Greeley council backs 2F, which its resolution describes as a proposed 0.6% sales and use tax increase

Greeley City Council endorsed Ballot Question 2F for the Nov. 3 election. The council's resolution says the measure proposes a 0.6% sales and use tax increase, equal to 60 cents per $100 of taxable purchases. It says the proposed tax excludes the city sales tax on food.

The resolution says the proposed tax would support the Downtown Civic Campus, West Greeley Catalyst, recreational, cultural and service facilities, and city parks and outdoor spaces. It says a citizens committee would independently review expenditures. It says the tax would end when financing for the two projects, including any refinancing, is paid in full, but no later than Dec. 31, 2067.

The resolution says Greeley's residential growth is increasing demand for infrastructure, facilities and services, requiring a broader tax base that includes commercial, retail and employment-generating development. It says planned investments and existing financial obligations strain revenues that could otherwise fund capital improvements, infrastructure and deferred maintenance. It presents the proposed tax as a way to fund designated capital projects while preserving existing revenues for other city needs.

“The way to balance these books right now is to increase revenue,” a Ward 4 resident said, arguing that the city could not cut its way out of its financial problem. The resident urged council members to back 2F as a path forward in the near and long term. Although the measure was not solely about Catalyst, the resident said its 40-year term showed the project was part of it.

A council member objected that 2F bundled other city needs with West Greeley Catalyst, a project the member called highly controversial and subject to a different level of financial commitment and debate. Greeley voters deserved transparent choices rather than an all-or-nothing package that could make them feel they had to accept one project to get another, the member said. “So the vote for playgrounds is a vote for the arena,” a public commenter said. The commenter asked council members to put on the record that no 2F money would go to Catalyst construction or operations, only to obligations already incurred.