Although delinquencies have yet to be calculated and accounted for, town revenue received from sales tax receipts appears to be continuing the downward trend seen in 2024, but the overall decline was not nearly as steep as that seen between 2023 and 2024.
This January’s sales tax collections of $990,222 decreased $14,727 from that collected in January 2024, which represents a 1.47% reduction in total revenue received from 2024. Between January 2023 and January 2024 sales tax revenues dropped 8.83%.
Total collections in 2024 include allocations to the street fund, community center fund, trails expansion fund, and the emergency response fund, and totaled $1,004,949. A final breakout of sales tax receipts by fund for 2025 is slated for further analysis later this month. Of the total amount received in January 2024, $803,959 was allocated for general fund expenses.
Money allocated for workforce housing and childcare are not included in the Town’s finance department sales tax collection reports.
Instead, as lodging taxes, 6E funds are distributed by the state to the Local Marketing District which operates as Visit Estes Park. That agency distributes the 6E money to the town which is responsible for allocating the special lodging tax money to the two separate agencies.
As a statutory town, Estes Park businesses remit sales taxes directly to the state of Colorado’s department of revenue. That agency disperses the funds to agencies such as the town about six weeks following the state’s deadline for receiving tax payments from individual businesses.
The sales tax funds reported by the Town’s grant coordinator Sharla Beesley represent January tax collections remitted to the state in February and received by the town on March 10.
6E tax receipts are included in finance reports presented to the Visit Estes Park Board of Directors during that organization’s monthly meeting conducted on the fourth Thursday of each month.