City of Alamosa

Alamosa's half-cent sales tax for streets, proposed to continue from 2030 through 2039

Tax extensionSales and use tax for streets

Continues Alamosa's half-cent city sales and use tax for streets, due to expire at the end of 2029, from January 1, 2030, through December 31, 2039.

City of Alamosa

Kim's Recommendation

Vote No on City of Alamosa Ballot Issue 2A

Issue 2A says city taxes will be increased by $2,500,000 in the first year, while a city handout tells voters it is not a new tax. A tax set to end in 2029 that continues for a decade more is more tax.

Resolution 7-2026 names the streets in advance, and that is to the council's credit. The current tax runs through 2029, and the council is asking now for the ten years after that. The resolution's last group of projects runs to 2040, after the extended tax ends on December 31, 2039. Streets are a core duty of a city, and I want them paid for from the budget the council already controls, not from a dedicated tax renewed years before its term is out.

I recommend a no vote on City of Alamosa Ballot Issue 2A.

Kim Monson

Host, The Kim Monson Show · President, Colorado Union of Taxpayers · Colorado Voter's Guide 2026

Certified ballot question

SHALL CITY OF ALAMOSA TAXES BE INCREASED BY $ 2,500,000 IN THE FIRST FISCAL YEAR, BEGINNING JANUARY 1, 2030, AND BY SUCH AMOUNTS AS ARE RAISED ANNUALLY THEREAFTER FOR A TEN YEAR PERIOD ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2039, BY CONTINUING THE CURRENT ONE-HALF PERCENT (ONE-HALF CENT PER DOLLAR SPENT) SALES TAX AND USE TAX WHICH IS SET TO EXPIRE ON DECEMBER 31, 2029, TO BE USED SOLELY TO FUND STREET MAINTENANCE AND IMPROVEMENTS FOR THOSE STREETS IDENTIFIED IN RESOLUTION NO. 7-2026 AND FOR NO OTHER PURPOSE, AND WITHOUT ANY INCREASE WHATSOEVER IN THE EXISTING CITY SALES TAX RATE OR THE CITY’S EXISTING PROPERTY TAXES, WITH THE RESULTING TAX REVENUES ALLOWED TO BE COLLECTED AND SPENT, NOTWITHSTANDING ANY EXPENDITURE, REVENUE RAISING, OR OTHER LIMITATION CONTAINED IN ARTICLE X, SECTION 20 OF THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION OR ANY OTHER LIMITATIONS PROVIDED BY LAW?

A yes vote means

Alamosa's half-cent sales and use tax for streets would continue through December 31, 2039, for the streets listed in Resolution No. 7-2026.

A no vote means

Alamosa's half-cent sales and use tax for streets would expire on December 31, 2029.

Ten More Years for Streets01

Alamosa voters approved a half-cent city sales and use tax for streets at the November 2019 election. That question put the increase at $1,700,000 in the first fiscal year, for ten years ending December 31, 2029. Ballot Issue 2A asks whether to continue that tax for ten more years, from January 1, 2030, through December 31, 2039.

The question asks whether city taxes shall be "INCREASED BY $ 2,500,000 IN THE FIRST FISCAL YEAR" and by whatever the tax raises each year after that. It states that the existing city sales tax rate and property taxes do not rise. The city may use the money "SOLELY TO FUND STREET MAINTENANCE AND IMPROVEMENTS FOR THOSE STREETS IDENTIFIED IN RESOLUTION NO. 7-2026 AND FOR NO OTHER PURPOSE." The city may collect and spend it outside the limits of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR) and any other legal limit.

A yes vote keeps the half cent in place through 2039. A no vote lets it end on December 31, 2029.

Added tax on taxable purchases

The added 0.5% tax equals $5 for every $1,000 of taxable purchases.

Example for $1,000 in taxable purchases

$1,000 × 0.005 = $5

This is the added tax from the measure, rounded to the nearest cent, not the total tax. Actual rounding at the register may differ.

Alamosa County ballot, City of Alamosa Ballot Issue 2A

Streets Scheduled for Work02

The City Council unanimously adopted an amended Resolution No. 7-2026 on May 6, 2026; the amended version includes Foster Avenue and removes some of Third Street, according to the minutes. It lists anticipated projects in three groups: 2030 to 2033, 2034 to 2037 and 2038 to 2040. They include Alamosa Avenue, Tenth Street, Foster Avenue, Third Street and Hunt Avenue, and a realignment at First Street, Pike Avenue and Murphy Drive that is contingent on property acquisition.

The resolution provides up to $500,000 a year for sidewalk and overlay maintenance and allows unspent amounts under that annual cap to carry into later years. It bars spending on utilities, except Foster Avenue's stormwater work. If more than $500,000 is left at the end of the ten years, five additional projects must be considered for funding. If less than $500,000 is left, the money goes to the regular sidewalk and overlay programs. The resolution calls the schedule approximate: grants may change the timing, and the listed segments are estimates that may change with bids.

The City's Case for Renewal03

The council set the ballot title unanimously in Resolution No. 13-2026 on August 19, 2026. The minutes of that meeting say the city manager gave council members Street Trust Fund yard signs to distribute.

The city's Streets Trust Fund page says the city has spent more than $13 million on streets since voters approved the tax. The city's "Decoding the Ballot" sheet tells voters the measure "is NOT a new tax," and its flyer asks them to "Vote YES to Renew."

What Shoppers Pay04

The Colorado Department of Revenue's January 2026 rate table lists Alamosa's city sales tax at 2.50%, Alamosa County's at 3% and the state's at 2.9%. The question describes the half cent as part of the existing city rate.

Sources05

Official documents