Yet another move in the protracted chess game between the city and the lodging community over a new new voter-approved occupational lodging tax takes place next week.
On Friday April 17, the city will hold an administrative hearing to determine whether City Clerk Janella Martinez determination of “insufficiency” should stand with respect to a petition lodgers submitted to the city to try to force the city to reconsider the mechanics of the tax. The meeting will begin in Council Chambers on 3rd Street between E and F.
The hearing is the latest in a series of steps the lodging industry has taken to block the city from collecting a $2.50 per night per occupied room tax on lodging establishments. Proceeds from the tax are earmarked to support improvements to the city’s recreational and cultural resources.
In January, soon after the city passed the formal ordinance enacting the occupational lodging tax, the lodging community began a petition drive aimed at asking City Council to reword the ordinance as a tax on visitors rather than the lodging occupation, despite the fact state stature forbids statutory cities such as Salida from enacting a direct tax on visitors.
On March 16, Martinez announced that her review of the petitions found multiple infractions of state initiative and referendum law, leading her to disqualify all 580 petition signatures.
Since then, the city has received 37 written protests to Martinez’s decision. Though they did not submit written protests themselves, Don Jackson and Elizabeth Kudasik were notified of the hearing since they were the leaders of the petition drive. Only registered electors residing in the municipality are eligible to protest Martinez’ decision.
Colorado Springs City Clerk Kathryn Young
On the advice of city legal counsel Lee Leavenworth, Martinez sought and was granted approval by City Council to appoint Colorado Springs City Clerk Kathryn Young as hearing officer for the administrative review next Friday. Young, was first appointed Colorado Springs City Clerk in 1994, in 2004 she was presented with her Certified Elections/Registration Administrator certification and in 2006 was awarded Colorado Municipal Clerk of the Year.
According to procedures outlined in state stature, hearing testimony will be taken under oath, the hearing officer has the power to issue subpoenas and compel attendance of witnesses. No later than five days after the hearing, the hearing officer shall issue a determination as to the sufficiency or insufficiency of the petition.
Martinez described four possible outcomes and next steps in a case that some city hall observers have said seems destined to end up in court:
• If Martinez’s determinations stands, protesters could choose to appeal the decision to District Court.
• If Martinez’s determination does not stand, the City could choose to appeal the decision to District Court.
• Young could find there are enough legally viable signatures to trigger an election on the initiative.
• Young could find that the petition was sufficient but the number of necessary signatures was not achieved, in which case the protesters could go back out to the citizenry and seek additional signatures to get them to the 199 necessary to force the city to reconsider the matter.
As was already publicly clarified last month by city attorney Lee Leavenworth, the City could not change the wording of the ordinance as the lodgers are requesting without being in violation of state law.
The following Salida voters submitted written protests challenging the validity of City Clerk Martinez’ determination of insufficiency of the lodging community’s petition regarding the occupational lodging tax: Jennifer Treat, Tammy Office, Tiffeny and Danny Shin, Yolanda Hansen, Jean Hanfelt, Laurie Johnson, Donna McClure, Donna and Dave Morgan, Kay and Roger Bill, David Sommerhauser, Mary Jo and Thomas Sandell, Elizabeth Albers, Shirley Couch, Rodney and Lorene Farney, John and Neva Lazine, Loretta Ordaz, Patricia and John Bayuk, Ron Stowell, William Cook, Dorothy Sanchez, Steven Office, Roy Abbot, Daniel Preston, Chad Johnson, Paula and Donald Bullington, Laurie James, Vickie Vigil, James Treat, Katherine Jackson.
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