Breckenridge voters will decide on a lift-ticket tax to cover for parking and transit upgrades after the town and Vail Resorts failed to reach an agreement on funding.
Town leaders wanted the resort operator to support a town-wide transit plan that includes a parking garage, pedestrian access, road improvements and employee parking lots. That plan carries an annual operating budget of $4 million to $6 million. Vail Resorts said it was willing to cover only the majority of the cost of a new parking structure — either on its own land near the gondola or at the downtown F-Lot.
The impasse led Breckenridge to say on Monday that it will ask voters to approve an “admissions tax” — similar to the 4 percent parking and transit tax the town of Vail charges on lift ticket sales — to fund the transit plan.
By Monday afternoon, Vail Resorts had fired the first salvo in a campaign against the proposed tax.
“We agree that skiers make parking an issue for the town, and we are willing to contribute a significant amount to this cause,” Vail Resorts chief executive Rob Katz said. “Unfortunately that’s not enough. The town is more focused on this permanent, everlasting revenue stream coming from our skiers and riders. We are opposed to that.”
Breckenridge for several months has been working a plan to ease congestion in the historic town. The plan calls for a 900-space, partially buried parking garage in the town core. It includes bus upgrades, roundabouts, pedestrian bridges over roads and a focus on getting people out of cars and into the town core, town manager Tim Gagen said.
“One of the biggest complaints we get are parking and congestion during certain periods,” said Gagen, noting that the plan requires more than a one-time contribution. “The ski area came back to us and said all we will help with is the parking structure. Well, that’s not enough. We essentially asked them for what Vail has.”
The town of Vail’s lift-ticket tax dates back to 1966, when the fledgling town had very little property, sales or lodging tax revenue. The lift-ticket tax generated $4.4 million in 2014, up from $4 million in 2013. The town spent $4.3 million to operate its free bus system and $1.1 million on its two parking structures in 2014 — not counting capital improvements, town spokeswoman Suzanne Silverthorn said.
The admissions tax on lift tickets is not a new concept. Breckenridge leaders floated the idea for a lift-ticket tax in 2008. Both Mt. Crested Butte and Snowmass tax lift tickets to pay for parking and transit. In Utah, revenue from lift-ticket taxes are split between the state and local communities.
Breckenridge has enjoyed a robust rebound from the recession, with steadily increasing sales tax revenue. Breckenridge visitors spent a record $254 million last ski season and the town’s summer spending also is at record levels.
But Gagen said town costs and capital improvement demands have grown with the improving economy and increased traffic from visitors, he said. Those guests pay sales and lodging taxes, but no tax on lift tickets and season passes. (A 4 percent tax would add around $31 to the $769 Epic Pass and about $6 to a $149 lift ticket.)
Katz is vowing a fight, seeing it as an obligation to defend Breckenridge guests who might not vote on the proposed tax.
“Charging a tax needs to be because the revenue is absolutely needed and a last resort,” Katz said. “That’s the Colorado approach, and this is not aligned with that sentiment.”
Jason Blevins: 303-954-1374, jblevins@denverpost.com or twitter.com/jasonblevins
