Retail Sales Enhancement Program

The City Manager’s Office began managing the use of public funds designated for retail sales enhancement (RSE) in 2013 in an effort to ensure that these dollars are used for their best purposes, with a focus on transparency and measurable results.

Program Goals and Objectives
The goal of the RSE program is the enhancement of retail sales within the city.

RSE program objectives center on:

• Facilitating the growth of sales tax revenues within the city
• Encouraging the purchasing of local goods and services by citizens of the city as well as those of surrounding communities
• Assisting merchants to make investments that will create and/or increase consumer activity and purchasing
• Developing a toolbox of incentives such as revolving loan funds, opportunities for sales tax sharing (TIF), expedited annexation and plan review, and deferred or phased utility connection fees
• Retaining existing businesses by ensuring that owners and employees have the necessary skill sets to prosper
• Providing business training
• Assisting merchants who are facing an upcoming business transition

Public Participation
City staff work in partnership with the public to map out new program strategies. Please complete the online form so we can invite your participation and keep you informed.

Program History
A vendor fee is retained by retailers to cover the vendor’s expense in the collection and remittance of city sales tax. To retain the fee, sales tax must be remitted to the city in a timely fashion. Prior to the RSE program, the vendor’s fee was three and one-third percent of the tax collected.

The RSE program began in 1990 after Montrose merchants approached the Montrose City Council about establishing a fund that would be used to increase retail sales in the city. The RSE fund, supported by withholding 60% of the Vendor’s Fee, was created to fulfill this request.

RSE funds are reserved for a specific purpose. The City of Montrose Municipal Code, Section 5-15-33, requires that RSE funds be “used by the city only for purposes reasonably related to the enhancement of retail sales within the city.”

RSE funds are held separate from the city’s General Fund and unexpended funds build on the RSE account balance that is carried forward from year to year.