AURORA | With one Aurora City Council member absent, a measure to raise the special sales tax for recreational marijuana purchases could be defeated even though it’s favored by the majority of local lawmakers.
A 5-4 vote on the measure, sponsored by at-large councilwoman Angela Lawson, wasn’t enough to push the tax hike over the finish line on Monday. City council rules dictate that, “every ordinance shall require the affirmative vote of the majority of the membership of the entire council for final passage.”
The 10-member body, excluding the mayor, requires six affirmative votes, and at-large councilwoman Allison Hiltz is absent on maternity leave.
Council members Francoise Bergan, Marsha Berzins, Curtis Gardner and Dave Gruber voted against the increase.
Council rules allow for the measure to come back a final time. If the final vote results in anything but six votes or more, the proposed ordinance will fail.
The proposed 1% increase in local sales tax on retail marijuana aims to “backfill” programs that lost funding after Aurora voters ended the Photo Red Light program in 2018.
City staff said raising the tax rate would bring in an estimated $1 million to the city each year, and even with the increase Aurora would still be below Denver’s tax rate of 5.5% and Commerce City, which taxes 7%.
Lawson said at a city meeting in March she wouldn’t propose any increase that would push Aurora over the tax rate of neighboring cities. Aurora city lawmakers can vote to increase the tax rate on retail marijuana without the approval of voters up to 10%.
With the new revenue, city documents estimate that programs and services that once received Photo Red Light funds — like Aurora Mental Health Center, Gateway Domestic Violence Services and Mile High Behavioral Healthcare — would no longer require budget reductions and some budgets could even be increased.
Marijuana business owners said the increase would ultimately be a cost burden on them and not the consumer, although the tax is applied to the final sale price.