Sidebar by Dick Dixon and Ed Quillen
Local History – May 2002 – Colorado Central Magazine
Why was Chaffee County so eager to expand its domain in the 19th century, and why were Park and Frémont fighting back?
In a word, money. After it was carved out of Lake County in 1879, Chaffee County was in desperate financial straits, and spent years negotiating with Lake over which bills and debts applied to which county.
So Chaffee needed income, and in those days, most county revenue came from property taxes. The more land in the county, the more revenue. Things are somewhat different today, now that counties collect sales taxes.
In 1884, Chaffee County’s government received $40,874.25 from all sources. More than 80% of that — $34,074 — came from property taxes on an assessed valuation of $3,125,795. Other revenue sources included license fees of $780 (mostly from saloons and butcher shops), court fines of $368, $80 from toll roads, and $30 from brand inspections.
By contrast, in 2001, Chaffee had an assessed valuation of $191 million. The county budget was $11.8 million, of which $1,697,833 came from property taxes — less than 15%, as compared to 83% in 1884.
If county governments were fighting over territory today, it would likely be over the site of a Wal-Mart or shopping mall for sales-tax revenue, not for a source of property taxes.
— D.D. & E.Q.
