Arapahoe County voters appear to agree that the local government should be able to retain and spend taxes it has collected.

Issue 1A is leading large at 70.6% to 29.4% with 204,928 votes counted, the unofficial and early tally shows.  

Under Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, voters may allow their respective governments to “de-Bruce” — that is, permit a county, municipality, or school district to eliminate TABOR’s revenue limit and use all the taxes it has collected for spending priorities. The phrase references the constitutional amendment’s author, Douglas Bruce.

Under TABOR, voters may allow their respective governments to “de-Bruce” — that is, permit a county, municipality, or school district to eliminate TABOR’s revenue limit and use all the taxes it has collected for spending priorities. The phrase references the constitutional amendment’s author, Douglas Bruce.

Arapahoe County is one of a few counties that still operates under the TABOR limits. Officials said, if approved, the money would go toward roads and pedestrian safety, emergency response, housing, mental health resources and other programs.

County officials said they placed the measure on the ballot after years of insufficient tax revenue and increased demand for services.

The proposal technically does not raise taxes, officials said. Its approval allows the county to retain roughly $74 million more tax revenue in some years.