Fiscal Responsibility
Spending is up. Population is flat. This comes down to a lack of fiscal discipline.
The Town of Crested Butte's own budget documents show spending growing far faster than the community it serves. Before asking voters for a new tax, the Town should account for where the money has gone.
Why it matters
Live within the budget we have.
When a budget grows far faster than the population it serves, the first question isn't "where do we find more money?" It is "what changed?" Crested Butte's expenditures have risen sharply while the number of full-time residents has held steady.
Measure 2A is being presented as the fix. But even on the Town's own projections, it covers only part of the gap, and it does nothing to slow the trajectory that created the gap in the first place.
We're not arguing the Town has no needs. We're arguing that a line-by-line, public review of priorities has to come before anyone is asked for more.
89%
Growth in town spending
Town spending grew from $15.2 million in 2019 to $28.7 million in 2026. The Town's own presentation puts it at $6.6 million in 2016 rising to $19.3 million in 2026, close to a tripling in ten years. The full-time population held near 1,639.
27%
Growth in staffing and payroll
Ongoing personnel commitments are the fastest-growing part of the budget, and they don't go away next year.
$11,800
Spending per full-time resident
At $19.3 million against roughly 1,639 full-time residents, the Town's own 2026 figure works out to about $11,800 per resident, up from roughly $4,000 in 2016. Population growth is not what is driving the budget.
Point by point
What the Town shows, and what it means
Figures below are as presented in the Town Council's own materials. Where we quote a number, it is theirs.
What the Town shows
Affordable housing requires new revenue.
What it means
Housing is the shared priority here, and 1CB supports real progress on it. A tax structured around who owns a home rather than who uses the town is the wrong instrument. A seasonal, broad-based approach funds housing without dividing neighbors.
What the Town shows
Spending grew from $6.6 million in 2016 to $19.3 million in 2026.
What it means
Agreed, and that is the heart of it. Roughly a tripling in ten years for a town whose full-time population did not grow. The question the deck does not answer is which decisions drove the curve and which of them the town would make again today.
What the Town shows
Per-capita spending compared with other Colorado mountain towns.
What it means
Per-capita comparisons across towns with different service loads, different tourism bases, and different debt histories tell you very little on their own. What matters locally is the direction of our own line, and ours is climbing faster than the community it serves.
What the Town shows
A new Marshal's station is needed.
What it means
Public safety facilities can be a legitimate need. The question is scope, timing, and financing. Capital decisions of this size deserve their own public conversation and their own funding plan, not a general tax that then covers everything at once.
What the Town shows
Jerry's Gym and recreation investment.
What it means
Amenities are part of what makes Crested Butte good to live in. They are also discretionary, and they carry ongoing operating costs long after the ribbon cutting. Those recurring costs belong in the same review as everything else.
Claim by claim
What we're hearing, and what the budget shows
The claim
The Town has already done everything it can to manage costs.
The numbers
The Town's own budget document shows spending and staffing rising year over year. Cost management means slowing that curve, not adding a new revenue source on top of it.
The claim
Second homeowners don't contribute to the community.
The numbers
Second homeowners already pay property taxes, school levies, and sales taxes, and donate to a large share of local nonprofits and small businesses.
The claim
Voters support this approach.
The numbers
Crested Butte voters turned down a similar measure in 2021. Nothing about the underlying budget discipline has changed since then.
A better path exists
Fiscal restraint, a broad-based sales tax that visitors help carry, and a budget built with the whole community. Vote NO on 2A in November, then let's do the harder work together.