Yes on Measure I!
It Stays in Windsor
Vote YES on Measure I to protect Windsor’s essential town services and our quality of life. Every penny of Measure I money will stay in Windsor to pay for public safety, emergency response, street repairs and other essential services that make Windsor a great place to live.
Learn More
What is Measure I?
A vote to protect our
quality of life, property values
Vote YES on Measure I to protect Windsor’s essential town services and our quality of life.
Measure I is a local funding measure to protect public safety and quality of life in Windsor.
Every penny of Measure I money will stay in Windsor to pay for public safety, emergency response, street repairs and other essential services that make Windsor a great place to live.
All funds will be controlled by Windsor – state and federal governments cannot touch Measure I funds.
And all Measure I money will be tracked through the Town's general fund - with public reports on all Measure I funds spent. And a special citizen oversight committee to oversee it all and report to the Town Council.
Measure I also protects our parks, our preschool, Senior Center community programs, including summer concerts and movies, from drastic cuts.
Our town, Windsor, is known for its safe neighborhoods, reliable emergency response, well-maintained parks, and outstanding quality of life. We need Measure I to protect these essential local services by providing stable, locally-controlled funding to keep our town strong.
If approved by Windsor voters, Measure I will generate up to $5.7 million per year in funding for our Town services through a 1% sales tax.
That’s 1 cent per dollar spent, and every penny will remain here in Windsor. Measure I money cannot be taken by the state, county or federal government. The Measure I funding will be used to:
• Protect neighborhood police patrols
• Maintain rapid 911 emergency response times
• Reduce wildfire risk
• Repair streets and fix potholes
• Protect our parks & community programs
• Protect local property values
Measure I is Fiscally Responsible
100% of Measure I funds will stay here in Windsor – the state and federal governments cannot touch them.
Essential items that we all need daily to survive and thrive are exempt.
Groceries, dairy products, water, diapers and baby formula, women's period products, prescription medications, medical devices, doctors' visits, hospital bills, utilities, rent, mortgages, are NOT subject to sales tax. So Measure I won’t increase the cost of our key grocery purchases.
Shoppers from out of town will be helping us fund our police and street repairs when they buy things here. Just like we do in their cities.
Tourists coming to town buying wine, beer, margaritas, restaurant meals, clothes, lumber, hardware, and other sales taxable goods will pay that extra 1-cent per dollar spent sales tax too.
Visitors will help Windsor residents keep their hometown safe and beautiful.
Please join public safety and community leaders, local small business owners and long-time Windsor residents in voting Yes on Measure I.
Accountability and Oversight
Citizen Committee Review and
Public Reports to Council
On Every Penny Spent!
All Measure I money will be tracked from collection through spending, and documented in public reports.
Every penny of Measure I funds coming in, and what those funds are spent on, will be overseen by a citizens' review committee. They will - with public reports on all Measure I funds spent.
Priorities for spending are Police, emergency response times, wildfire prevention and maintenance of our streets!
And a special citizen review committee to oversee it all and report to the Town Council.
The Town Council has already passed an ordinance ordering the separate tracking of Measure I money from collection through spending if the measure is approved.
You can read the details here, in the Fiscal Transparency policy approved by the council July 17.
FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Windsor need Measure I?
While the costs of providing public safety and essential services has risen, revenues have not kept up.
Our Town now faces a nearly $5 million per year funding shortage. That’s how much more it costs to deliver Town services than Windsor is receiving in sales and property tax revenues.
The shortage has mostly been caused by a big drop in tourism and consumer spending. Both took a nosedive during Covid, and have been slower than projected to rise to pre-Covid levels. Sales and bed taxes in Windsor are currently down 8% from the pre-Covid levels. .
The slow economic recovery post-Covid is happening across the United States and around the globe. So are sharp increases in the cost of materials like concrete, asphalt, lumber, and fuel.
And service costs for fire insurance, health insurance, software and computer operating systems. And staffing - providing health insurance to staff while insurance costs jump.
What has Windsor done to solve the Town funding shortage?
Check our FAQs page for answers, and more.
What happens if we don't pass Measure I?
Emergency response for police and other essential services will be reduced. Street repairs and other infrastructure updates that have been postponed will continue to be unfunded.
The Town already has $54 million in street maintenance project that are on the "deferred maintenance" list. They will remain there until the Town finds money to pay for them.
For 2027, Windsor will be forced to cut all funding and in-kind support for all community events. That includes all summer concerts and movies on the Green, all parades, the Windsor Farmer's Market. The cuts may close the Windsor Senior Center pool season by two months. The town could be forecd to lay off 33 employees. That is almost one third of our town's 117-member full-time staff.
And that's just next year. Most of the things that make Windsor a wonderful place to live will be gone.
Windsor's Sunday Morning Organic Farmer's Market could disappear. No more Windsor Days Parade. No More Fiestas Patrias de Windsor. Unless some White Knight sponsors or business consortium sweeps in to pay $1 million for them, they disappear in 2027.
What else happens? Click here to go to the full "What Happens if Measure I Doesn't Pass?" page for cuts already outlined for 2027 in the "Plan B" budget.
It's not a pretty picture.