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City Council moves forward on tax extension

The Durango City Council on Tuesday got into the minutiae of a possible ballot issue to extend the city’s portion of the sales tax that funds the Animas River Trail and the Durango Community Recreation Center.

The trail and the rec center are heavily used by local residents. Cathy Metz, director of Parks and Recreation, said 1,000 people a day use the rec center.

The trail stretches from north to south through the city and is popular among pedestrians and bicyclists.

The city is preparing to refer the tax renewal to the April 7 ballot. As currently envisioned, voter approval would extend the half-cent sales tax through 2039. From 2019, to 2039, the tax would raise about $107 million.

On a $100 grocery bill, the tax adds 50 cents.

Durango voters approved the tax in 1999 and it expires in 2019. The city has retained a lawyer to work on the ballot referral’s wording.

City councilors at Tuesday’s study session discussed details such as the ordering of questions on a survey that’s to go out ahead of the election.

“This is just the beginning,” said Mayor Sweetie Marbury.

cslothower@durangoherald.com

An earlier version of this story incorrectly said the half-cent sales tax was renewed. It expires in 2019.

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