taxes

The Montezuma County commissioners have settled on a rate of 1 percent for a proposed public-safety sales tax that would fund the sheriff’s office and detention center, and Montezuma County Clerk and Recorder Kim Percell tells the county commissioners that using full hand counts to tabulate ballots during elections would take more time, cost more money, and be more complex and confusing than fully automated counts.

Governor Jared Polis has signed a bill to mail Colorado taxpayers a refund check in August. And the birth rate in Utah is quickly falling, according to a new report from the Utah Foundation focusing on the state's investment in the next generation.

Colorado lawmakers say they will pass a bill to provide hundreds of millions in property tax relief over the next two years. And the Ute Mountain Ute tribe is receiving a grant worth one and a half million dollars from the Colorado Housing and Finance authority.

Colorado has been collecting more taxes than it can legally spend in recent years. And the seven states in the Colorado River basin are giving their approval to a proposed set of water cutbacks from the federal government.

Some Colorado lawmakers want to make it easier for residents to see how the state is spending their tax money, but the state would still be able to hide some data from its online checkbook. And the two candidates for Dolores mayor spoke at a candidate forum on Monday night.