Pueblo city council voting Monday on adding additional Lodgers Tax, some hotel owners not happy
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO)--Pueblo has been struggling with an ongoing childcare shortage for several years. Some even refer to Pueblo as a childcare desert. Some council members like Dennis Flores are hoping a new ballot question could potentially help with the issue.
Pueblo City Council is voting Monday night to potentially put a new question on the ballot at the November 7, 2023, general municipal election. The proposed ordinance would allow voters to approve establishing an additional 1.5% Lodger’s Tax rate dedicated to providing accessible and affordable childcare programs for working families in the city.
Residents living in Pueblo will not be paying for this tax. It will be the tourists that choose to travel to Pueblo and use the hotels and bed and breakfasts.
Currently, the Lodger's Tax is sitting at 4.3%, but if this were to make it to the ballot and pass it would raise that rate to 5.8%.
This lodging tax increase will generate approximately $625,000 annually, and the tax increase is limited to a period of five years from 2024 through 2028, according to the City of Pueblo.
In the background paper for the proposed ordinance, the city quoted a statistic from the 2021 Colorado Health Access Survey. They stated that nearly 20 percent of families in Pueblo County reported not being able to access child care when they needed it. The City of Pueblo said the lack of accessible and affordable childcare in the city is significant and contributes to lower employment, lower incomes, and increased dependence on public support.
According to the June 26, 2023, work session presentation, it is estimated that every $1 spent equals more than $2.33 in economic benefits. The city claims the tax increase will only result in a 21-cent increase per night on visitor’s receipts.
The additional 1.5% Lodger’s Tax is anticipated to generate up to approximately $625,000 in 2024.
However, not everyone agrees that this is a solution to the childcare shortage.
Chris Crosier, the general manager of Clarion Inn by Choice Hotels said he agrees there is a childcare shortage and the city needs to do something about it, but he does not agree that this is the way to do it.
Crosier said the City of Pueblo's hospitality industry is down anywhere between 15 and 25 percent compared to last year. He's afraid this new proposed tax could force visitors to stay in other neighboring communities like Colorado Springs.
"It's a social program added to guests that are visiting your town. And I think that it would just leave a bad taste in everybody's mouth, said Crosier."
Pueblo City Council is expected to make a final vote on this Monday during the regular meeting at 7 p.m.
