All Entries in the "Consumer Issues" Category
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
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 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.
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
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 […]
Signatures submitted to add Colorado property tax initiative to November ballot
Proposition 108, the Citizens’ Tax Cut, looks to reduce assessment rates for property owners A ballot initiative to reduce property tax assessment rates has received enough signatures to qualify for the November 2024 ballot, its sponsors announced Tuesday. Proposition 108, also known as the Citizens’ Tax Cut, has submitted nearly 200,000 signatures to the Secretary […]
Colorado voter-approved “Healthy Meals for All” facing out-of-control costs
Photo by USDA When Colorado voters approved “Healthy School Meals for All” two years ago, organizers behind the ballot initiative estimated the program would cost $115 million in its first year. The actual costs significantly exceeded that — $166 million — leaving state lawmakers scrambling with the financial fallout. “I don’t know why the costs […]
April Sales & Use Tax collected in May, 2024
The 2024 total Sales & Use Tax collected for April was $468,022.33, an increase of $63,664.77 over 2023’s $404,357.56 (15.74%). Year to date, total Sales & Use Tax collections are up 9.68%, or $208,837.80 over last year. The 2023 total TYD number was $2,157,281.92, compared to this year’s total of $2,336,119.73. Sales/Use Tax Revenue comparison […]
ARPA June 2024 summary of business operations
BUSINESS OPERATIONS – June 2024 Seven Students Receive Scholarship Funding from ARPA and its Member Municipalities: In 2000, ARPA and its Member communities established a College Scholarship Program that awards a $1,400 scholarship to one high school senior in each of the high schools served by ARPA members. The Program is administered through the member municipalities […]
National Corn Growers, others file lawsuit challenging EPA’s electrical vehicle mandate
The National Corn Growers Association, American Farm Bureau Federation and six auto dealers representing 16 brands and collectively operating dozens of dealerships in major markets across the country joined the American Petroleum Institute today in filing a lawsuit in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s light-duty and medium-duty vehicle emissions standards […]
Lamar Utilities Board Meeting May 28, 2024
Minutes from the May 14 meeting were approved unanimously, as was the approval of purchase orders totaling $530,811.44 and payment of bills in the amount of $715,20.83 Board President Doug Thrall read a thank-you note sent from Carisma Gass, one of this year’s scholarship winners, in which she thanked the department for their generosity, saying […]
Cost of gas in Colorado sparks anger from Governor and consumers
The cost of gas is about to spike in Colorado. How high will it go? The EPA is forcing Colorado to switch to reformulated gas as ground-level ozone hits “severe” during the summer Keep an eye on gas prices in the next few weeks, Colorado, and you can watch a major policy battle play […]
Colorado extends takeout cocktails law for restaurants until July 2025
Colorado first allowed restaurants to sell cocktails for takeout or delivery when the pandemic hit in 2020 and businesses desperately needed relief. Then in 2021, Colorado extended the law to stay in effect until July 2025. But last week, Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill terminating the deadline that would have ended the practice next […]
March Sales and Use Tax 2024 – City of Lamar
March’s sales/use tax collections were up 8.52% from the same time period in 2023. The collected 3% city tax for the month of March was $458,964.62, $45,268.98 more than in 2023. Use tax collected was $32,356.98, $10,103.37 less than in 2023. Other collections (penalties and interest, licenses, A/Rs) was $497,490.89, $39,042.65 more than in 2023. […]
Colorado Employment Situation – April 2024
Household survey data According to the survey of households, Colorado’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was flat from March to April at 3.7 percent. The number of unemployed individuals grew by 1,900 over the same time period to 120,100. The national unemployment rate increased one-tenth of a percentage point to 3.9 percent from March to April. Colorado’s labor force increased by 1,500 […]
