Road-tax revenue falls for 5th straight month

Sales tax revenue that supports transit and road maintenance and building in the region fell in December for the fifth straight month.

The latest figures from the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority show December's revenue from a one-cent sales tax approved by voters in 2004 was $6.2 million, $545,000 below what had been budgeted.

December's 9.14 percent decline in revenue was a little less grim than declines in October and November, reflecting Christmas sales in the region.

Sales tax revenue for the RTA dropped 12.1 percent in October and 15.5 percent in November.

Over the course of 2008, sales tax collections met budget expectations in only five months, and those were at the beginning of the year.

Overall, the tax in 2008 raised $69.5 million, $1.6 less than budgeted.

The drop in revenue - and the collapse of the stock and bond markets - meant the RTA earned $583,000 less in interest than expected, or about $1.4 million.

Colorado Springs, El Paso County, Manitou Springs and Green Mountain Falls share the proceeds from the RTA tax based on the population within each taxing entity.

Fifty-five percent of the money is used to fund a voter-approved list of capital projects, such as the Austin Bluffs Parkway and Union Boulevard interchange in the city, improvements to Academy Boulevard near Fort Carson in the county and streetscape improvements to Manitou Avenue in Manitou Springs.

Thirty-five percent of the tax proceeds are used to fund street maintenance such as road paving and pothole repairs.

The last 10 percent is dedicated to the city's bus system, Mountain Metropolitan Transit, to provide transit in the region, including the popular commuter bus service FREX.

The full tax will be in place until 2014, when the capital improvement portion of the tax sunsets. The tax then drops to .45 percent to fund street maintenance and transit.