UPDATE: Council approves sales tax increase on November ballot

City Council approved a .62 percent sales tax increase to be used solely on road repairs and maintenance for five years.

It will now be on the Nov. 3 ballot for voters to decide.

The resolution proposed by Mayor John Suthers- passed on an 8 to 1 vote at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

“About 60 percent of our roads are in rapidly deteriorating conditions. We need to resurface about 53 percent of them,” said Suthers.

The tax would generate $250 million over five years. The sales tax will be implemented for five years, at which time voters could determine if the tax should extend for an additional period.

Potholes plaguing Colorado Springs streets became one of the biggest issues in the run for mayor; then-candidate Suthers vowed to fix the problems. His office surveyed a group of voters to see if they would be open to a sales tax increase before making a final push before City Council.

“Folks, there is not the kind of money in the Colorado Springs budget it is going to take to deal with our roads,” said Suthers.

Suthers pointed to a sinkhole that opened up on Chestnut Street in Colorado Springs as another sign of the city’s failing infrastructure under its streets.

City Engineer Aaron Egbert said the culvert under Chestnut that failed was 45 years old. Egbert said there are other older culverts that could meet a similar fate during a storm in the future.

“The structures are in need of major rehabilitation or even replacement,” said Egbert.

Resident David Ratliff lives up the block from the sinkhole. He’s lived in Colorado Springs a year and can’t believe the state of the roads.

“I was in the military so I lived in a lot of different places and this is by far the worse and it was all cities about this size,” said Ratliff.

Chestnut Street is closed between Vondelpark Drive and Ellston Street. Egbert said the city is working on a plan to fix the sinkhole. He does not know when the road will reopen.