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Three western Colorado communities hope to lift new {dollars} for baby care by way of taxes paid by out-of-town guests who keep in accommodations or short-term rental housing.
La Plata and Grand counties and the Metropolis of Montrose all have lodging tax measures on the November poll, with a minimum of among the proceeds supposed to assist make baby care simpler for native residents to seek out and pay for.
The three communities are the most recent in a string of principally mountain resort areas to ask voters for permission to spend lodging tax {dollars} on housing and baby care. The thought is that native employees energy the tourism trade, so guests ought to contribute to efforts supporting a secure workforce.
The lodging-tax-for-child-care pattern emerged in Colorado after a 2022 state regulation allowed counties and native advertising districts, that are created by communities to advertise tourism, to make use of lodging taxes to help baby care or housing, offered they get voter approval. Lodging taxes don’t usually increase large sums within the context of native governments. However they provide a brand new stream of public cash for baby care at a time when a rising refrain of consultants say it needs to be thought of a public good, not a non-public burden.
Earlier than the 2022 regulation went into impact, lodging taxes in counties and advertising districts had for use for tourism efforts. Some Colorado cities and cities have lengthy had the authority to levy a lodging tax to help baby care, however few have accomplished so.
At present, a couple of dozen counties, cities, or native advertising districts in Colorado levy lodging taxes that can be utilized for baby care initiatives. Some use the proceeds for scholarships to assist households pay tuition or wage bumps for lecturers.
Just a few such poll measures have failed. One such measure in the Metropolis of Pueblo in 2023 would have been the primary lodging tax for baby care in a non-resort area.
Among the many lodging tax measures on the poll this yr, solely La Plata County’s measure wouldn’t increase taxes. As a substitute, the measure would reallocate 70% of the prevailing income from the two% tax to housing and baby care. About $500,000 would go to baby care every year.
Heather Hawk, government director of the Early Childhood Council of La Plata County, mentioned the cash would assist middle-income mother and father pay for toddler and toddler care — the hardest-to-find baby care in lots of communities. It will additionally increase instructor pay, probably by way of annual stipends, and assist fund baby care middle renovations or new buildings.
Hawk mentioned baby care is so costly within the space that it routinely eats up 25 to 30% of household earnings.
“Having the ability to reallocate the lodging tax was the right alternative … as a result of it doesn’t enhance our native taxes in a means that impacts the households that stay right here,” she mentioned.
The Metropolis of Montrose will ask voters to extend the lodging tax from .9% to six%, with about 17% of the income going to baby care initiatives. That’s about $158,000 per yr.
William Woody, communications supervisor for town’s workplace of enterprise and tourism, mentioned housing and baby care have for years been the 2 most urgent points cited by residents who reply to town’s group survey. The scarcity of kid care seats has even prompted turnover at Metropolis Corridor.
“We now have staff right here on the Metropolis of Montrose which have needed to transfer to different locations in the USA, nearer to household … due to lack of kid care,” he mentioned.
Woody mentioned in the course of the pandemic, Montrose noticed an “inflow of employees who left larger communities to work remotely and discover a place that’s rural however nonetheless has all of the facilities.”
However that progress made housing and baby care even tougher to seek out, he mentioned.
In the meantime, Grand County will ask voters each to spice up the lodging tax from 1.8% to 2% and permit the county to make use of among the proceeds for housing and baby care. If the poll measure passes, the tax would generate about $2.25 million a yr. About 30% of that — or $675,000 a yr — would go to housing, baby care, or companies that profit guests.
Christine Travis, the county’s communications director, mentioned how that 30% is spent may fluctuate from yr to yr, with a housing initiative one yr, a toddler care initiative the following, and so forth.
She mentioned Grand County commissioners have thought of routing tax income to housing and baby take care of a number of years.
“Being a mountain resort group, inexpensive housing for the workforce and childcare to help that workforce has not been getting any simpler through the years,” Travis mentioned.
Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat, masking early childhood points and early literacy. Contact Ann at aschimke@chalkbeat.org.
