Loveland voters rejecting sales tax hike, approving cannabis questions

LOVELAND — An attempt by the city of Loveland to impose an additional 1% sales tax to make up for lost food-tax revenue was failing handily in early returns Tuesday.

Voters also appeared to be rejecting items that would make it easier for the City Council to hire or fire a city manager and city attorney.

However, they seemed to approve allowing retail marijuana dispensaries in Loveland, and letting the city keep excess revenues and spend them on police and fire services, as well as construction and maintenance of streets and parks.

The sales-tax increase was being sought to offset a city budget shortfall  — which the city’s chief financial officer, Brian Waldes, had projected to be around $13 million a year— that resulted after voters last year exempted collection of city sales tax on food purchased for home consumption. The 1% hike would have had no expiration date or earmarks for how the city could spend the revenue the extra tax would generate.

However, voters on Tuesday night were rejecting Measure 2E by more than a 2-to-1 margin as of 8:30 p.m., with 24,053 votes against it compared with 11,752 in support.

By a slightly smaller margin, they also were rejecting moves to require only a simple five-vote majority on the nine-member City Council, instead of a six-vote supermajority, to hire and fire a city manager or city attorney. The former issue, Ballot Issue 2I, was losing 20,630 to 13,126, while the latter question, Issue 2J, was losing 20,695 votes to 13,080.

That issue was raised earlier this year when the five-member council majority failed to get enough support to fire City Manager Steve Adams and City Attorney Moses Garcia, instead negotiating exit agreements with them.

Retail marijuana fared better at the Loveland ballot box, with voters approving measures to allow medical and retail cannabis dispensaries in the city and to impose a 5% excise tax on retail pot sales, with revenues to be used for municipal services.

The authorization, Ballot Issue 2H, was passing, with 21,152 votes for and 14,589 in opposition. The excise tax, Ballot Issue 2F, also was winning by an even bigger margin, with 24,158 in favor and 12,011 opposed.

Loveland voters on three occasions have rejected allowing sales of marijuana in the city.

Ballot issue 2G, a question that would provide an exception to the statewide Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights by letting the city keep excess revenue for police, fire, streets and parks, was winning resoundingly, 22,578 for and 13,385 against.

This story will be updated as new vote counts are released by election officials.

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