Accommodations Tax

At the November 4, 1986 Special Election, Steamboat Springs voters approved an accommodations tax of 1%. The use of the accommodations tax was prescribed in the ballot question which asked:

“Shall the City Council of Steamboat Springs, in order to provide revenues to fund development of improvements and amenities in Steamboat Springs which will promote tourism and enhance the vitality of Steamboat Springs as a premiere destination resort, and enhance the community identity, environmental desirability and economic health of Steamboat Springs, enact an ordinance levying a lodging tax of 1% on public accommodations of less than 30 days?”

History

Since 1986, these funds were used to construct the original Tennis Center, Strings former tent and the Haymaker Golf Course and Clubhouse. In 2013, the final payment was made on the golf course and the annual collection became available for future projects. The 2013 Accommodations Tax Committee was formed to assist City Council to plan for the future use of this tax.  After an extensive process (see Accommodation Tax Committee Agendas and Minutes) to review and evaluate each of the proposed projects, the Yampa Street and Trails Alliance proposals were selected and were voted on by the community in what is known as the 2A Ballot Initiative

After passage of 2A, City Council appointed committees to recommend how to spend the tax including: 

Accommodations tax funds received above those allocated to the 2A Trails and Yampa Street projects are held in a reserve fund.  In 2017, City Council created the Accommodations Tax Reserve Committee to carry out a process to identify how the reserve funds accumulated through the end of 2017 would be spent.