Lakewood just found out that TABOR is not a “guideline,” it’s the law. The Denver Post lays out how the city is staring at a $42 million hole after the Colorado Supreme Court ruled Lakewood violated TABOR by charging a business and occupation tax without voter approval.
This happened in Lakewood, and now the city has to refund 177 telecommunications companies, plus interest, and scramble to patch a budget that suddenly has a real-world problem instead of another glossy plan.
Let’s not pretend this is some mysterious act of nature. This is what happens when government decides voters are optional until the bill shows up.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Lakewood calculated it must return $42,154,189 to 177 telecom companies after a TABOR-related court ruling.
- The Colorado Supreme Court unanimously ruled Lakewood’s 1996 and 2015 ordinances imposed new taxes and were enacted without required voter approval, making them void.
- City officials say the repayment could force reduced or canceled projects and planned programs as staff works to balance the 2026 budget.
- Likely funding sources include drawing down reserve funds near the required 10% threshold and using the city’s TABOR fund.
- The case started after Lakewood audited MetroPCS (now Metro by T-Mobile), assessed taxes, and the company sued in 2022; about $29 million is taxes from the four years before the suit plus about $13 million in interest.
My Bottom Line
This is what happens when you try to play cutesy with TABOR. Government got cute, the court got serious, and now taxpayers and ratepayers get to watch the cleanup like it’s a spectator sport.
I wish I had more sympathy for them, but I don’t. The city levied a tax without asking voters first, and the Colorado Supreme Court called it what it was: a TABOR violation. And yes, I am pleased to see that even the liberal Colorado courts still rule on behalf of the law and people. Sometimes reality sneaks into the building.
Here’s the part they skip: every government, local, state, and federal, should be finding ways to cut spending and get smaller and leaner. Every. Single. One. Not “find creative revenue,” not “redefine words,” not “we totally meant well.” Smaller. Leaner. More honest.
Stop finding ways to get around the only law that has guarded Colorado citizens against the full spending lunacy of Colorado’s ruling left.
If the tax can’t survive a vote, it sure as hell shouldn’t survive an ordinance.
So make that your call to arms: run clean elections, ask permission, live within the budget, and take your medicine when you don’t. That’s not cruelty. That’s accountability, and it’s healthier than pretending rules don’t apply until the refund checks go out.
Source: The Denver Post
