It appears Longmont voters said yes to almost everything.
Tuesday night’s election produced a wealth of headlines for both the nation and Colorado. Here in Longmont, locals were tasked with completing a historically long ballot, which included four Longmont-specific measures, tax increases to fund passenger rail & childcare subsidies and more. Results are yet to be finalized but…
Voters (unofficially) approved:
Ranked choice voting to become the city’s new method for electing Longmont City Council members, including the mayor (Ballot Issue 3C). It leads with 56% of the vote.
A sales tax increase to fund Phase 2 of the Colorado Connector passenger rail project. (Ballot Issue 7A) This leads with 55% (62% locally) of the vote among all Colorado communities with the issue on the ballot.
A property tax increase to fund childcare subsidies (Boulder County Ballot Issue 1A). This leads with 58% of the vote.
Strengthening protections for open spaces (Ballot Question 3B). It leads with over 80% of votes.
Above results reflect Boulder County’s most recent update at 12:59 am.
But…
It appears Longmont voters rejected a measure that would’ve raised property and sales taxes to fund new jobs for fire and police services in Longmont. It’s currently holding just 36% of the vote. If it had been passed, sales taxes would’ve risen by 0.33% while property taxes would’ve hiked by up to 2.44 mills, or about $75 on a $500,000 home.
Looking ahead:
If these results hold…
Longmont will begin using ranked choice voting in 2029, allowing voters to rank candidates in order of preference instead of selecting only one.
Sales taxes will rise 0.333%, or increase 33 cents for every $100, to support the Colorado Connector. That raises Longmont sales tax rate to 9.198%.
Boulder County property taxes will rise by 2.579 mills in perpetuity (roughly $110-$120 per household annually) which will fund about $30 million for childcare access.
The sale of land designated as open space will require voter approval, rather than solely city council approval.