Trustees seek clarity on tobacco-tax allocations and boost for housing fund in draft budget

Trustees spent substantial time reviewing discretionary revenue lines and special-purpose taxes in the draft 2026 budget, focusing on tobacco-tax funded youth programs, the town’s housing reserve and community grant processes.

Staff reported that historical tobacco-tax distributions were sometimes routed through the Roaring Fork School District as fiscal sponsor, which made tracking past recipients difficult. Trustees asked staff to reconcile prior years’ disbursements, identify current-year balances and return before finalizing allocations for Youth Zone, Stepping Stones and the Family Resource Center. Trustees suggested the simplest short-term approach could be to treat the three recurring organizations as eligible for a tobacco-tax allocation rather than making them apply both to the tobacco pot and the community grant pool.

On housing, trustees acknowledged the town’s recent $1.1 million mobile-home-park investment reduced the housing fund balance and discussed whether to boost the annual transfer above the previously-planned $200,000. There was no consensus on a specific amount, but trustees asked staff to present options between $200,000 and $500,000 for the next draft so the board can decide how aggressively to replenish the housing reserve while balancing other capital needs.

Staff noted that auditors treat special funds as separate entities and recommended clearer tracking even if the town does not create another formal fund for tobacco-tax receipts. Trustees also directed staff to incorporate Youth Zone and other prior beneficiaries into the community-grant review if appropriate after staff reconciles the tobacco-tax history.