Proposition HH

Proposition HH aims to increase the state’s cap on tax collection and reduce the tax burden on property owners. The measure will be put to a vote in November. Advocates project that the measure could reduce property owners’ tax burden by hundreds of dollars per year. Opponents say the measure will cause a $10 billion

LPC Hiring Updates

Kevin Hall has been hired as La Plata County’s Deputy County Manager. Hall formerly worked for the City of Durango and was also the Interim Community Development Director for La Plata County. Lynn Hyde has been hired as the new Community Development Director and is expected to start at the end of July.  Hyde is

LPC Land Use Code Update

La Plata County adopted the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code to become effective on August 1, 2023.  If the code wasn’t adopted before July 1, the county would have had to go to 2021 code by state statute. Staff said that may have been difficult for the local community which is now operating under the

La Plata County Sales Tax Collections

Sales tax collections in LPC for January show an increase of $657,653 or 36.19% in comparison to the same period in 2022. Sales tax collections for February show an increase of $765,446 or 43.75% in comparison to the same period in 2022. Sales tax collections for March show a decrease of $39,937 or -1.89% in

Workforce Development Grants

Colorado awarded $27 million to 46 organizations in June in the first phase of grants through the Opportunity Now Colorado program designed to enhance workforce-development pipelines at a time of significant labor shortage across industries. A smaller grant went to a La Plata County program to provide adult learners with professional certificates driven by industry

Lodgers Tax Update

In 2022, La Plata County collected $892,000 in Lodgers Tax, a 13.8% increase over 2021. Durango collected $3.45M in Lodgers Tax in 2022, a 24.7% increase from 2021. After lengthy discussion and multiple motions, Durango City Council agreed in a 3 to 2 vote to allocate 2022 excess Lodgers Tax collections. Out of approximately $361,000

Durango Land Use Project

June 6th, the Durango City Council approved the annexation, initial zoning and conceptual plan for Elk Grove, a 25 acre development on High Llama Lane where up to 62 single family homes are planned.  The developer and city staff are working together to create 10 income-restricted units as part of the plan.

Durango MidTown Connections Update

The MidTown Safety Improvement Project calls in part for a reconfiguration of the intersections at E2nd Ave & 15th Street and Florida Road/15th Street/3rd Avenue. The city will host a community meeting on this topic in the fall, but in the meantime, the multimodal division has created a questionnaire to gather additional public input on

Durango Mortgage Assistance Grants Update

The City of Durango, in partnership with HomesFund, has been awarded $1,881,400 to help residents with their mortgage payments. The money comes from a  three-year Community Development Block Grant from the state Department of Local Affairs. The City is the pass-through agency and the grant funding will be utilized for the continuation of the HomesFund