City of Grand Junction

Grand Junction 2B: Sales tax and borrowing for the Orchard Mesa pool

New tax or feeNew sales tax and borrowing

Raises the city sales and use tax from 3.39% to 3.46% and authorizes up to $12 million in debt, with up to $19 million in repayment costs, for the Orchard Mesa pool. Part of the increase would continue after repayment.

City of Grand Junction

Kim's Recommendation

Vote No on City of Grand Junction Referred Measure 2B

The question lets Grand Junction repay its $12,000,000 debt, with a repayment cost of $19,000,000, from any general revenue, and city officials report expenses outrunning revenue, with a preliminary 2027 gap of about $18 million counting new staff and one-time requests, or $6 million without them. If the pool tax falls short, the question lets the city cover the difference from that strained budget. I oppose pledging the city's general revenue behind this debt.

The 0.03% operating portion has no end date, so the city rate stays higher after the city retires the bonds. City voters approved a recreation center in 2023, a sales tax increase helped pay for it, and its aquatic component includes a six-lane lap pool. I oppose another sales tax increase, one with no end date, to operate and maintain a pool.

I recommend a no vote on City of Grand Junction Referred Measure 2B.

Kim Monson

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

Certified ballot question

SHALL CITY OF GRAND JUNCTION TAXES BE INCREASED $1,900,000 IN 2027 (THE FIRST FULL FISCAL YEAR), AND BY WHATEVER AMOUNTS AS ARE GENERATED ANNUALLY THEREAFTER BY INCREASING THE CITY'S SALES AND USE TAX RATE FROM 3.39% TO 3.46% BEGINNING JANUARY 1, 2027, FOR THE PURPOSE OF GENERATING REVENUE TO FINANCE THE COSTS OF REPAIRING, RENOVATING, AND EQUIPPING THE ORCHARD MESA SWIMMING POOL, WHICH SHALL INCLUDE REPAIR AND REPLACEMENT OF THE SWIMMING POOL SYSTEMS INCLUDING MECHANICAL, HEATING/VENTILATION/AIR-CONDITIONING (HVAC), ELECTRICAL AND FILTRATION AND OTHER HARDWARE NECESSARY FOR OPERATION OF THE SWIMMING POOL FACILITY BUT SHALL NOT INCLUDE ANY EXPANSION BEYOND THE EXISTING 6 LANE, 25 YARD BY 25 METER, POOL CONFIGURATION, AND SHALL INCLUDE THE PAYMENT OF PRINCIPAL, PREMIUM, IF ANY, AND INTEREST ON THE DEBT AUTHORIZED BY THIS QUESTION OR TO CREATE A RESERVE FOR SAME; AND SUCH RATE SHALL BE REDUCED BY 0.04% ON JANUARY 1ST FOLLOWING THE DATE ON WHICH THE DEBT APPROVED HEREBY IS PAID IN FULL (BUT IN NO EVENT SHALL SUCH REDUCTION OCCUR LATER THAN DECEMBER 31, 2047), WITH THE REMAINING INCREASE AUTHORIZED BY THIS QUESTION (.03%) TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE FOR THE OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF THE ORCHARD MESA SWIMMING POOL, AND SHALL CITY OF GRAND JUNCTION DEBT BE INCREASED $12,000,000 WITH A REPAYMENT COST OF $19,000,000 TO PROVIDE FINANCING FOR THE COSTS OF REPAIRING, RENOVATING, AND EQUIPPING THE ORCHARD MESA SWIMMING POOL WITH THE DEBT BEING PAYABLE FROM THIS TAX INCREASE OR ANY OTHER GENERAL REVENUE OF THE CITY, PROVIDED THAT THE SPECIFIC TERMS OF THE DEBT, INCLUDING A PROVISION FOR EARLY REPAYMENT WITH OR WITHOUT A PREMIUM, AND THE PRICE AT WHICH IT WILL BE SOLD BEING DETERMINED BY THE CITY AS NECESSARY AND PRUDENT, WITH THE CITY BEING AUTHORIZED TO IMPOSE, COLLECT, RETAIN AND SPEND SUCH REVENUES AND ANY INVESTMENT EARNINGS AND INTEREST THEREON, AS A VOTER APPROVED REVENUE CHANGE UNDER ARTICLE X SECTION 20 OF THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION AND ANY OTHER LAW?

A yes vote means

Authorizes the pool tax increase and borrowing, including a continuing 0.03-percentage-point tax increase for operations and maintenance.

A no vote means

Rejects this proposed tax increase and borrowing for the Orchard Mesa pool.

Repairs for the Orchard Mesa Pool01

Measure 2B lets the City of Grand Junction borrow $12,000,000, with a repayment cost of $19,000,000, to repair, renovate and equip the Orchard Mesa Pool at 2736 Unaweep Avenue. The work covers the pool's mechanical, heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, electrical and filtration systems and other hardware the facility needs to operate. The question bars any expansion beyond the existing six-lane, 25-yard-by-25-meter pool configuration.

The City Council unanimously approved the question on Aug. 19, 2026, and adopted Resolution No. 76-26 calling a special municipal election on Nov. 3. The Daily Sentinel reported on September 13, 2026, that the city's contract with Mesa County Valley School District 51 was scheduled to keep the pool operating until the end of 2026 or until the new community recreation center opened, then expected on September 25.

Voters approved the Grand Junction Community Recreation Center in 2023. Its aquatic component includes five pools, one of them a six-lane lap pool. The Sentinel reports that a 0.14% sales tax increase and cannabis tax money funded about $82.1 million of the center's construction costs.

The initial added city tax

The proposed increase adds 0.07 percentage point to the city rate.

$100 in taxable purchases

$100 × 0.0007 = $0.07 in added city tax.

This is only the initial increase, not the full sales or use tax. It falls to 0.03 percentage point under the repayment terms described above. Other taxes are excluded.

Grand Junction 2B: city rate from 3.39% to 3.46%.

A Tax Increase in Two Parts02

The question raises the city sales and use tax rate from 3.39% to 3.46% on Jan. 1, 2027. For 2027, the first full fiscal year, the question sets the added tax at $1,900,000; in later years it is whatever the increase collects.

Of that 0.07% increase, 0.04% ends on the first Jan. 1 after the city repays the debt, and by Dec. 31, 2047, at the latest. The remaining 0.03% continues to pay for operating and maintaining the pool. The question sets no end date for that portion, and the Sentinel reported it would stay "on the books in perpetuity."

What Backs the Debt03

The new tax may pay the debt's principal, any premium and interest, or create a reserve for those payments. The city can repay the debt from the new tax or from any other general revenue. The city sets the debt's terms, including early repayment with or without a premium, and the price at which the debt sells. As a voter-approved revenue change under Article X, Section 20 of the Colorado Constitution and any other law, the city may impose, collect, retain and spend the new revenue and any investment earnings and interest on it.

The City Budget Picture04

Grand Junction's tax revenue has grown about 30% since 2021 while city expenses have grown 53%, a gap city officials call a "structural deficit," the Sentinel reported on Sept. 11. In late August, city staff presented preliminary 2027 figures showing about $18 million more in expenses than revenues, counting new staff needs and one-time purchase requests. Chief Financial Officer Jay Valentine said that without new staff or one-time requests, the city would need to close a $6 million deficit. The city ended 2025 with a fund balance of about $48.5 million; City Manager Mike Bennett said some of it would offset the 2027 gap but would not cover the whole difference.

Sources05

Official documents

Mesa County sample ballot, Style 2, page 2