The source of angst is dressed up as the tourist from Kansas, but the congestion and expense is started when the Incline opened for business.  This single incident started a debate that has never been solved and is the source of conflict.  For 25 years the Incline has drawn hundreds of thousands of people to our town.  Likely more people then ride the COG, zip across canyons or frequent our dwellings and chateaus.  They Incliners congest the city, but City Council would never reject them as the source of the problem.  The perception is that they must spend their money at the retail shops and should never be charged for access.  They pay their way via retail tax and should be embraced and not chased away.  The secret to civic success!  Do they really?  The City has to run a “free” bus to serve the incline at an expense of $200,000.00 per year.  And then they get dropped in the city owned paid parking lot at the far end of town and leave.  But the real villains, the visitors to the COG and other amusement venues, do pay the tax, 5% on every dollar.  They then frequent the shops, spending the day in the cutest little town west of the ol’ Miss and pay more tax and more overpriced parking.  But what gives?  Economic laws prove that higher taxes change behaviors and the tourist is no fool.  They have lots of choices in Colorado and other states that charge or less or nothing at all.  Those states seem to manage alright, the trails are tidy, bathrooms clean and no potholes exist in the road.

Let the people do the dirty work.  After a failed attempt in 2025 to raise the Amusement Tax by triple the City Council referred a measure again in 2026 to nearly double the Tax to 9.3%.  The misleading statements surrounding the tax referral are several but the most egregious is that its Citizen lead.  The Council wrote and referred the measure as a forever tax to fund the same debacle.  A citizen group has now taken the lead in the campaign to shield their buddies on the council. Recent large investments have been made in Manitou.  Are these owners the citizens who are leading the charge?  It makes me suspicious of the authenticity of the efforts.  Who is really going to benefit from the tax increase?  I bet not the people living on Minnehaha or the other far reaches of town.  Ruxton will remain a mess until they reroute traffic along the old railroad grade.  Pipes will go unfixed in the neighborhood streets but the lights around the arcade and downtown Manitou ave will shine bright (like the obnoxious roman candle streetlights on east Manitou ave. I thought it was a runway.)

The bonus payment.  The widely discussed and public lawsuit with the COG is finally settled.  The COG has given the City of Manitou Springs a gift.  After several years of questionable tactics by council to sidestep the commitments it made to the COG, the COG has agreed to void their contract in exchange for a $3.5 million dollar payment.  This may seem like a lot, but the city will recoup this money in a few short years.  Amusement tax payments made by the COG at the current rate will be nearly double what the contract committed.  That’s an extra $500,000.00 the city will be receiving in perpetuity.  That is already half the budget shortfall they project (and the budget is questionable).  Why then increase the Tax further?  Greed, Power and Money son, its all politics.

2026 was a dismal year for tourism in Manitou.  Economic forces are against amusement industry businesses.  Ever increasing fees from processors and online resellers chew up profit.  Increasing minimum wage reduces the wage of veteran employees.  Gas and related expenses are ever increasing.  Land manager relations are strained, and an additional tax will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.  AOW loves being in Manitou and wants to see Manitou thrive.  AOW would love to develop its land holdings for the benefit of all parties.  But it is daunting and nerve racking to think one would invest further or recommend to others a commitment to Manitou Springs.