Mountain Village sold its 5 percent lift ticket tax as the way visitors would help pay for the next gondola. The Town projected the tax would bring in $2.5 million a year. From its launch in November 2025 through June 2026, which covers one full winter, the Town's own financial statements record about $732,000.
The gap matters to anyone weighing a Mountain Village purchase. The tax was designed to leave alone the pass products most locals buy, and that design limits how much it can raise. So the visitor tax will be a modest share of the gondola's costs. The larger bill sits with the owners association through 2027 and with a regional transit authority after that, in the same year the system's haul ropes are due for replacement.
What One Winter Collected
Voters approved the tax on November 4, 2025, 291 to 85, and the Town began collecting it on November 15, 2025, according to the Town's results announcement. The money goes to the San Miguel Authority for Regional Transportation, known as SMART, for gondola capital work, operations and maintenance. Under an agreement SMART took up in March 2026, the Town keeps a 1 percent processing fee.
The Town's Gondola Fund reports show what came in:
| Period | Source | Lift tax figure |
|---|---|---|
| Town projection, per year | Ballot fact sheet | $2.5 million |
| SMART planning estimate, per year | SMART, March and July 2026 | About $1 million |
| Nov. 15 to Dec. 31, 2025 | Town financials through December 2025 | $47,332 |
| Jan. 1 to June 30, 2026 | Town financials through June 2026 | $685,073 |
Both amounts went straight to SMART. The June report lists a $685,073 "Lift Tax Transfer to SMART" against $685,073 in receipts. The tax applies to lift ticket sales, so the November-to-June window covers last season's skiing from opening through spring. Together, the two reports total roughly $732,000, about 29 percent of the Town's annual projection.
SMART had planned for less from the start. In March 2026, SMART staff called $1 million a year a conservative estimate. They noted that the authority had no lift-sales data and that receipts would rise and fall with skier visits and ticket sales. SMART's July 28, 2026 presentation repeated that figure and called the tax a variable revenue source.
Why a 5 Percent Tax Raises Less Here
The tax was built not to fall on locals. The Town's fact sheet says it applies to lift tickets and Epic Passes, and that local season passes and merchant passes are exempt under the ordinance Council adopted. So the tax only reaches what is left after the pass sales are taken out. In a resort town where many people ski on season products, that leftover base is narrower than total lift revenue.
Mountain Village is also the only town collecting it. Telluride put a matching 5 percent tax on its ballot as Question 2A, and it failed 519 to 500 in the final San Miguel County results. The Denver Post reported that the Mountain Village tax would take effect anyway, because Mountain Village approved it.
The tax was a fallback in the first place. The Denver Post also reported that an earlier proposed agreement, under which the ski company would contribute $1.5 million a year toward gondola funding, did not go forward. After that, both towns referred lift taxes to voters. The fallback raises less than half of the $1.5 million contribution it replaced.
The Town's budget has a second revenue line tied to lift sales, and it points the same way. The Gondola Fund carries a "TSG 1% Lift Ticket Contribution" from Telluride Ski & Golf. The October 7, 2026 draft budget packet records it at $244,972 for 2024 and $192,082 for 2025, with forecasts of $150,000 for 2026 and $150,000 again in the proposed 2027 budget. Any revenue tied to lift sales moves with ticket sales, and the Town is budgeting that line lower going forward.
The Bill Arrives in 2028
The lift tax looks smaller still next to what the gondola costs to run. The October draft budget puts total gondola operating costs at $6,168,447 for 2026 on a forecast basis and $6,843,169 proposed for 2027. Most of that money comes from TMVOA, the Mountain Village owners association. For 2027, the draft budget proposes $6,060,438 in TMVOA operating contributions and $2,966,000 in TMVOA capital and major repair funding, a total of $9,026,438.
That arrangement has an end date. According to the fact sheet, the operating agreement that requires TMVOA to fund the gondola expires at the end of 2027. SMART plans to take over operations and maintenance on January 1, 2028. The draft budget shows the handoff in its numbers. SMART funding is $500,000 in 2027 and projected at $8,509,420 in 2028.
The Town's 2027 goals for the gondola set out the schedule:
- In 2027, complete the Section 3 controls replacement and replace the MARRS evacuation trolleys.
- Through 2027, finish moving gondola management and operations to SMART, with an emphasis on continuity of maintenance.
- In 2028, replace the haul ropes on all three sections.
- Through 2028, keep monitoring the adjacent Four Seasons construction to protect the gondola system and its airspace until that project is complete.
The 2028 projection for total Major Repairs and Replacements is $1,810,000. So the first year under a new operator is also a heavy maintenance year.
Where the Lift Tax Fits in a Replacement Gondola
The lift tax is aimed at the next gondola, not the current one, and on that front it is worth more as a source of borrowing than as yearly cash. SMART's July presentation says the tax could support bonds, but only if SMART puts a debt question before voters and they approve it. If they do, SMART estimates debt service capacity of about $15 million to $20 million over 20 to 30 years. SMART's own ballot measure revenue, 3A, is meant for long-term operations and maintenance and cannot be bonded. Money 3A collects before January 1, 2028 can go toward project development and capital.
SMART's example scenario shows how the pieces might fit together. SMART labels every figure a forecast that may change:
- Total project cost of $140 million, covering baseline transit function and maintenance facilities
- $70 million from the Federal Transit Administration's Capital Investment Grants program, half the cost
- About $15 million from early 3A collections
- About $15 million in borrowing against the lift tax
- $20 million each from the Town of Telluride and from Mountain Village partners
In that scenario, the lift tax supports roughly a tenth of a $140 million project, and only after a separate public vote. The two towns' partner shares together are more than twice as large.
Reading This as a Mountain Village Buyer
The gondola is the reason many people consider Mountain Village. It links the resort town to Telluride without a car. The figures above show that its funding is moving from an owner-funded association to a regional authority, and that the visitor tax is a supporting source in that move. A buyer comparing Mountain Village with town-side Telluride is comparing two places that will share one transit authority but are funding the gondola's next chapter on different terms.
The useful questions for a purchase are concrete. How does a building or association budget for the TMVOA years that remain? What happens to owner-funded line items after 2027? How does SMART's funding plan develop as the 2028 transition gets closer? The lift tax receipts set a realistic floor for the visitor share, and SMART's roughly $1 million planning figure is closer to last winter's result than the original $2.5 million.
This post is general information about public tax and budget records, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm how any assessment or tax applies to your situation with the appropriate professional.
A Few Direct Questions
Do season passes pay the Mountain Village lift tax? No. The Town's ordinance exempts season passes and merchant passes. The tax applies to lift tickets and Epic Pass products.
Does Telluride collect its own lift tax? No. Telluride's Question 2A failed 519 to 500 in November 2025.
Who runs the gondola after 2027? SMART plans to take over operations and maintenance on January 1, 2028, when TMVOA's operating agreement ends.
If you are weighing a Mountain Village property and want to understand how the gondola transition and its funding could affect a specific building or association, Lars Carlson can walk through the public records with you. Request a confidential consultation.
