Question 2B asks for $1,250,000 when the council's goal is $1,000,000. The extra $250,000 leaves room for exemptions the council has put off until after the election, so voters approve the total without knowing which owners the council may spare. The question fixes the amounts for the owners left paying and raises them with inflation each year.
Property sales in town already feed the capital fund through the transfer tax. Residents asked the council to examine its spending first, and on the staff's timeline its committee gives final budget advice after the election. I want that review finished before the town asks for a tax with no end date.
I recommend a no vote on Town of Crested Butte Ballot Question 2B.
SHALL THE TOWN OF CRESTED BUTTE TAXES BE INCREASED $1,250,000 IN THE FIRST FULL FISCAL YEAR (2027) AND BY WHATEVER AMOUNTS ARE RAISED ANNUALLY THEREAFTER THROUGH THE IMPOSITION OF AN EXCISE TAX ON RESIDENTIAL PARCELS IN TOWN THAT ARE NOT A PRIMARY RESIDENCE AND ON VACANT LAND AS FOLLOWS: • TOTAL RESIDENTIAL SQUARE FOOTAGE ON THE PARCEL OF LESS THAN 1,200 SQUARE FEET $1,400 • TOTAL RESIDENTIAL SQUARE FOOTAGE ON THE PARCEL THAT IS EQUAL TO OR MORE THAN 1,200 AND UP TO 2,200 SQUARE FEET $2,400 • TOTAL RESIDENTIAL SQUARE FOOTAGE ON THE PARCEL EQUAL TO OR MORE THAN 2,200 SQUARE FEET $3,400 • VACANT LAND $3,000 WITH SUCH TAX AMOUNTS TO INCREASE ANNUALLY BY THE PERCENTAGE RATE OF INFLATION AS DEFINED IN ARTICLE X, SECTION 20 OF THE STATE CONSTITUTION FOR THE PRECEDING CALENDAR YEAR; AND SHALL ALL REVENUES FROM SUCH TAX BE DEPOSITED IN AND DEDICATED TO THE CAPITAL FUND, SUCH TAX TO BE COLLECTED AND SPENT AS A VOTER APPROVED REVENUE CHANGE NOTWITHSTANDING ANY REVENUE OR EXPENDITURE LIMITATIONS CONTAINED IN ARTICLE X, SECTION 20 OF THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION?
Approves the parcel tax, annual inflation increases and dedication of its revenue to the capital fund outside TABOR's revenue and expenditure limits.
Rejects this parcel tax.
Question 2B puts a yearly excise tax on residential parcels in the Town of Crested Butte that are not a primary residence, and on vacant land. A home parcel's charge steps up with its residential square footage; vacant land pays one flat amount. Town staff count about 410 parcels with no dwelling occupied as a primary residence, plus 60 vacant lots.
Each amount rises every year by the prior calendar year's inflation rate as the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR) defines it, with no end date.
| Parcel or total residential area | Annual tax |
|---|---|
| Residential: less than 1,200 square feet | $1,400 |
| Residential: at least 1,200 and up to 2,200 square feet | $2,400 |
| Residential: 2,200 square feet or more | $3,400 |
| Vacant land | $3,000 |
The town council referred the question in Resolution 2026-22 on August 17, by a 5-2 vote. The resolution cites a growing gap between the town's capital, infrastructure and workforce housing needs and its existing revenue. The council leaves the definition of a primary residence to an implementation ordinance. A staff draft defines it as the owner's usual place of return, shown by a signed affidavit and at least two of these documents: a Colorado driver's license, a Colorado identification card, voter registration, proof of six months of work in Gunnison County during the taxing period, or tax documents. A home whose tenant occupies it as a primary residence for at least 180 days would also qualify.
After a resident sued over the ballot language, the council agreed on August 26 to delay the implementation ordinance, which is to carry the definition and exemptions, until after the election. The resident then dropped the suit.
The ballot authorizes $1,250,000 in fiscal year 2027 and whatever the tax raises afterward. The council's net goal is $1,000,000. Staff set the ballot figure to leave room for first-year over-collection and up to $250,000 in exemptions, chiefly for longtime owners, kept off the ballot. The question fixes the per-parcel amounts, and they do not rise if collections fall short. Under the question, the town collects and spends the revenue notwithstanding TABOR's revenue and spending limits.
All revenue goes to the town's capital fund. Under the municipal code, the fund generally pays for buildings, vehicles, equipment, and street and park maintenance, and it may transfer money to the affordable housing, open space, transit, parks and trails, and utility funds but not the general fund. Half of the town's 3% real estate transfer tax, paid on property sales in town, already goes to the same fund.
In July, 218 residents gave the council a letter asking it to look closely at spending and other ways to raise revenue instead of a tax. In September the council appointed a citizen budget advisory committee. Under the staff's recommended timeline, it submits initial recommendations on the 2027 budget on October 26 and final ones on November 9, after the election.
The 2026 election is over. Requests for personalized guides closed on November 3, 2026. The full guide remains available to read.