Replaces the $5 marijuana transaction tax with a 5% sales tax and exempts that revenue and its earnings from TABOR limits.
Town of Paonia
On the November 3, 2026 ballot
Kim's Recommendation
NO
Vote No on Town of Paonia Ballot Issue 2A
Ballot Issue 2A replaces a charge of $5.00 per sale, which stays the same whatever the price, with a 5 percent tax that rises with every price increase and every larger purchase. Paonia's interim administrator did not expect the switch to cost the town money. The question then lets Paonia keep and spend all of that revenue and its earnings "WITHOUT LIMITATION OR CONDITION."
I want revenue that outgrows population and inflation refunded to taxpayers. I oppose converting a fixed tax into one that grows by design and then placing it beyond TABOR's revenue limits with no end date.
I recommend a no vote on Town of Paonia Ballot Issue 2A.
Kim Monson
Host, The Kim Monson Show · President, Colorado Union of Taxpayers · Colorado Voter's Guide 2026
Certified ballot question
SHALL THE TOWN OF PAONIA TAXES BE DECREASED UP TO $40,000.00 ANNUALLY IN 2027, THE FIRST FULL FISCAL YEAR OF COLLECTION, AND BY WHATEVER AMOUNT IS RAISED ANNUALLY THEREAFTER, BY REMOVAL OF THE OCCUPATIONAL TAX OF $5.00 PER SALES TRANSACTION, AND THROUGH THE ADOPTION OF A SALES TAX AT THE RATE OF FIVE PERCENT (5%) OF THE PRICE PAID BY THE PURCHASER ON THE SALES OF RETAIL AND MEDICAL MARIJUANA, MARIJUANA PRODUCTS, AND MARIJUANA ACCESSORIES, AS DEFINED IN THE COLORADO MARIJUANA CODE, COLORADO MARIJUANA RULES, AND APPLICABLE TOWN ORDINANCES, AND COMMENCING UPON THE ADOPTION OF LOCAL REGULATIONS BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, AS MAY BE AMENDED FROM TIME TO TIME, WITH THE REVENUES RECEIVED FROM SUCH TAX TO BE SPENT ON ANY LAWFUL MUNICIPAL PURPOSE?
AND SHALL ALL REVENUES FROM SUCH TAX AND ANY EARNINGS THEREON BE COLLECTED, RETAINED, AND SPENT AS A VOTER APPROVED REVENUE CHANGE WITHOUT LIMITATION OR CONDITION, AND NOTWITHSTANDING ANY REVENUE OR EXPENDITURE LIMITATIONS CONTAINED IN ARTICLE X SECTION 20 OF THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION OR ANY OTHER LAW?
A yes vote means
Replaces the $5 occupational tax per transaction with a 5% marijuana sales tax when the board adopts local regulations. Allows the town to spend the revenue on any lawful municipal purpose and retain it and its earnings outside revenue and spending limits.
A no vote means
Rejects this tax replacement and its revenue-limit exemption. The existing $5 occupational tax remains.
Replacing the Per-Sale Marijuana Tax01
Paonia charges an occupational tax of $5.00 per sales transaction on retail and medical marijuana, whatever the purchase costs. Ballot Issue 2A removes that tax and adopts a sales tax of 5 percent of the price the purchaser pays on retail and medical marijuana, marijuana products and marijuana accessories. For a $100 taxable marijuana purchase, the replacement 5% marijuana tax is $5, the same as the existing transaction charge; other taxes are separate.
The new tax begins when the Board of Trustees adopts local regulations. It has no end date, and the town may spend the revenue on any lawful municipal purpose. Because the tax is a share of the price, what it collects moves with prices and with the size of each purchase.
The two taxes compared
Taxable transaction
Existing tax
Replacement tax
$50
$5
$2.50
$100
$5
$5
$200
$5
$10
Delta County sample ballot content, Paonia Ballot Issue 2A. Examples exclude other applicable taxes.
Why the Trustees Sought the Change02
The Board of Trustees referred the question by resolution on August 25, 2026, on a unanimous vote. Town Clerk Samira Vetter told the board that a 5 percent tax would bring Paonia in line with surrounding communities, particularly those in Delta County, the High Country Spotlight reported. The Spotlight also reported that representatives of the town's two dispensaries asked for the change at a board meeting in 2025.
The question asks whether town taxes shall be decreased up to $40,000.00 annually in 2027, the first full fiscal year of collection, "AND BY WHATEVER AMOUNT IS RAISED ANNUALLY THEREAFTER." The meeting minutes record a staff estimate of a possible annual revenue reduction of up to $40,000. Trustees noted that lower transaction costs could keep more purchases in Paonia and offset some or all of the reduced revenue. Interim Town Administrator Greg Sund said he did not believe the town would incur a loss from the change, according to the Spotlight.
Unlimited Use of the Marijuana Revenue03
The question's second paragraph lets the town collect, retain and spend all revenue from the new tax, and any earnings on it, "WITHOUT LIMITATION OR CONDITION," regardless of the revenue and spending limits of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR) or any other law. The exemption covers this tax and its earnings, not the town's other revenue, and it has no end date.
Replacement tax on marijuana purchases
The proposed tax would be 5% of taxable purchases of marijuana, marijuana products and marijuana accessories.
Example for a $100 taxable purchase
$100 × 0.05 = $5.00
This estimates the proposed 5% tax, rounded to the nearest cent. It does not subtract the existing $5 tax per transaction, which would end. Other applicable taxes are excluded; actual checkout rounding may differ.
Estimated replacement tax
Enter a value of zero or more, with no more than two decimal places.
Delta County sample ballot content, Town of Paonia Ballot Issue 2A
Sources04
Official documents
Delta County sample ballot content, November 3, 2026 election
The Town of Paonia Board of Trustees packet for August 25, 2026 contains the draft Resolution No. 20-2026 with the full ballot issue text asking voters to replace the $5.00-per-transaction marijuana occupational tax with a 5% sales tax on retail and medical marijuana.
Official Town of Paonia Board of Trustees minutes of August 25, 2026 record the unanimous approval of Resolution 26-20 referring to the November ballot a question replacing the $5-per-transaction marijuana occupational tax with a 5% charge per sale.
The 2026 election is over. Requests for personalized guides closed on November 3, 2026. The full guide remains available to read.
