PUEBLO- A proposed tax in Pueblo could make child care more affordable. The Pueblo City Council discussed increasing the lodging tax by 1.5% percent.
People who stay at a motel or hotel in Pueblo currently pay a 4.3% lodging tax. If the proposed tax increase is approved, visitors would pay an additional 1.5%.
Sarah Martinez is a Pueblo City Councilor for District 3. Martinez said this would cost visitors roughly $1.77 more a night. The city council estimates the tax would generate nearly $600,000 for childcare in Pueblo.
Vanessa Richardson is a Center Director at Life Center Academy in Pueblo. Life Center Academy is a child childcare preschool program serving nearly 100 children across three locations.
Richardson said because child care is in such high demand, Life Center Academy opened a third location in April. This allowed them to expand their age range and look after infants. Richardson said even a third location is not enough.
“We've seen that our communities crying out and we're needing to build more and build more spots and get more teachers in and get these families that we can help,” Richardson said.
Life Center Academy currently has around forty families on its waiting list. According to Martinez, Pueblo is a child care desert.
"Not only are families competing for slots, but the slots that we have here in Pueblo and just across the state are really unaffordable. The average child care slot in Pueblo costs around $1200 a month, which is more than my mortgage payment a month,” Martinez said.
Martinez said right now there is no child care assistance for middle-income families.
“You can see why families really have to make either a lot of money or qualify to have a subsidy for them from the state government,” Martinez said. “So it's really the middle income families who don't qualify for the subsidy or who don't make enough really to privately pay 100% of the time. Those middle income families are struggling to have their children in childcare,” Martinez said.
The proposed tax would go towards middle income families who do not qualify for state funding.
Richardson said families not qualifying for state funding is something she has seen time and time again.
“Sometimes parents don't qualify for it because they're just a tad over that scale and that's not fair. Those parents struggle just as much as parents who are on that assistant are struggling,” Richardson said.
If the tax is passed, any family in Pueblo would be able to apply for assistance. The Children First Agency will decide who receives the funds.
“The Children First, is the local coordinating agency for all licensed childcare programs,” Martinez said.
The Children First Agency will decide what families receive the funds and how much they receive. This process will be decided based on numerous factors.
“The funds that will go towards each family will be calculated based off of the sliding scale, which takes into account how many kids there are in the house that need childcare, what the monthly income is of the parent or caregivers, how many days a week the child needs childcare. All of that is really put in the formula to calculate how much each family will receive,” Martinez said.
Families could receive anywhere from $20 to have their entire childcare cost covered.
Martinez said this proposed tax is possible because Colorado recently passed a bill allowing communities to use lodging tax for child care.
“A couple of years ago, in 2021, the state legislature passed a House bill that allowed communities to utilize lodging tax in a more creative way to establish more workforce in the community. Because you can't have a workforce that serves your tourism community without having adequate staff. So the state legislature passed a bill which allowed municipalities the option of utilizing lodging tax dollars going towards either making childcare more affordable or affordable housing,” Martinez said.
Richardson has spent the last ten years doing what she is passionate about and sees the importance of working in the childcare profession.
“I stand strongly when people are like ‘you work in childcare.’ Yeah, I do and it's a need and it's a passion and I love it,” Richardson said.
People living in Pueblo would not have to pay the tax, only people staying in hotels or motels in Pueblo. Martinez said she does not think this 1.5% increase in the lodging tax would affect tourism.
The funds will only go to child care facilities that are licensed. There are currently over 40 applications for a childcare license. The city council will vote on the tax at the end of August. If approved the tax will be on the ballot in November.
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