Northglenn Accommodations Tax Increase

Northglenn taxes hotel stays, short-term rentals and other accommodation services of less than 30 consecutive days at 5%, a rate in place since January 1, 1982. Issue 3H raises that city rate to 8% beginning in 2027. The city lists today's total tax on accommodations at 9.75%: 5% to Northglenn, 0.75% to Adams County and 4% collected by the state, a figure that includes the Regional Transportation District and the Science and Cultural Facilities District. The increase applies only to accommodation services. The city's other sales tax rates do not change.

The proceeds go to general governmental purposes, "including, but not limited to," public safety, street maintenance, parks, recreation and culture, and the city's administrative functions. The question sets no end date, and the city collects and spends the revenue as a voter-approved revenue change under TABOR.

The question raises city taxes by $450,000 a year beginning in 2027 "and by such amounts as are raised annually thereafter." The TABOR notice gives $450,000 as the estimated maximum for the first full fiscal year. Deputy City Manager Jason Loveland wrote in a July 13 memo to the council that the $450,000 figure is "purposely greater than actual expectations to not disclose a single taxpayer's sales information."

City staff raised the idea at a study session on July 6, 2026, noting that Northglenn's rate is lower than the rates of many neighboring cities: Thornton and Westminster charge 7%, Boulder 7.5% and Wheat Ridge 10%, while Arvada charges 2%. Staff said the increase would bring in General Fund revenue "from visitors and short-term lodging" while keeping the rate "generally consistent with surrounding communities." At 8%, the city's rate would be higher than every rate on staff's table except Wheat Ridge's. On July 13 the council adopted the resolution referring the question, 6 to 0 with three members absent. Staff put the cost of placing it on the ballot at about $20,000.

On July 20 staff projected 2027 General Fund revenue of $39.5 million, 2% below the 2026 budget, and named the accommodations tax among the sources trending below expectations. Without changes, staff forecast spending above revenue in every year from 2027 through 2031, with a 2027 gap of $2,288,167 before other uses. The presentation listed the accommodations tax increase, pending voter approval, among the city's revenue "tailwinds." To balance the draft 2027 budget at $39.5 million, staff proposed a reduction in force of 25.69 full-time equivalent positions, 16.76 of them already vacant and frozen, along with cuts to programs, supplies and operating costs. The memo estimates the ending fund balance at 31% of General Fund expenditures, above the city's 25% policy minimum.