Sheridan sales and use tax increase of 0.50 percent for police, emergency response and other public safety, with no end date

City of Sheridan voters will decide whether to raise the city's sales and use tax rate by 0.50 percent starting January 1, 2027. That would add 50 cents to the tax on each $100 of taxable purchases, and the use tax would rise by the same rate. The city's Sales Tax Information page puts the combined rate on retail sales in Sheridan at 7.75 percent, counting the state, Regional Transportation District, cultural facilities and Arapahoe County open space taxes.

Ballot Issue 2D would add 0.50 percent to that rate, and the rail district's Ballot Issue 7A, if it also passes, would add 0.333 percent on purchases both taxes reach.

The council's referring ordinance says that even with the added half cent, Sheridan's combined rate "will be within a quarter of a percent of the tax rate of municipalities across the metro area."

The question asks whether Sheridan taxes shall be increased "BY $986,935 ANNUALLY COMMENCING JANUARY 1, 2027" and "BY WHATEVER ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS ARE RAISED ANNUALLY THEREAFTER." The $986,935 is the amount the ballot states for the first year, not a ceiling; collections can grow as taxable sales grow. The tax would carry no end date.

The revenue would be spent "AS A VOTER-APPROVED REVENUE CHANGE AND AS AN EXCEPTION TO THE LIMITS WHICH WOULD OTHERWISE APPLY." That is the approval Colorado's Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR) requires before a government may keep revenue above its limits, so the city could keep and spend the new tax's collections in any year without refunding them. The question adds to Sheridan's existing taxes and repeals none.

The money is for "PUBLIC SAFETY PURPOSES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO POLICE SERVICES, EMERGENCY RESPONSE, EQUIPMENT, AND RELATED OPERATIONS." Any use must count as public safety, and the ballot does not limit the money to the uses it names.

Ordinance No. 13-2026 says the council "wishes to assure that the high level of fire protection and police services presently enjoyed by Sheridan visitors and residents is maintained," by measures "including but not limited to improved emergency response, enhanced community safety, modern equipment, and local decision-making that prioritizes community needs and benefits." It also argues that because visitors pay part of the city's sales and use tax and benefit from its public safety services, funding them through the sales and use tax, "rather than the property tax, is especially appropriate." The council approved Ordinance No. 13-2026 on first reading on August 10, 2026, and the question appears as City of Sheridan Ballot Issue 2D on Arapahoe County's sample ballot for the November 3, 2026 election.

Sheridan's audited financial statements for 2025, with the auditor's report dated August 3, 2026, show General Fund spending of $9,214,329 on public safety: $6,668,877 for police and $2,545,452 for fire.

Total General Fund spending in 2025 was $14,649,751 against revenue of $13,302,057, so the fund spent $1,347,694 more than it took in before transfers between funds. After those transfers, its balance fell by $51,201 for the year.

At the end of 2025 the city reported $10,678,254 in unassigned General Fund balance, money the statements describe as available "for spending at the City's discretion."

All of Sheridan lies in the Front Range Passenger Rail District, which state law defines to include the whole of 31 named municipalities, Sheridan among them. The district's Ballot Issue 7A, decided by voters across the whole district, would levy a 0.333 percent sales and use tax to build and run passenger rail service along the Front Range from Pueblo to Fort Collins. The tax would have the exemptions provided under Colorado law, including those for gasoline, food, residential electricity and gas, prescription drugs and medical supplies. The question would also authorize up to $580 million in debt, with repayment costs capped at $785 million. The two questions are separate: either can pass alone, and each would add its rate to taxable purchases in Sheridan.