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Clear Creek County weighs lodging-tax hike to shore up child care, narrow budget gap
Summary
County commissioners described a multi-year structural deficit and asked staff to draft ballot language to consider raising the lodging tax (currently 2%)—possibly to 6%—to expand child-care scholarships and support workforce housing while seeking public input.
Commissioners opened a broader debate about how to address Clear Creek County's multi-year revenue shortfall and whether to send voters language that would raise the lodging tax to boost funding for child care, housing and visitor-related services.
Commissioner Jodie Hartman Ball, who represents District 3, said the lodging-tax dollars now support scholarships and summer child-care programs and asked staff to prepare ballot options for an increase "up to 6%" so the county could allocate more funding to child care. Jodie said the existing child-care scholarship covered infant-through-school-year care, and that a small summer program this year served 18 participants at nominal cost to qualifying families.
Commissioner George Marlin outlined the fiscal context: the county has "lost a third of our revenues over the last 10 years," he said, citing the departure or reduction of a large local employer and other structural shifts. Marlin said the board adopted a budget with a $1.4 million deficit, and that the county still faces a roughly $6'$7 million annual structural shortfall when longer-term capital and staffing needs are considered. He added the county has about $15 million in unrestricted reserves, giving the board time to pursue multi-year options without declaring an emergency.
Chair Rebecca Lloyd emphasized transparency and the ballot process: any lodging-tax change would go to voters and the county has previously specified allocation splits on past ballots (for example, tourism promotion, child care and housing-authority funding). Commissioners said previous lodging-tax language had been explicit about allocations and that public meetings and recorded work sessions (a May session was referenced) would feed into any final ballot language.
Commissioners and members of the public discussed potential impacts on short-term rental bookings and local businesses. One participant noted research suggesting a small booking decline (roughly 3'7%) when taxes are surfaced at checkout; commissioners said those trade-offs would be part of public debate and that staff would model likely effects and proposed allocations.
Next steps: staff will prepare and present ballot-language options and fiscal analyses for further public review before the board decides whether to place a lodging-tax measure before county voters.
