What we are proposing
Our Goal: To identify one or more viable and ongoing funding mechanisms that prioritize housing stability for hard-working Broomfield households. We are NOT trying to address all of Broomfield’s full-spectrum housing needs, just our most urgent ones.
For various reasons, available federal and state disbursements, philanthropic grants, and agency-specific fundraisers only allow local on-the-ground agencies to maintain the current status quo, which means many struggling residents fall through the proverbial cracks. Paired with the fact that thousands of Broomfielders are struggling to make ends meet, these realities prompted our Task Force to pursue new, ongoing sources of local funding to help fill the gap.
Those funding streams or mechanisms could include future ballot initiatives (the same or different than ones we proposed in the spring of 2025), potential city and county budget reallocations, enhanced local agencies’ pursuit of philanthropic grants, and whatever other creative approaches we can think of. We’re not tied to a specific mechanism. We’re just motivated to generate the funds necessary to enhance housing stability for vulnerable Broomfield families, so please let us know if you have any good ideas!
We are somewhat unique in that Broomfield is a small enough community to meaningfully address our crisis if enough of us could manage to pull in the same direction. We are heartened by the fact that Broomfielders take responsibility for their community. They truly care and take action to help their neighbors when they become aware of specific needs.
We already have an active, motivated and connected network of service agencies who are engaged and working together through the Broomfield Housing Solutions Forum, the Broomfield Community Services Network and the Together Colorado faith communities advocacy network. Non-profit, faith and civic leaders are more and more aware of local housing challenges and how they affect residents’ ability to thrive. And most of us know someone who’s struggling to maintain their housing or former neighbors who had to move away because they couldn’t afford to stay.
This is not an impossible task. In fact, we’re convinced that true housing stability for all could become a reality here in Broomfield. All we need is the collective will to make it happen.
Where we started
In early 2025, we proposed two local fund-generating measures — a 0.5% sales and use tax increase and a 1% excise tax increase on commercial development. Our hope: to place them on the Fall 2025 election ballot for Broomfield voters to approve.
We conducted extensive research, hired experienced consultants and proceeded through the steps toward potential referral of our measures by city council. The last of those steps involved commissioning a scientific poll of likely voters by Broomfield-based Magellan Strategies, which was completed in May 2025. However, because poll results showed there isn’t enough current community support to justify referral of those specific revenue-generating measures to the Fall 2025 ballot, the Task Force shifted into “Plan B” mode.
In case you’re wondering how we got here, here’s the short version.
After applying in the summer of 2024 for grant funding to fuel our work, we began researching potential ballot mechanisms, seeking the least burdensome ones possible that would still generate the income needed to fill our urgent housing-related gap.
We networked with local and area experts about the best ways to proceed.
We’ve put together a steering committee of concerned local residents and hired communications and policy experts to advise our campaign.
In the spring of 2025, we partnered with Magellan Strategies and the City and County of Broomfield, on a scientific poll to gauge likely voters’ perspectives on housing and on our two proposed ballot measures. Both would generate funds through new taxes, which is why they would need majority voter approval during an upcoming election:
(1) Primary — A sales and use tax increase of 0.5%, which would generate approximately $10 million per year. A portion of the increase and the funds generated from it would be borne by non-residents purchasing items in Broomfield. As proposed, this measure would add 50 cents to every $100 purchase subject to sales and use tax. (That’s less than 3 cents on a $5 cup of coffee!)
(2) Secondary — A construction excise tax increase of 1.0% on commercial construction, which would generate $80,250 per year. This tax would serve as a complementary measure to the above sales tax and to Broomfield’s already existing “inclusionary housing ordinance” that was passed in 2020.
In May 2025, we began grassroots organizing (tabling, focus groups, etc.) to garner feedback and raise awareness about our local housing crisis.
Our sights are now set on what can be done now and in 2026 and beyond to generate new funds to meet our most urgent-housing related needs. Those needs are not going away just because we’re not proceeding with our proposed ballot measures in 2025!
Stay tuned and please let us know if you’d like to get involved!