By London Lyle
Daily Camera
LONGMONT, Colo. — Longmont’s plan to add 86 public safety workers over the next decade has hit a funding wall: Voters rejected the tax increases meant to pay for them, leaving the city to reconsider how to meet growing demand for police, fire and crisis-response services.
Ballot Issue 3A trailed by 9,208 votes in combined, unofficial Boulder and Weld County returns available early Wednesday morning, with 21,003 opposed, or 64.0%, and 11,795 in favor, or 36.0%. The proposal would have financed a decade of hiring and equipment purchases through sales and property tax increases.
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The vote establishes that the city’s funding proposal lacked support. It does not establish a single reason for the defeat: Residents could oppose the amount, the tax structure, spending priorities or police practices while reaching the same conclusion on their ballots.
Shakeel Dalal, speaking on behalf of the Visible Government League, sees distrust of police surveillance as a significant factor. He said conversations with residents revealed a divide between support for some emergency services and willingness to give police additional resources.
The league is a Longmont -based anti-surveillance group.
“We consistently heard from members of the public that they wished there was a way to support additional fire department and co-responder staffing but did not trust the Longmont police with additional resources they thought would be misused,” Dalal told the Times-Call in a statement.
That account points to a challenge for a proposal combining police, fire and collaborative services in one vote. A resident could favor additional firefighters or crisis-response workers while objecting to another part of the package.
Public Information Officer Tracey Hewson said Wednesday that the department respects voters’ decision and will examine alternatives.
“Although it is too early to fully understand the long-term implications of the election outcome, the need for additional public safety staffing remains,” Hewson wrote in an email. “As Longmont continues to grow, so do the demands placed on our public safety personnel and the services we provide.”
The final proposal called for a 0.33 percentage-point sales and use tax increase and a property tax levy of up to 2.44 mills. The city estimated those increases would cost shoppers 33 cents per $100 in taxable purchases and add about $75 annually to the property tax on a $500,000 home.
Cost concerns were part of the opposition before the election; opponents argued that growth should generate sufficient revenue, that existing spending should be redirected and that sales and property tax increases should be avoided.
During a July council meeting, Mayor Pro Tem Sean McCoy called additional sales taxes “regressive,” noting that he believes they disproportionately affect poor people. And property tax increases don’t only affect property owners, he added, pointing out that small landlords would likely raise tenants’ rents to cover the increase in property taxes on the homes they own.
Dalal’s explanation adds a different concern: whether residents believe additional spending will serve their interests. The returns alone cannot measure how many voters shared that view.
The staffing plan called for 86 positions over 10 years: 43 in police, 31 in fire and 12 in collaborative services. The latter includes case management, crisis outreach, victim advocacy and domestic violence services.
The city also planned a southwest fire station, improvements to Fire Station 4 and additional vehicles and equipment. Officials had argued that service demands were outpacing staffing, with emergency responses becoming more complex and time-consuming.
July budget presentations also described slowing revenue growth. Assistant Chief Financial Officer Teresa Molloy said at the time that the city used about $1 million from its stabilization reserve to help balance the previous year’s budget. Redirecting existing money would therefore require decisions about competing needs.
Hewson said Wednesday that the department will work with city leadership over the coming months to evaluate staffing, operations, available resources and potential funding options. Her statement did not identify specific cuts or a replacement tax proposal.
Dalal said the new Technology Policy Advisory Board offers an opportunity to address trust. The board’s remit includes camera technology, data privacy and artificial intelligence.
“The Visible Government League believes in restoring trust in government through effective policies which protect people’s rights under the Constitution,” Dalal said. “We look forward to working with the City of Longmont through the Technology Policy Advisory Board as a way to re-establish that trust between Longmonters and their government.”
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