The Loveland Reporter-Herald flagged a problem in Lakewood: a ruling found the city ran a tax that violated TABOR, and now Lakewood is staring at a sudden $42 million fiscal hole. Apparently, the Colorado Chamber of Commerce’s leader says this should be a “strong precedent” for taxpayers challenging new taxes.
So congratulations to Lakewood officials for “innovating” their way into a constitutional faceplant. That takes talent.
What we know (and what Lakewood isn’t clarifying)
We’re being told there’s a tax, a ruling, and a $42 million crater. We’re not being told in this reporting summary exactly what the tax was called, how it was structured, which court issued the decision, or whether Lakewood is appealing.
Convenient vagueness is a classic government seasoning blend. Keep it foggy.
Lakewood TABOR tax ruling: how a “hole” gets manufactured
Lakewood didn’t stumble into a $42 million mess; city leadership gambled with a tax plan that a ruling says violated TABOR. They tried to stretch limits, reframe the grab, paper over the risk, and then panic when the guardrails actually worked.
That’s not budgeting. That’s a hustle wearing a lanyard.
Now we’re supposed to clutch pearls over the “fiscal hole,” as if it arrived via natural disaster. No—officials dug it, loaded it with other spending, and dared taxpayers to fight back.
And they lost. Good.
Who pays? Us. Twice.
Here’s the rage-fuel: people are already pointing out the “quandary” that citizens get “made whole” using their own money. Lakewood can’t refund cash it doesn’t have without reshuffling, raiding, backfilling, and pretending it’s justice.
That’s government accounting alchemy. And it’s bullshit.
Next comes the predictable script: officials gaslight residents about “hard choices,” monetize the crisis, float a new revenue pitch, and pressure voters to approve the next “temporary” fix. The system doesn’t learn; it adapts.
That’s how the scam survives.
Our Colorado reality
We’re the ones who get hit when city halls gamble: higher collections up front, then fiscal chaos when courts enforce the constitution. We live with the service cuts, the fee bumps, the “emergency” votes, and the smug lectures from the same people who overreached in the first place.
Consent still matters. TABOR proved it again.
Cut spending. Publish names. Own it.
If Lakewood has to “reckon,” start by publishing who designed the tax, who approved it, and who is still employed after lighting $42 million on fire. Then cut spending like grown-ups instead of hunting for a cuter workaround.
Drop your local “creative tax” examples in the comments—and share this. Someone’s city hall is next.
Source: Loveland Reporter-Herald
Just Stop It
