LOVELAND, Colo. — A year after Loveland voters approved a measure that eliminated a 3% sales tax on groceries, they are being asked this year to approve ballot measure 2E , a 1% sales tax increase on non-food items.
The additional funds from the proposed increase would help patch the city’s multi-million dollar budget shortfall , which was created by ballot question 300, the 3% grocery tax elimination, passed by voters in 2023.
“Well, for 2024, we made some capital program cuts, and we also had some other budget savings from 2023 that we were able to use to get through 2024, but you can only do that once,” explained Brian Walders, chief financial officer for the City of Loveland. “So if the sales tax base stays the same in 2025, we would be looking at program reductions and not those same kinds of measures that we used to get through 2024.”
Over the past couple of months, the city has provided updates online regarding budget cuts . The Loveland Public Library is one entity that could be impacted. With a 33% reduction in budget, they could face major changes, including a change in weekly hours of operation and a reduction in their physical library collection.