This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
Longmont City Council is set to decide tomorrow whether or not the November ballot will ask residents to vote on increasing the city sales tax from 3.275 percent to 3.53 percent.
The ordinance, O-2017-46, would amend sections 4.04.130 and 4.04.280 of the Longmont Municipal Code and increase the current sales tax by .255 percent.
If passed, the tax increase would generate approximately $5.2 million for the Public Safety Fund in 2018 and would, according to the ordinance bill, "be used exclusively to provide additional resources to increase the level of service for public safety in Longmont, including, but not limited to: police officers and personnel for traffic enforcement and to investigate sex assaults; police officers to ensure safety of officers and to improve emergency response; emergency dispatchers for 911 response; firefighters to ensure safe and sufficient response to emergencies; personnel to support emergency public safety responders; and police and fire equipment and facilities to ensure safety.”
The current needs of Longmont’s Public Safety Department were initially presented by City staff to City Council members in September 2016 and again in June 2017.
Longmont's city election is scheduled for November 7, 2017, and if the ordinance passes, the sales tax increase would begin January 1, 2018.
To read the full ordinance, please see below:
