RSSAll Entries in the "Consumer Issues" Category

Building a grid good enough to support thousands of new EVs and heat pumps will cost Colorado Xcel customers $5 billion

Building a grid good enough to support thousands of new EVs and heat pumps will cost Colorado Xcel customers $5 billion

Visible power lines surrounding the Xcel Cherokee Power Station with the Denver skyline in the distance on December 4, 2024. (Kathryn Scott, Special to The Colorado Sun)   State’s largest utility wants new and improved substations to meet “a demand on the grid we haven’t seen since the advent of air conditioning” Xcel Energy, seeking […]

Colorado's fiscal deficit picture less bleak than expected

Colorado’s fiscal deficit picture less bleak than expected

Colorado’s fiscal deficit is just a little less bad than it was a few months ago. Meanwhile, there are signs that Colorado’s economy is slowing, even as unemployment is trending up. The December forecast from the General Assembly economists showed lightly improved revenues — the deficit for the 2025-26 budget year would be in the […]

New Colorado laws for 2025

New Colorado laws for 2025

You still might be getting used to the new laws that went into effect in 2024: the end of the U+2 residential occupancy rule, lane filtering for motorcycles, or the polystyrene and Styrofoam food container ban. Just around the corner, 2025 will bring more changes approved by the Colorado General Assembly. All eggs sold in Colorado must be cage-free […]

September 2024 City Sales and Use tax collections down while year-to-date collections show an increase of 6.34%

September 2024 City Sales and Use tax collections down while year-to-date collections show an increase of 6.34%

  September sales and use tax numbers for the city were all down from the previous year, with the total tax collections 3.34 below what they were one year ago.  When seen as year-to-date numbers, however, the total tax collections were up 6.34% from last year. The only year-to-date number that was down was the […]

Colorado owes taxpayers a total of 1.7 billion in TABOR refunds

Colorado owes taxpayers a total of 1.7 billion in TABOR refunds

The Colorado state government owes taxpayers a total of $1.7 billion in refunds mandated under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. The state collected roughly $1.4 billion more in revenue during the 2024 Fiscal Year than allowed under TABOR, according to a state audit. The state already has roughly $290 million in outstanding TABOR refund liability […]

2025 Colorado health Insurance premiums rising at three times the rate of inflation

2025 Colorado health Insurance premiums rising at three times the rate of inflation

With open enrollment for health insurance set to begin in two weeks, Colorado’s Division of Insurance has finalized rates for premiums in the individual and small group markets. Premium increases in both markets for 2025 are set to rise at more than three times the rate of inflation forecast for next year. Individual premium increases […]

August 2024 Sales and Use Tax for Lamar – collected in September

August 2024 Sales and Use Tax for Lamar – collected in September

August Sales and Use Tax Collected in September 2024   2024 2023 Difference from 2023 to 2024 % of Difference City Sales Tax Collected (3%) $395,792.07 $388,449.82 $7,342.25 1.89% Use Tax Collected   $45,059.43 $41,345.09 $3,714.34 8.98% Other Collections Penalties/interest etc -$188.12 $283.00 -$471.112 -166.47% Total Sales/Use Tax Collections $440,663.38 $430,077.91 $10,585.47 2.46% Vendor’s Commission […]

Medicare Part D participants will have payment options in 2025

Medicare Part D participants will have payment options in 2025

CMS released additional guidance regarding Medicare Prescription Payment Plan (MPPP) outreach and education, www.medicarerights.org reported July 25, 2024. The MPPP, sometimes referred to as “smoothing,” was established in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and allows Medicare beneficiaries with Part D to opt into an alternative payment structure for their cost-sharing for covered Part D medications. Starting in 2025, […]

Xcel gas bills to drop almost 12% for rest of 2024 as wholesale gas prices remain low

Xcel gas bills to drop almost 12% for rest of 2024 as wholesale gas prices remain low

Colorado’s largest utility will pass on savings as it seeks a permanent rate increase starting in February A combination of growing natural gas production and mild weather, leading to a buildup of stored reserves, will help lower monthly bills for Xcel Energy residential and small commercial customers by as much as 12% for the last […]

City of Lamar July Sales and Use Tax July 2024

City of Lamar July Sales and Use Tax July 2024

  Sales and Use taxes for July of 2024, collected in August, show an overall increase of 7.29% from last year, a difference of $30,332.06.  Year to date numbers increased as well, by 8.13%, or $282,022.65.  Restaurant and liquor stores saw a decline from last year in July’s numbers, as did other retail and hotel/motels.  […]

Colorado's homeowners insurance is 8th highest in nation

Colorado’s homeowners insurance is 8th highest in nation

This may come as no surprise to homeowners, but the cost of Colorado’s homeowners insurance is the eighth highest in the nation, according to Bankrate, a financial services company that tracks all sorts of monthly bills. At an average of $266 per month or nearly $3,200 a year, premiums are higher here than in states […]

County assessors in Colorado offer mixed views on property tax compromise

County assessors in Colorado offer mixed views on property tax compromise

    County assessors from around the state offered their insights into the compromise legislation that lawmakers approved at the conclusion of a special session on Thursday. The product of negotiations between Gov. Jared Polis, legislators, and the groups behind a pair of ballot initiatives seeking deeper property tax cuts, House Bill 1001 is relatively similar to […]

The minimum wage in Colorado and a few local governments is going up again Jan. 1. 

The minimum wage in Colorado and a few local governments is going up again Jan. 1. 

Brendan Hartigen brings dirty dishes into the kitchen at The Last Steep Bar & Grill on Elk Avenue in Crested Butte on Aug. 6, 2019. Sean buses tables and does whatever other tasks are given to him. (Dean Krakel, Special to The Colorado Sun)   The minimum wage in Colorado and a few local governments […]

June 2024 Sales and Use Tax Report for City of Lamar

June 2024 Sales and Use Tax Report for City of Lamar

The City of Lamar’s most recent Revenue Report includes June Sales and Use Tax collected in July, 2024.  City sales tax collected (3%) is up $20,211.74, an increase of 4.67% for the same month in 2023.  Use tax collected is also up $2,494.68, an increase of 5.13% over 2023.  Other collections, which include penalties and […]

Cost of Living is Coloradans' biggest concern

Cost of Living is Coloradans’ biggest concern

The Colorado Health Foundation’s annual Pulse Poll this year finds Coloradans believe they face a number of significant challenges — beyond rising cost-of-living concerns — that include drug overdoses, immigration and natural disasters. Still, the single most concern for nearly nine out of 10 respondents was the growing burden of household expenses. Affordability worries, shared […]