Colorado Springs residents will be asked during the April election to lift a 30-word limit on ballot questions focused on tax increases and bonded debt, a request that evolved out of a push to increase a dedicated sales tax for parks, trails and open spaces.  

Colorado Springs City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to place a question on the April ballot that would eliminate the word limit. Several councilmembers said voter approval of the question could allow the city to explain how tax revenues will be used to fund projects. 

“This is about making sure the accountability is there, the transparency is there,” Councilman Wayne Williams said on Monday, when the question was informally discussed. 

The 30-word limit on tax increases and bonded debt was adopted in the 1990s in Colorado Springs as part of a local taxpayers bill of rights before the state adopted a similar measure. However, the state’s version of TABOR does not have a word limit for tax questions, Williams said. 

A word limit on tax questions made sense when most people were voting in-person, but now that most city residents mail in their ballots, they have time to read questions at their leisure, he said.  

Mayor John Suthers said he supported the measure because it can take more than 30 words for questions to be coherent. 

“I do want issues to be as plain as possible,” he said. 

Councilman Don Knight said while he supports asking voters to lift the word limit, he had some concerns about the change because it was presented during work session on Monday and approved on Tuesday. He was worried the quick action may not have given TABOR defenders much time to organize opposition, he said. 

“Please let myself and let all of council know if you have objections to it,” he said. 

However, Knight said he would support the question for now because lifting the word limit could provide greater accountability, such as listing projects tax revenues must fund. 

The idea for changing the word limit evolved out of recent polling that showed that more city residents would support at increase to the .1% sales tax for trails, open space and parks if they fully understood how the money would be used. The poll led to a delay of a question to increase taxes for parks that could have been placed on the April ballot. The current tax is equivalent to a cent on every $10 spent and it is authorized through 2025. 

Advocates would like to see the tax increased to help catch up on the $200 million in deferred maintenance within the parks system, the Gazette previously reported.  

Suthers said he would support a .05% increase in the parks sales tax but not a .15% increase, backed by advocates, because he does not want to see the total sales tax charged in the city go above 8.25%. 

It’s possible a question asking Colorado Springs residents to raise the dedicated sales tax for parks could go on the November ballot, city staffers have said.