council authority to set the criteria by ordinance.

The mayor’s working group proposed a guardrail: a 15% annual cap on how much of the unencumbered half-cent fund balance can be spent on the expanded categories in any single year. Using May 2025 figures,…