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Local early‑childhood center urges 1% lodging‑tax ballot measure to stabilize funding
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Summary
A Silverton early‑childhood provider asked San Juan County commissioners to place a 1% lodging‑tax measure on the ballot that would dedicate new revenue to the Silverton Family Learning Center, citing losses after a state funding change and requesting draft language and a timeline from the county.
The San Juan County Board of County Commissioners heard a request from a representative of the Silverton Family Learning Center to partner on a ballot measure that would add 1 percentage point to the county lodging tax and dedicate that revenue to local early‑childhood services.
The presenter, introduced by the board as Hannah Gulen of the Silverton Family Learning Center, told commissioners that Hinsdale County had passed a similar lodging‑tax measure and that, in some years, 1% returned roughly $50,000–$65,000 to the recipient. "We increase lodging tax by 1%, and that 1% is entirely slotted to early childhood," Gulen said, urging the county to allow the measure to appear on the ballot and to work with the center on precise drafting and public education.
County staff and commissioners asked for clarifications about how the lodging‑tax revenue is currently distributed and about the legal and procedural steps to put a citizen initiative on the ballot. An attorney advising the board explained that commissioners are the entity that formally put measures on the ballot and cautioned that "once the commissioners decide that they are going to run the ballot measure, they cannot expend any county dollars on promoting the measure." The attorney also recommended that community supporters form a separate "friends of" group to accept donations and run outreach, so the county does not directly fund promotion.
Gulen gave a target timeline: notice to the clerk’s office by July and final ballot language by September, and said the center had a nonprofit partner ready to coordinate campaign volunteers and fundraising. Commissioners said staff would review draft language and provide time on a future agenda for the board and property owners to examine the proposed wording before any formal action.
The board did not vote on the request at the meeting; commissioners said they would provide draft language and continue discussions so the county and center could confirm timelines and legal compliance.
