The city of Colorado Springs may ask voters in April to extend the sales tax dedicated to trails, open space and parks and allow more flexibility to how money can be spent on trails and land stewardship. 

The proposed ballot question would extend the .1% sales tax, often called the TOPS tax, that has funded the purchase of land, such as Red Rock Canyon Open Space, until 2045. It would also allow the portion of the tax revenues for trails and open space stewardship to be spent on city open spaces that were not purchased with dedicated sales tax funds. 

The question is a second attempt to extend the tax after a ballot initiative asking voters to increase the tax and change how the money was allocated was defeated in November 2021. The tax is set to expire in 2025.

City Parks Director Britt Haley said the greater flexibility could allow the department to manage open spaces more holistically. For example, a portion of Ute Valley Park was purchased with the dedicated dollars and can receive stewardship funds, but not the whole thing. Stewardship activities can include managing invasive weeds or fencing off an area to protect wildlife habitat.  

Some parks advocates are concerned the greater flexibility could erode the amount of money available to purchase future open spaces and would like to see a certain amount of tax revenues set aside for acquisition. A few advocates brought their concerns to the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Advisory Board earlier this week calling for a change to proposed ballot language. The parks board did not take formal action on the question and expects to discuss it further.

“I would like to see a formal position from the parks board safeguarding open space,” said Bill Koerner, a parks advocate.

Medicine Wheel Trail Advocates Executive Director Cory Sutela said he supports greater flexibility for trail spending, but had concerns about allowing greater flexibility in how the money for open space stewardship can be spent. He said clear guidelines are needed to protect funds for acquisition well into the future. Part of that protection could be a clear definition of what qualifies as open-space stewardship.

The wording of the ballot language will guide the department and city administration for decades, so it needs to be clear, he said, so that future money needed for acquisition isn’t used for maintenance in an underfunded parks department. 

“We have to work together to find other ways to fund the operations of our department, but it can’t all come from TOPS,” Sutela said. 

The previous failed parks tax question also drew criticism because critics worried it could also erode money the city could spend on open space.

Haley said it is important to strike a balance between acquisition and maintenance as part of the best possible ballot question. 

“Both of those actions are valuable, and I think all of us share the opinion that we don’t want it skewed too far in one direction or too far in the other direction, so how we strike the balance is the conversation that we are having right now,” she said.

While the parks department could also use additional funds for maintenance – a 2021 report found the department had $270 million in backlogged projects – polling showed now is not the time to ask voters for an increase, Haley said, in the board meeting. 

The City Council will review the question on Monday and could offer suggestions for changes. The board is not expected to take formal action on the question until January.