Aurora voters reject all 3 sales tax hikes in city’s first increase attempt since 1993

By Kyla Pearce | The Denver Gazette

Aurora voters shot down three ballot measures that would have raised city sales taxes for the first time since 1993 to pay for infrastructure, transportation and public safety improvements.

Elected officials in the city were surprised and disappointed by the outcome, saying infrastructure projects need to be funded and the city’s budget deficit cannot accommodate them.

Aurora City Councilmember Curtis Gardner, who spearheaded efforts to get the tax increases on the ballot, said it was not the outcome he expected, adding that city officials did about three years of public engagement and the city’s polling indicated the measures would succeed.

“This wasn’t about backfilling unmet needs with a tax increase due to wasteful spending,” he told The Denver Gazette Wednesday. “At the end of the day, it was up to voters to decide what kind of city they want to live in and they decided they didn’t want to pay for these projects, so I respect the will of the voters.”

READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT THE DENVER GAZETTE