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Aspen finance director: taxable sales rose 10% in 2025, driven by construction
Summary
Finance Director Tyler Sexton told council taxable sales rose about 10% in 2025 (≈$135 million), largely driven by a few large construction projects; staff cautioned the data reflect state monthly collections with limited event-level granularity.
Finance Director Tyler Sexton presented the city's December and year-end taxable sales figures and a preliminary 2026 outlook. "Overall taxable sales for 2025 increased 10% — approximately about $135,000,000 year over year, bringing the total taxable sales to about $1,430,000,000," Sexton said, and he attributed roughly $94 million (about 70% of the growth) to construction activity. Sexton told the council the construction figure reflects a small number of large filings and reclassifications rather than broad-sector expansion: "this is being driven by a small number of large scale projects."
Sexton noted accommodations were up about 10% (~$36 million) and restaurants up 5%, while jewelry and galleries fell from a prior spike. He flagged that the city's sales-tax reporting now relies on state monthly collections, which limits sub-monthly or event-level analysis. The finance director also summarized sales-tax proceeds ($34.6 million at the 2.4% rate in the year) and said staff will update projections once early 2026 months settle; the city plans a July presentation reviewing the first quarter baseline for budget planning.
