Bring more big-box businesses to Pueblo? City leadership divided
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) - During last night's city council meeting, item R8 was voted down despite support from Pueblo Mayor Heather Graham.
The ordinance would amend the usage guidelines for the half-cent sales tax fund to allow the city to do more than offer cash incentives to businesses to come to Pueblo.
"This would have been an avenue for the city to go in and incentivize these businesses to come into our community and help with the infrastructure, and the road to get open," Mayor Graham told KRDO13 Investigates.
Mayor Graham says she went to other cities in Colorado, like Grand Junction and Castle Rock, to get an idea of how they attract big-box businesses to their communities.
Pueblo already has a half-cent sales tax, but as it stands right now, it mostly incentivizes manufacturing and factory businesses to come to the city. The fund generates about $1 million a month, and the money can only be spent on bringing businesses to the city. Right now, officials say the city is sitting on about $60 million designated for the purpose.
Mayor Graham hopes to expand the funding to apply to incentives for bringing big-box chain stores into town.
"This would have been an avenue for the city to go in and incentivize these businesses to come into our community and help with the infrastructure, and the road to get open," said Mayor Graham
However, opponents are hesitant, saying they believe it could hurt small businesses.
"I just think that the cultural benefits that a small business has on the community outweighs economic opportunities of a big chain, big box business like that," said Preston Perdue, a Pueblo resident.
Some city councilmembers are also concerned that this isn't what their residents want either.
"I don't think it's our job to upend what the voters want to rule the people. I don't I don't care what subject is," said City Councilmember Roger Gomez.
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