Commerce council declares fiscal emergency, moves 0.25% sales-tax measure to June ballot

The Commerce City Council voted unanimously on Feb. 24 to declare a fiscal emergency and call a special municipal election consolidated with the June 2, 2026 statewide primary to ask voters to approve a 0.25% transactions and use tax.

City Manager (speaker 5) told the council the city relies heavily on revenue from the Commerce Casino, which he said generates roughly $30,000,000 a year and accounts for about 40% of the city's operating budget. He said recently announced regulations by Attorney General Rob Bonta that restrict certain blackjack-style play were implemented without a thorough statewide impact analysis and could lead to substantial revenue losses. "These are radical changes without a single shred of evidence that they improve public safety," the City Manager said, warning that the city estimates the hit could be somewhere between $8 million and $18 million annually.

Why it matters: staff and the finance director told the council that sales tax and card-club license fees together represent the bulk of general-fund…