Raises the county lodging tax from 2% to 5% beginning January 1, 2027, for tourism, recreation, visitor services and related programs. Cortez is excluded.
Montezuma County
On the November 3, 2026 ballot
Kim's Recommendation
NO
Vote No on Montezuma County Ballot Question 1B
A yes on 1B sets the county's charge on overnight stays at 5% instead of 2% with no end date, and it lets the county keep all the revenue this tax raises beyond TABOR's limits. I object to what this tax pays for. The first use the ballot names is tourism promotion and marketing, and the county's current lodgers tax grants ask applicants how their events and marketing bring nightly lodgers into hotels, campgrounds and short-term rentals. Filling those rooms is the work of the businesses that run them, and the county should not raise a tax to do it for them.
The ballot's list of uses also reaches past promotion to visitor infrastructure, destination development, the cost of running the programs and emergency response and recovery after events that affect visitation. I cannot support a list that wide on a tax the county has held at 2% since 1988.
I recommend a no vote on Montezuma County Ballot Question 1B.
Kim Monson
Host, The Kim Monson Show · President, Colorado Union of Taxpayers · Colorado Voter's Guide 2026
Certified ballot question
SHALL MONTEZUMA COUNTY LODGING TAXES BE INCREASED BY $404,598 IN TAX COLLECTION YEAR 2027 AND BY WHATEVER AMOUNTS ARE GENERATED ANNUALLY THEREAFTER BY INCREASING THE COUNTY LODGING TAX FROM 2% to 5% EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2027, EXCLUDING THE MUNICIPALITY OF CORTEZ WHICH HAS ITS OWN LODGING TAX, AND SHALL THE LODGING TAX REVENUES RECEIVED BY THE COUNTY BE USED FOR THE FOLLOWING PURPOSES: • TOURISM PROMOTION AND MARKETING • RECREATION, OUTDOOR RECREATION, AND VISITOR-RELATED INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS; • DESTINATION DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS AND VISITOR EXPERIENCE ENHANCEMENTS; • TOURISM RESILIENCY, EMERGENCY RESPONSE, AND RECOVERY EFFORTS RELATED TO EVENTS AFFECTING VISITATION; • ADMINISTRATION, OVERSIGHT, AND IMPLEMENTATION OF AUTHORIZED LODGING TAX PROGRAMS; AND SHALL THE COUNTY BE AUTHORIZED TO COLLECT, RETAIN, AND SPEND ALL REVENUES GENERATED BY SUCH TAX AS A VOTER-APPROVED REVENUE CHANGE UNDER ARTICLE X, SECTION 20 OF THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION, OR ANY OTHER LAW?
A yes vote means
Approves the 5% county lodging tax outside Cortez, the five spending categories and retention of all tax revenue outside TABOR and other legal limits.
A no vote means
Rejects the increase; the county lodging tax rate remains 2%.
Key facts
Current county rate
2%
Proposed county rate
5%
Excluded
Cortez
A Higher Rate on Overnight Stays01
The Montezuma Lodgers Tax Committee asked the county commissioners for a 5% lodging tax. Question 1B asks voters on November 3, 2026, whether to raise the county lodging tax from 2% to 5%, effective January 1, 2027. The Journal reported that the rate has been 2% since 1988. As an example, at 5%, $100 of taxable lodging charges pays $5 in county lodging tax, $3 more than at 2%. County Attorney Stephen Tarnowski said the tax applies everywhere in the county except in a municipality that levies a lodging tax. The Journal reported that Cortez is the only one that does. KSJD described it as a charge on hotel and motel stays and short-term rentals. The question names no end date.
Commissioner Jim Candelaria said at a regular meeting that House Bill 25-1247 raised the maximum county lodging tax rate to 6%, though the committee favored 5%, The Journal reported.
The tax rate now and if approved
Rate
The county lodging tax (the City of Cortez excluded), now (as the question states it)
2%
The county lodging tax (the City of Cortez excluded), if approved
5%
Montezuma County ballot, Montezuma County Ballot Question 1B
Added county lodging tax
The proposed increase adds $3 per $100 of taxable lodging charges outside Cortez.
Example for $100 in taxable lodging
$100 × 0.03 = $3.00
This estimates the added county lodging tax, not the total tax or final lodging bill. Cortez is excluded. Begins January 1, 2027, with no end date. Rounded to the nearest cent; actual checkout rounding may differ.
Estimated added county lodging tax
Enter a value of zero or more, with no more than two decimal places.
Montezuma County certified sample ballot, County Lodging Tax Question 1B
Five Named Uses02
The ballot directs the revenue to tourism promotion and marketing; recreation, outdoor recreation and visitor-related infrastructure; destination development and visitor experience projects; tourism resiliency, emergency response and recovery tied to events affecting visitation; and administration of the lodging tax programs.
The committee reviews applications for lodgers tax grants and recommends awards, which the commissioners approve. Its 2026 guidelines ask each applicant how its event or activity brings nightly lodgers into hotels, motels, campgrounds and short-term vacation rentals, a test it calls "heads in beds."
Revenue the County Keeps03
The question estimates the increase at $404,598 in 2027 and authorizes whatever it raises each year after that. A yes vote lets the county collect, keep and spend that revenue as a voter-approved revenue change under the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR) and any other law. The county's election notice estimates 2027 county spending without the increase at $53,077,520.
From Committee Request to Ballot04
At a June 9 meeting, after lodgers tax committee members Lee Cloy, Kathy Zubrzycki and Brian Bartlett met with them, the commissioners asked the county attorney to draft an increase from 2% to 5%. The commissioners believe tourists pay most of the tax on short-term rentals outside Cortez, The Journal reported.
Other Lodging and County Questions05
Question 1A, about term limits on four elected county offices, shares the county ballot, and neither question's wording mentions the other. Cortez voters decide the city's lodgers' tax separately, in Question 2A.
Sources06
Official documents
Montezuma County certified sample ballot, November 3, 2026 election
