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Editorial: Yes on Blue River questions

Summit Daily editorial board

Three Blue River ballot questions 2C, 2A and 2B – respectively – propose a 3.4 percent tax on short-term property rentals; a 2.5 percent tax on in-town sales and taxable services; and a 2.5 percent tax on use or consumption of building materials and storage, use or consumption of registered motor vehicles purchased at retail. We recommend a “Yes” vote on all three of them. For a tiny municipality that depends now on property tax revenue to provide basic services, we agree with Mayor Lindsay Backas that these new taxes are necessary to maintain those services in the face of a steep decline in property tax values – and revenues – in the coming years.

The Blue River taxes will primarily target vacation rentals, making owners who rent pay their fair share while also enabling them to do short-term rentals. If you’re a Blue River resident who wants to ensure you still have police service, road plowing and maintenance, then a “yes” vote on these questions makes a lot of sense.

-The Summit Daily Editorial Board consists of Matt Sandberg, Alex Miller, Ryan Wondercheck, Maggie Butler, Jim Ernst and Miles Porter.


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