Adds a 0.50% town sales and use tax for law enforcement and public safety, with revenue above the budget for those services available for other lawful town operations.
Town of Wellington
On the November 3, 2026 ballot
Kim's Recommendation
NO
Vote No on Town of Wellington Ballot Issue 2A
Under Issue 2A, revenue above what the Board of Trustees budgets for public safety may go to other town operations. Resolution No. 35-2026 makes that authority continuing. Town staff present the tax as a way to keep the Sheriff's service at its present level and to stop the General Fund from spending down its balance. To me those are general budget aims, and the ballot fixes no amount for law enforcement. I oppose a recurring half-percent tax whose division between police and other operations the trustees decide anew in every budget.
I recommend a no vote on Town of Wellington 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 WELLINGTON TAXES BE INCREASED BY $995,000 ANNUALLY IN THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING JANUARY 1, 2027, AND BY SUCH ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS AS MAY BE GENERATED ANNUALLY THEREAFTER, BY AN ADDITIONAL ONE-HALF PERCENT (0.50%) SALES AND USE TAX (WHICH WOULD COST 50 CENTS ON A $100 PURCHASE), TO FUND LAW ENFORCEMENT AND RELATED PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES; AND TO THE EXTENT REVENUES EXCEED AMOUNTS BUDGETED FOR SUCH PURPOSES, OTHER LAWFUL MUNICIPAL OPERATING PURPOSES; AND SHALL THE TOWN BE AUTHORIZED TO COLLECT, RETAIN, AND SPEND THE PROCEEDS OF THE REVENUE FROM SUCH TAX AND ANY EARNINGS THEREON AS A VOTER-APPROVED REVENUE CHANGE AND AN EXCEPTION TO THE LIMITS ON REVENUE AND SPENDING UNDER ARTICLE X, SECTION 20 OF THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION OR ANY OTHER LAW?
A yes vote means
Authorizes the additional sales and use tax and allows the town to retain its revenue and earnings outside revenue limits.
A no vote means
Rejects this additional town sales and use tax.
Key facts
Added tax rate
0.50%
First fiscal year
$995,000
End date
None stated
Fiscal year spending without the increase (TABOR notice)
$11,091,160
Estimated first full fiscal year increase (TABOR notice)
$995,000
A Higher Town Sales and Use Tax01
Wellington voters approved the town's 3.00% sales and use tax in 1998, and the rate has not changed since. Issue 2A adds one-half percent (0.50%), or 50 cents on a $100 purchase, and raises the town's rate to 3.50%.
The Board of Trustees referred the question on August 25, 2026, adopting Resolution No. 35-2026 by a 4-2 vote; Trustee Cannon and Mayor Pro Tem Mason voted no. At the same meeting the board passed Resolution No. 37-2026, declaring its support for the measure, 5-1, with Cannon opposed. The same ballot carries Larimer County Ballot Issue 1A, a separate 0.3% countywide sales and use tax.
The tax rate now and what this measure adds
Rate
Town of Wellington's own sales tax now (as of January 1, 2026, DR 1002)
3%
Added by this measure
0.5%
Larimer County ballot, Town of Wellington Ballot Issue 2A
Added tax on taxable purchases
The additional 0.50% tax equals $5 per $1,000 of taxable purchases.
Example for $1,000 in taxable purchases
$1,000 × 0.005 = $5.00
This is the added town tax, rounded to the nearest cent, not the total tax on a purchase. Actual checkout rounding may differ.
Estimated added town tax
Enter a value of zero or more, with no more than two decimal places.
Larimer County sample ballot, Town of Wellington Ballot Issue 2A
How Much the Tax Raises02
The question sets the increase at $995,000 in the fiscal year beginning January 1, 2027, and "such additional amounts as may be generated annually thereafter." Town staff call the $995,000 an estimate and say later collections will vary with taxable activity. A July draft of the question used $905,000. After legal review, the Finance Department rebuilt the figure from 2025 cash-basis collections and carried it to 2027 at the 3.26% average annual Denver-Aurora-Lakewood inflation rate for 2023 through 2025.
If voters approve, the tax takes effect January 1, 2027, with no further action by the board. Under the resolution the approval does not lapse, and the question sets no end date.
The Sheriff's Contract03
Wellington buys its police service from the Larimer County Sheriff's Office. The contract staffs a sergeant, a corporal, six patrol deputies, a desk deputy, an investigator and a school resource officer. At $2.27 million in 2026, it is the General Fund's largest single expenditure, according to staff. They say the Sheriff's Office has asked for more personnel in several recent budget cycles, and that with revenues beginning to plateau the town cannot keep absorbing those costs while maintaining an adequate level of public safety or planning for future service needs.
Staff call the tax partial funding. Staff estimate that the $995,000 would cover about 43.9% of the $2,268,328 annual cost in the 2025 agreement, a figure that excludes future contract increases and other related public-safety costs. Staff write that the measure's first purpose is to support current operations and maintain the established level of service. The 2026 budget spends into the General Fund's balance, with "net operating expenditure over revenue of $330K," and staff say the tax "will ensure net revenue over expenditure in the General Fund in future years."
Where Surplus Revenue Goes04
The question names law enforcement and related public safety services. To the extent revenue exceeds the amounts budgeted for those purposes, it may pay for other lawful municipal operating purposes. The Board of Trustees sets those amounts in the budget it approves. The town may collect, retain and spend the tax and its earnings as a voter-approved revenue change, an exception to the revenue and spending limits of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR) and any other law.
The Wellington Board of Trustees minutes for Aug. 25, 2026 record the 4-2 approval of Resolution No. 35-2026 referring a ballot issue to the November 3, 2026 election, the administrator's note on law-enforcement costs.
The 2026 election is over. Requests for personalized guides closed on November 3, 2026. The full guide remains available to read.
