During a meeting Tuesday, Aug. 19, the Winter Park Town Council voted to hold a special election to bring two ballot questions to voters regarding municipal taxes. The council also approved several resolutions dealing with development projects within the town.

The town approved a resolution calling for a special election Nov. 4 and approved the intergovernmental agreement for a coordinated election between the town of Winter Park and the Grand County clerk and recorder.

The ballot will have two questions: one regarding use tax and one on de-Brucing.

The first question seeks to clarify some language in the sales tax administration code that could be construed as a use tax, which the town of Winter Park does not impose. If approved, this would apply changes to the tax code in order to make it clear that the town has not enacted nor collected a use tax.

The second question will be a full de-Brucing measure, which would allow the town to keep and spend all sources of tax revenue without having to return excess revenue to voters as required by the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, a 1992 voter-approved amendment to the state constitution that placed a cap on how much revenue Colorado governments can take in. Many local municipalities and counties have since “de-Bruced” — a nod to the amendment’s author Douglas Bruce — by asking voters to opt-out of the revenue cap.

In most cases, town taxes passed since TABOR have included de-Brucing language, according to a town memo, but this question’s approval by voters would create certainty for the town’s reliance on tax revenue in excess of the cap.

The two ballot questions with final language will come before the council during its next meeting, set for Sept. 2, along with community survey data.

The council also approved several measures dealing with local development. The council approved a resolution regarding improvements to Hideaway Park, including new playground equipment, which will be installed by mid-June 2026. The council also approved an amendment to an agreement with Fraser River Development, which will transfer the ownership of two out of three acres of land to the town of Winter Park within 30 days. The accelerated transfer will allow the town to plan the land immediately for community housing needs.

In other business, the town approved two special-events permits: one for a community awareness and suicide prevention hike, and one for a coffee and snack stop. The community awareness hike will begin and end at Rendezvous Event Center at Hideaway Park, running from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20. The coffee stop will be at the same location from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 9.

For more information about the proposed ballot questions or housing development, access the full meeting agenda and minutes at WPGov.com.