Adds a 0.40% town sales tax for street and broadband capital improvements and related equipment, operation and maintenance, beginning January 1, 2027, with no end date.
Town of Mancos
On the November 3, 2026 ballot
Kim's Recommendation
NO
Vote No on Town of Mancos Ballot Question 2B
Clearnetworx, a private company, began building a fiber network in Mancos in June, and Question 2B lets the town spend a sales tax with no end date on broadband as well as streets. I do not support taxing purchases in Mancos to build and maintain broadband alongside a private provider. I believe a town should leave to private companies the services they offer and keep its taxes for work only the town can do. The question gives voters no way to approve the street purposes without also authorizing the broadband purposes.
The ballot names $325,000 for 2027, above the approximately $100,000 to $120,000 a year that town staff estimated in March 2025 the increase would net, and authorizes whatever amounts the tax generates. I oppose handing Mancos an open-ended revenue source it may spend, with its investment earnings, outside TABOR's limits.
I recommend a no vote on Town of Mancos Ballot Question 2B.
Kim Monson
Host, The Kim Monson Show · President, Colorado Union of Taxpayers · Colorado Voter's Guide 2026
Certified ballot question
SHALL TOWN OF MANCOS TAXES BE INCREASED $325,000 IN 2027 (FIRST FULL FISCAL YEAR) BY SUCH AMOUNTS AS MAY BE GENERATED THROUGH THE IMPOSITION OF AN ADDITIONAL TOWN-WIDE SALES TAX OF .40% (FOR A TOTAL SALES TAX OF 4.4%) TO BE UTILIZED EXCLUSIVELY FOR STREET IMPROVEMENTS, BROADBAND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS, EQUIPMENT AND OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE RELATING TO THE SAME; SUCH TAX INCREASES TO COMMENCE JANUARY 1, 2027 AND CONTINUE ANNUALLY THEREAFTER; AND SHALL SUCH TAX REVENUES AND INVESTMENT EARNINGS THEREON BE COLLECTED, RETAINED AND SPENT AS A VOTER APPROVED REVENUE CHANGE AND AN EXCEPTION TO THE LIMITS WHICH WOULD OTHERWISE APPLY UNDER ARTICLE X, SECTION 20 OF THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION OR ANY OTHER LAW?
A yes vote means
Approves the added sales tax, bringing the town rate to 4.4%, with the specified spending restrictions and retention of tax revenue and investment earnings outside revenue limits.
A no vote means
Rejects this sales tax increase.
Key facts
Added sales tax
0.40%
Total town rate
4.4%
Begins
January 1, 2027
Streets and Broadband on One Question01
Question 2B raises the Town of Mancos sales tax from 4% to 4.4% on January 1, 2027, and the added 0.4% has no end date. The ballot names a $325,000 increase in 2027, the first full fiscal year, and authorizes whatever amounts the tax generates. In March 2025, town staff wrote that a 0.4% increase would net the town approximately $100,000 to $120,000 per year. The money may go only to street improvements, broadband capital improvements, and equipment, operation and maintenance for both. Streets and broadband share one question, so a single yes or no decides both.
The Board of Trustees voted unanimously on July 8, 2026, to send the proposed 0.4% sales tax increase to the November ballot. The ordinance credits the new revenue to the town's General Fund, sets it aside for street and broadband purposes, and becomes void if voters reject the question.
Added town sales tax
The proposed 0.40% sales tax increase adds 40 cents per $100 of taxable purchases.
Example for $1,000 in taxable purchases
$1,000 × 0.004 = $4.00
This estimates the added tax, not the total tax on a purchase. The proposed total town rate is 4.4%; other jurisdictions may also tax the purchase. Begins January 1, 2027, with no end date. Rounded to the nearest cent; actual checkout rounding may differ.
Estimated added town sales tax
Enter a value of zero or more, with no more than two decimal places.
Montezuma County certified sample ballot, Town of Mancos Ballot Question 2B
Revenue Beyond TABOR's Limits02
A yes vote also lets Mancos collect, keep and spend the tax revenue and its investment earnings as a voter-approved exception to the limits of TABOR, Article X, Section 20 of the Colorado Constitution, and of any other law. The ordinance adds that this approval places no limit on the other revenue the town collects and spends. According to the town's 2024 audit, Mancos voters in 1996 let the town keep all revenue from its sales and use tax and other sources above state spending limits, including TABOR's, for listed purposes beginning with street construction, repair and maintenance.
Aging Equipment and a Tight Budget03
Town Administrator Heather Alvarez told The Journal in February that the sales tax has not been raised since the 1990s and that some town equipment is decades old, including a dump truck the county donated in the early 1970s. With the town's small operating budget, she said, maintaining the fleet is not sustainable. The Journal reported that the tax would also support a "dig once" approach, in which crews lay fiber conduit whenever a street is opened for other work.
The notes to the draft 2027 operating budget, in the board's August 26 packet, say the budget does not count the possible sales tax increase, "which will offset large expenditures in Streets/Public Works." The same notes say the draft General Fund operating budget is out of balance for the first time in 18 years.
A 2024 survey of 211 registered Mancos voters, conducted by a Colorado public research firm, found 72% in favor of a 0.3% tax for paving, road maintenance and broadband. Respondents who opposed the increase considered paving and broadband funding unnecessary and raised concerns about the cost to taxpayers and the town's character, The Journal reported.
Private Fiber in Mancos04
Clearnetworx, a Montrose-based fiber provider, began building a high-speed fiber network in Mancos in June, The Journal reported.
Sources05
Official documents
Montezuma County certified sample ballot, November 3, 2026 election
