Raising taxes, “de-Brucing” and eliminating tax exemptions are all on a list of options Aurora officials are considering to fill an $11.5 million gap in the estimated 2026 budget. 

City councilmembers and finance officials discussed the 2026 budget in a recent workshop, going back and forth about how to make up the shortfall. The budget gap, they said, is the result of low sales taxes, inflation, new expenses and the elimination of the operational privilege tax.

Aurora finance officials proposed multiple ways to increase revenue to councilmembers, saying the city is not keeping up with population growth when it comes to services already.

“The cuts won’t be painless,” Aurora Budget Officer Greg Hayes told councilmembers. “To get there, you basically have to affect services.”

Hayes’ proposals to the council included raising the city’s sales tax, getting rid of tax exemptions on things like household groceries and prescription drugs, and increasing the city’s lodging tax.

Aurora City Councilmember Curtis Gardner was critical of the proposals to raise taxes, pointing to the council decision in November to eliminate the occupational privilege tax that taxed businesses for each employee. 

Late last year, councilmembers decided to keep a promise made to businesses that they would repeal the tax, which collected $4 monthly from companies for each employee. Employers and employees split the dues, paying $2 respectively. The tax began in 1986 to support street maintenance, police and firefighting services.

“Just to be clear, we had a tax in place that the majority of this council voted to get rid of,” Gardner said. “Now we’re going to replace it with literally another tax we’re going to have to go to the voters for.”

Councilmember Danielle Jurinsky countered that the operational privilege tax “was worth roughly $6 million,” while the deficit is much more.

“Clearly, we were already in big trouble and overspending in different places,” Jurinsky said. 

Hayes also mentioned a proposed fire station in the Southshore and Blackstone area that’s in the budget for about $2.5 million, asking councilmembers if they still planned to move forward with that.

Councilmember Francoise Bergan, who represents the area, said the communities have waited 20 years for a fire station. Not having one leads to delayed response times and safety concerns, she added.

Following the recent fires in Los Angeles, many constituents have expressed elevated concerns about wildfires and whether the area has adequate resources for an emergency, Bergan said. 

Gardner agreed, saying that not funding the fire station “literally means that people will die.”

The city’s lodging tax, which is one of the lowest in the nation among comparable cities at 8%, could increase, budget officials said. The tax is imposed on transactions for hotels and other accommodations.

Another option, Hayes said, is to “de-Bruce,” or eliminate the revenue limit of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR), on property tax. Aurora is one of only a few cities that has not done so, he said.

The question would need to go to voters in November. If passed, it could add around $17 million depending on the year, he said.

Other options budget officials presented included increasing the sales tax from 3.75% to 4% and eliminating tax exemptions on things like food for home consumption, prescription drugs for people and animals, and manufacturing equipment. 

Councilmember Alison Coombs said the “de-Brucing” ballot question would be a good step forward, pointing to other recent successful efforts in surrounding counties, like Arapahoe County, to do the same. 

However, she said, the city needs to be careful with how they go about addressing the shortfall. Too many tax questions “overloading the ballot” could deter voters from making helpful decisions, she said.