City of Pueblo

Pueblo Zoo Sales Tax

New tax or feeNew sales tax

Adds a Pueblo sales tax of one-sixth percent, printed as 0.167%, for the zoo from 2027 through 2031; the question states up to $3,769,615 for the first full fiscal year.

City of Pueblo

Kim's Recommendation

Vote No on City of Pueblo Ballot Question 2B

Under Question 2B, a citywide sales tax would go to the operations and capital improvement of the Pueblo Zoo, and the city's background paper ties the operating money to one organization, the Pueblo Zoological Society or a successor. From 2027 through 2031, taxable sales across the city carry the added 0.167%, whether or not the buyer ever visits the zoo.

I believe a zoo should be paid for by the people who visit it and the donors who choose to support it. This measure puts that choice in the city code for five years instead of leaving it with each household.

The question also lets the city collect, retain and spend all of this money outside TABOR's limits: up to $3,769,615.00 in the first full fiscal year by the city's estimate, and whatever the tax raises after that. I want Pueblo taxpayers to keep TABOR's revenue limits in force, and I see no case for an exception that benefits a single attraction.

I recommend a no vote on City of Pueblo Ballot Question 2B.

Kim Monson

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

Ballot question

SHALL THE CITY OF PUEBLO'S TAXES BE INCREASED BY UP TO $3,769,615.00 ANNUALLY (FIRST FULL FISCAL YEAR INCREASE) AND BY WHATEVER AMOUNTS ARE RAISED ANNUALLY THEREAFTER, FOR FIVE YEARS FROM JANUARY 1, 2027 THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2031, BY ADOPTING ORDINANCE NO. 11244 IMPOSING AN ADDITIONAL ONE-SIXTH OF ONE PERCENT (0.167%) SALES TAX AND ESTABLISHING A SPECIAL FUND FOR THE DEPOSIT OF SUCH REVENUES TO BE SPENT ONLY FOR THE OPERATIONS AND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT OF THE PUEBLO ZOO; AND SHALL ALL REVENUES DERIVED FROM SUCH TAX BE COLLECTED, RETAINED AND SPENT, NOTWITHSTANDING ANY LIMITATIONS PROVIDED BY LAW, AS A VOTER-APPROVED REVENUE CHANGE AND AN EXCEPTION TO THE LIMITS WHICH WOULD OTHERWISE APPLY PURSUANT TO ARTICLE X, SECTION 20 OF THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION OR ANY OTHER LAW?

A yes vote means

Pueblo could impose the additional zoo sales tax for five years and retain its revenue outside TABOR’s limits.

A no vote means

Pueblo would not impose this tax.

A Tax Proposed by Petition01

Pueblo residents started Question 2B with an initiative petition. The City Clerk approved the petition as to form on April 27, 2026, and found it sufficient on June 23, 2026, with 1,649 verified signatures against the 1,331 that Charter Section 18-2 requires. That section left the council two choices: pass the ordinance without alterations or refer it to voters. The deputy city attorney's background paper says the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR), Article X, Section 20 of the Colorado Constitution, requires voter approval because the measure imposes a new tax. The council referred the question by adopting Ordinance No. 11252, 7-0, on August 10, 2026.

A Sales Tax With an End Date02

A yes vote adopts Ordinance No. 11244, which adds one-sixth of one percent (0.167%) to the city's sales tax from January 1, 2027, through December 31, 2031. The background paper says the increase applies to the sales tax and does not change the use tax. The question would raise taxes by up to $3,769,615.00 in the first full fiscal year and by whatever amounts the tax raises each year after that. The background paper gives the same figure as its revenue estimate.

Question 2A, also on the city ballot, asks for a separate 0.25% sales and use tax under Ordinance No. 11243 for the Department of Fire and technology related to public safety, beginning January 1, 2027.

The tax rate now and what this measure adds

	Rate
City of Pueblo's own sales tax now (as of January 1, 2026, DR 1002)	3.7%
Added by this measure	0.167%

Pueblo County ballot, City of Pueblo Ballot Question 2B

Pueblo Zoo tax at the printed rate

The question prints 0.167%, which adds $1.67 per $1,000 in taxable purchases.

$1,000 in taxable purchases

$1,000 × 0.167 ÷ 100 = $1.67 in added tax.

Uses the printed 0.167% rate. The question also describes the tax as one-sixth of one percent. Exempt purchases and other taxes are excluded.

Pueblo Zoo question in Ordinance 11252, packet p. 389.

Who Receives the Money03

Ordinance No. 11244 creates a dedicated fund for the revenue. The background paper says the city may spend the fund solely on the operations of the Pueblo Zoological Society or a successor organization and on capital improvement of the Pueblo Zoo. The ballot question limits spending to "the operations and capital improvement of the Pueblo Zoo."

An Exception to TABOR's Limits04

If voters approve, Pueblo collects, retains and spends every dollar the zoo tax raises as a voter-approved revenue change, exempt from the limits of TABOR and, in the question's words, of "any other law."

Sources05

Official documents

City Council packet: zoo-tax background and referral, pp. 385–390

City Council minutes: referral Ordinance 11252 adopted, p. 11