Palisade Town Sales Tax Increase for Streets, Parks and Emergency Services
New tax or feeSales tax increase
Raises the town sales tax from 2% to 3% through December 31, 2034, for specified street, park and pool projects and emergency services; $600,000 is estimated for the first full fiscal year.
Town of Palisade
Kim's Recommendation
NO
Vote No on Town of Palisade Ballot Issue 2A
The town's resolution says Palisade charges less than half the sales tax rate of its neighbors. I would keep that difference. Issue 2A narrows it through the end of 2034, and residents pay the higher rate on their taxable purchases along with the visitors the mayor says the town depends on.
The question on the ballot drops the 2.5-mill property tax cut that the trustees' March agenda paired with a sales tax increase. Property owners receive none of the relief that plan offered, while shoppers pay the higher rate on taxable purchases. I oppose a sales tax increase on those terms.
I recommend a no vote on Town of Palisade Ballot Issue 2A.
Kim Monson
Host, The Kim Monson Show · President, Colorado Union of Taxpayers · Colorado Voter's Guide 2026
Certified ballot question
SHALL TOWN OF PALISADE TAXES BE INCREASED BY AN ESTIMATED $600,000 ANNUALLY FOR THE FIRST FULL FISCAL YEAR (FIRST FULL FISCAL YEAR INCREASE) AND BY WHATEVER ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS ARE RAISED ANNUALLY THEREAFTER, THROUGH AN INCREASE IN THE TOWN'S SALES TAX RATE FROM 2.0% TO 3.0%, WHICH INCREASE WILL TERMINATE ON DECEMBER 31, 2034, SUCH REVENUES TO BE COLLECTED, RETAINED AND SPENT BY THE TOWN AS A VOTER APPROVED REVENUE CHANGE, NOTWITHSTANDING ANY REVENUE OR EXPENDITURE LIMIT SET FORTH IN ARTICLE X, SECTION 20 OF THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION OR ANY OTHER LAW; AND SHALL ALL REVENUES DERIVED FROM SUCH INCREASED 1.0% SALES TAX BE COLLECTED AND 0.75% OF SAID INCREASE SPENT TO FUND: STREET REPAIRS FOR 4TH, 5TH, 6TH AND 7TH STREETS, IMPROVEMENTS TO PEACH BOWL PARK, SWIMMING POOL IMPROVEMENTS, IMPROVEMENTS TO RIVERBEND PARK, AND 0.25% OF SAID INCREASE SPENT TO FUND EMERGENCY SERVICES, AS A VOTER APPROVED REVENUE CHANGE, AND IN CONNECTION THEREWITH SHALL THE TOWN BE AUTHORIZED TO COLLECT AND RETAIN OR EXPEND THE PROCEEDS OF SUCH TAX AND INVESTMENT EARNINGS THEREON FOR SUCH PURPOSES, NOTWITHSTANDING ANY APPLICABLE LIMITATION ON REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES, INCLUDING THE LIMITATIONS SET FORTH IN ARTICLE X SECTION 20 OF THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION?
A yes vote means
Authorizes the one-percentage-point town sales tax increase through December 31, 2034, for the listed projects and emergency services, with proceeds kept outside applicable revenue limits.
A no vote means
Rejects this proposed increase in the town sales tax.
What the Trustees Put on the Ballot01
Palisade's municipal code imposes a 2.0% town sales tax on sales of tangible personal property and on taxable services. Ballot Issue 2A raises that rate to 3.0%. The Board of Trustees referred the question on August 25, 2026, adopting Resolution 2026-14 with all seven trustees voting yes. Under the resolution, the increase begins on or after January 1, 2027. The question ends it on December 31, 2034. The question estimates the added revenue at $600,000 for the first full fiscal year and at whatever the higher rate raises each year after that.
Four rates make up the 7.27% the Colorado Department of Revenue's January 2026 table lists for taxable purchases in Palisade: 2.9% for the state, Mesa County's 2%, a separate 0.37% the table lists under Mesa County Limits, and 2% for the town.
The added town sales tax
The town rate would rise by one percentage point.
$100 in taxable purchases
$100 × 0.01 = $1.00 in added town tax.
This shows only the proposed town tax increase on a taxable purchase. It excludes the existing town tax and other sales taxes. The increase would end December 31, 2034.
Added town sales tax
Enter a nonnegative dollar amount with no more than two decimal places.
Palisade 2A: town sales tax from 2% to 3%.
How the Revenue Is Divided02
Of the added 1.0%, 0.75% pays for repairs to 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th streets and for improvements to Peach Bowl Park, the swimming pool and Riverbend Park. The other 0.25% funds emergency services. A yes vote lets the town collect, keep and spend the revenue and its investment earnings for those purposes regardless of the revenue and spending limits in the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR) or any other law.
Under Resolution 2026-14, a yes vote is a continuing authority: the trustees may impose the increase at one time or from time to time, and using part of it does not exhaust the rest.
The Town's Revenue Shortfall03
The resolution says the town has not raised its sales tax in decades. The state's January 2026 table lists municipal sales-tax rates of 2% in Palisade, 3% in Fruita and 3.39% in Grand Junction. Mayor Greg Mikolai told KJCT that the last increase, from 1% to 2%, came more than 20 years ago. He said the money would help cover a shortfall of roughly a quarter of a million dollars in the town's upcoming budget, which he tied in part to declining marijuana tax revenue. Police officers can earn $10,000 or $15,000 a year more in Grand Junction or elsewhere, the mayor said. He described the town as greatly dependent on tourists who buy its peaches and wines and go to its restaurants, and said a lot of the tax base is going to come from them.
The March Plan's Property Tax Cut04
The trustees' March 24, 2026, agenda carried a different proposal: a ballot question pairing a 2.5-mill cut in the town property tax with a 1% sales tax increase for fire, EMS, police and road improvements. The question adopted in August raises the sales tax and carries no property tax cut.
The source is the Town of Palisade Board of Trustees agenda for August 25, 2026, and it lists Resolution 2026-14 setting ballot language for a sales tax increase request on the November 3, 2026 Coordinated Election ballot as an item the Board will consider.
