Raises Archuleta County's lodging tax from 2% to 6% outside Pagosa Springs from January 1, 2027, about $1,080,000 a year, for roads (80%), public safety and dispatch (10%) and workforce childcare (10%), outside TABOR's limits.
Archuleta County
Kim's Recommendation
NO
Vote No on Archuleta County Ballot Issue 1A
Ballot Issue 1A takes Archuleta County's lodging tax from 2% straight to 6%, the ceiling the county's resolution says state law now allows, and leaves the county no room below the cap for a later request. It sets no end date, and the revenue from later years is kept and spent outside TABOR's limits. I oppose moving a tax to its legal maximum in one question.
Ten percent of the increase goes to childcare for the local workforce, paid by whoever rents a room for less than 30 days. In my view, a charge on short-term room rentals is the wrong source of money for workforce childcare.
I recommend a no vote on Archuleta County Ballot Issue 1A.
Kim Monson
Host, The Kim Monson Show · President, Colorado Union of Taxpayers · Colorado Voter's Guide 2026
Certified ballot question
SHALL ARCHULETA COUNTY LODGING TAXES BE INCREASED BY APPROXIMATELY $1,080,000 ANNUALLY COMMENCING ON JANUARY 1, 2027, AND BY WHATEVER ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS ARE RAISED ANNUALLY THEREAFTER, BY INCREASING THE LODGING TAX RATE FROM TWO PERCENT (2%) TO SIX PERCENT (6%), SUCH LODGING TAX TO BE LEVIED ON THE RENTAL FEE, PRICE, OR OTHER CONSIDERATION PAID OR CHARGED FOR THE LEASING, RENTAL, SALE OR FURNISHING OF A ROOM OR ACCOMMODATION FOR A SHORT-TERM PERIOD OF LESS THAN THIRTY (30) CONSECUTIVE DAYS IN ARCHULETA COUNTY (EXCLUDING THE TOWN OF PAGOSA SPRINGS THAT CURRENTLY HAS ITS OWN ADOPTED LODGING TAX), WITH SUCH INCREASE TO LODGING TAX REVENUES USED AS FOLLOWS: EIGHTY PERCENT (80%) FOR COUNTY ROADS MAINTENANCE AND IMPROVEMENT; TEN PERCENT (10%) FOR PUBLIC SAFETY AND EMERGENCY DISPATCH; TEN PERCENT (10%) FOR CHILDCARE FOR OUR LOCAL WORKFORCE, AND SHALL THE FIRST-YEAR REVENUES, AND WHATEVER ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS ARE RAISED ANNUALLY THEREAFTER, BE COLLECTED AND SPENT AS A VOTER APPROVED REVENUE CHANGE NOTWITHSTANDING ANY LIMITATION OR CONDITION UNDER ARTICLE X, SECTION 20 OF THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION OR ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW?
A yes vote means
Short-term stays under 30 days in Archuleta County outside Pagosa Springs would carry a 6% lodging tax from January 1, 2027, with the increase split 80% roads, 10% public safety and dispatch, 10% childcare.
A no vote means
The county lodging tax would stay at 2%.
Short-Term Stays Outside Pagosa Springs01
Ballot Issue 1A raises the Archuleta County lodging tax from 2% to 6% starting January 1, 2027. The county's voters approved the 2% tax on November 3, 1987, and the rate has not changed since, according to the draft resolution on the commissioners' August 18, 2026, agenda. The tax falls on the rental fee, price or other consideration paid for a room or accommodation rented for less than 30 consecutive days. The tax does not apply in the Town of Pagosa Springs, which levies a separate lodging tax. Under the resolution, only registered voters in unincorporated Archuleta County vote on the question.
The ballot estimates the increase at approximately $1,080,000 a year from January 1, 2027, plus whatever additional amounts the tax raises in each later year. The ballot sets no end date. As an example, a guest charged $200 for a room pays $4 in county lodging tax at today's 2% and $12 at 6%.
Added lodging tax
The added 4% tax equals $40 for every $1,000 of taxable lodging charges.
Example for $1,000 in taxable lodging charges
$1,000 × 0.04 = $40
This is the added tax from the measure, rounded to the nearest cent, not the total tax. Actual rounding at the register may differ.
Estimated added tax
Enter a value of zero or more, with no more than two decimal places.
Archuleta County ballot, Archuleta County Ballot Issue 1A
Roads, Dispatch and Workforce Childcare02
The ballot divides the increase three ways: 80% for county roads maintenance and improvement, 10% for public safety and emergency dispatch, and 10% for childcare for the local workforce.
The resolution says that when voters approved the 2% tax in 1987, state law limited lodging tax revenue to advertising and marketing. It says the General Assembly has since raised the maximum county lodging tax rate from 2% to 6% and expanded the allowed uses. Its Section 6 puts the higher rate into effect only if a majority of unincorporated voters approve "the increase to the lodging tax and modification and expansion of previously voter-approved uses."
Revenue Kept Outside TABOR03
A yes vote lets the county collect and spend the first-year revenue and every later amount as a voter-approved revenue change, free of any limit or condition in the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR, Article X, Section 20 of the Colorado Constitution) or any other law.
The Commissioners' Case04
In the resolution, the Board of County Commissioners finds that current lodging tax revenue is "insufficient" to meet the county's growing operational, planning and capital improvement needs, naming county roads, public safety and law enforcement, and affordable childcare for the local workforce. It adds that "the loss of state and federal funding" has put greater pressure on the county's ability to pay for those services. The board asks voters to approve the increase, saying it will provide resources the county can use to improve the quality of life for workers, residents and visitors.
The Archuleta County commissioners' resolution (dated August 18, 2026, number left blank) certifies the November 3, 2026 question raising the county lodging tax from 2% to 6%, estimated at about $1,080,000 a year, split 80% roads, 10% public safety and dispatch, 10% workforce childcare.
The Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners agenda for August 18, 2026 lists, as New Business item A, a resolution approving a November 3, 2026 ballot question to raise the county's lodging tax in unincorporated areas from 2% to 6%, with new revenue for county roads.
