Whether small, medium or large, cities across the nation have one recurring problem: they don’t have enough money, and their inhabitants don’t want higher taxes. Consider Manitou Springs, a small city with big city problems.
To visitors, Manitou may seem like a little bit of paradise at the foot of the Front Range, blessed with half a dozen sparkling springs, a lovely historic business district and hundreds of mountainside homes beautifully illuminated by the rising sun. And look at all the fun destinations and attractions! You can ride the Cog Railway to the summit of Pikes Peak, go to a fun play at the Iron Springs Chateau, be amazed by the Cliff Dwellings, rent a ride at Manitou E-Bikes and have too much fun at Adventures Out West. And as twilight comes, go get a drink, choose one of many great restaurants, have dinner and enjoy life!
For many years, Manitou benefitted from a local marijuana monopoly, but that ended when Colorado Springs legalized the demon weed. The city’s coffers began to shrink, and city leaders put 2A on the November ballot, a proposal that specifically targets the few local businesses mentioned above by raising the excise tax from 5% to up to 14%.
It’s a crude, cruel and somewhat nasty attempt to deliberately target successful businesses that have graced Manitou for many years. For Manitoids, visitors are both a blessing and a curse. In spring, summer and fall the roads are jammed with visitors, delighting the owners and employees of the attractions and infuriating many residents. That’s one of the reasons that tax-averse residents may think about voting yes on a proposal to triple tax rates on the handful of historic attractions listed above that have collectively supported the city for many decades.
The pitch: tourists will pay, not residents. And really, who cares about the tourists? Besides, the people who own the attractions are rich as hell – look at the Cog’s owner, multibillionaire Phil Anschutz.
Yeah, Phil’s rich, but he spent tens of millions to rebuild the historic railroad because of its history, not because it would make him richer. And other attractions, such as the Iron Springs Chateau, would be critically endangered.
The discontinuity between Manitou’s residents and legacy businesses has always existed, but tripling fees on a handful of businesses? That’s highway robbery, not thoughtful taxation. Any increased or added tax revenue ought to impact all residents and businesses, not just a handful of sacrificial lambs.
So what’s the solution? Annexation by Colorado Springs? Taxes might well decrease, and the now-independent city will no longer hover on the edge of bankruptcy. And if that won’t work, maybe you can make a deal with Green Mountain Falls and Woodland Park…
Yet that’s just a theoretical fantasy. Manitoids have to figure out a reasonable and equitable solution. It won’t be easy.
I dunno, but as an Old Colorado City inhabitant, I’m sure glad that we were annexed by Colorado Springs in the early 20th century. We’re just as historic and cranky as our pals in Manitou Springs, but we don’t have to worry about going broke … I hope!
John Hazlehurst’s wife has assisted a “no on 2A” group with placing advertising. The views expressed here are his alone.
