Town of Morrison

Ending Morrison's Small-Lodging Tax Exemption

New tax or feeLodging tax exemption removed

Removes Morrison's room-count lodging-tax exemption from January 1, 2027, so all lodging facilities are covered; the separate 2E question would change the rate.

Town of Morrison

Kim's Recommendation

Vote No on Town of Morrison ballot issue 2D

Issue 2D ends the lodging tax's exemption for places with fewer than eight guest rooms. That brings the smallest lodging businesses in Morrison, bed and breakfasts among them, under the tax and requires their owners to collect it and remit it to the town. I see that as the town reaching further into its smallest businesses.

The question sets no year in which the increase ends: $125,000 in the first full year, then whatever the tax raises. Its TABOR clause is wider than the new money. It covers every dollar the lodging tax brings in, from the newly taxed rooms and the rooms already taxed, and lets the town keep all of it outside TABOR's revenue and spending limits. I oppose an increase with no final year that also carries the whole lodging tax outside those limits.

I recommend a no vote on Town of Morrison ballot issue 2D.

Kim Monson

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

Certified ballot question

SHALL THE TOWN OF MORRISON'S TAXES BE INCREASED BY $125,000 IN THE FIRST FULL FISCAL YEAR, COMMENCING JANUARY 1, 2027, AND BY WHATEVER AMOUNTS RAISED ANNUALLY THEREAFTER, BY ELIMINATING AN EXISTING EXEMPTION FROM THE TOWN’S LODGING TAX AND THEREBY EXPANDING THE TAX TO APPLY TO ALL LODGING FACILITIES REGARDLESS OF THE NUMBER OF GUEST ROOMS, WITH THE REVENUES THEREFROM TO BE SPENT ON ANY LAWFUL MUNICIPAL PURPOSE; AND SHALL ALL REVENUES DERIVED FROM SUCH TAX AND ANY EARNINGS THEREON BE COLLECTED, RETAINED AND SPENT AS A VOTER-APPROVED REVENUE CHANGE NOTWITHSTANDING ANY REVENUE OR EXPENDITURE LIMITATIONS CONTAINED IN ARTICLE X, SECTION 20 OF THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION?

A yes vote means

Approves ending the room-count lodging-tax exemption beginning January 1, 2027, with the revenue spendable on any lawful municipal purpose. It also authorizes the town to collect, retain and spend all lodging-tax revenue and its earnings outside TABOR's revenue and spending limits.

A no vote means

Keeps the existing exemption from the town lodging tax.

The Exemption Voters Approved01

Morrison voters created the town's 6% lodging tax at the April 3, 2012, election. The question they approved exempted lodging facilities of fewer than eight guest rooms, and the tax began January 1, 2013. On September 17, 2013, the Board of Trustees widened the exemption by ordinance to facilities of fewer than 11 guest rooms. On April 21, 2026, the board adopted Ordinance No. 562, which returns the exemption to establishments with fewer than eight guest rooms. The ordinance says the change makes the code consistent with the ballot measure voters approved. The board's September 15 agenda carried an ordinance setting October 1, 2026, as Ordinance No. 562's effective date.

Lodging tax on lodgings newly taxed by 2D

Morrison's lodging tax is 6.00 percent of the lodging price (Municipal Code 3-6-3). 2D ends the exemption for lodging facilities with fewer than eight guestrooms (3-6-4 D), so their guests would pay it: $60 for every $1,000 of lodging charges.

Example for $1,000 in taxable lodging charges

$1,000 × 0.06 = $60

The rate is the town code's current 6.00 percent. If Ballot Issue 2E also passes, the lodging tax becomes 8 percent from 2027. This is the lodging tax only, not other taxes on the stay.

Jefferson County ballot, Town of Morrison ballot issue 2D

Lodging Tax on Every Facility02

Issue 2D eliminates that exemption, so the lodging tax applies to all lodging facilities regardless of the number of guest rooms. A staff memo in the board's July 7 meeting packet said that if the exemption were removed entirely, smaller establishments, including bed and breakfasts, would also have to collect and remit the tax. The question puts the increase at $125,000 for the first full fiscal year, which begins January 1, 2027, and at whatever amounts are raised annually after that, with no year in which the increase ends.

Spending the New Revenue03

The question lets the town put the money from the expanded tax toward any lawful municipal purpose. A yes vote on 2D also takes the lodging tax's revenue outside the revenue and spending limits of Colorado's Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR), Colo. Const. art. X, § 20, as a voter-approved revenue change. That part of the question is not limited to the money from the smaller facilities 2D brings in; it covers every dollar the lodging tax brings in, and any earnings on that money.

How 2D and 2E Fit Together04

Ordinance No. 564, which the board adopted 6 to 0 on July 21, 2026, sent both lodging questions to the ballot as Question No. 1 and Question No. 2. Issue 2E asks to raise the rate of the existing lodging tax from 6% to 8% and states a tax increase of $500,000 in its first full fiscal year. Both amend the town's lodging tax.

Sources05

Official documents

Official ballot certification: Town of Morrison ballot issue 2D — filed 9-1-26