Conifer Fire Property Tax Increase for Staffing and Equipment
Property tax increaseFire district mill levy
Conifer Fire would add 4.0 mills to its property tax rate in 2027 and adjust its total 16-mill levy annually to offset refunds and abatements.
Conifer Fire Protection District
On the November 3, 2026 ballot
Kim's Recommendation
NO
Vote No on Conifer Fire Protection District Ballot Issue 7D
I look first at how new this district is. Conifer Fire has run as one district for less than two years, and 7D would add 4.0 mills and name 16 mills as its total levy, the rate the three-district plan of 2023 carried before Elk Creek voters turned consolidation down.
I will not support a permanent 4.0-mill increase this early in the life of a merged district. I want the people of Conifer Fire to see several full budget years that show what the merger saved before the board asks for a higher rate. The question also puts the revenue from the whole levy, and every other dollar the district takes in, outside TABOR's limits for every future year.
I recommend a no vote on Conifer Fire Protection District Ballot Issue 7D.
Kim Monson
Host, The Kim Monson Show · President, Colorado Union of Taxpayers · Colorado Voter's Guide 2026
Certified ballot question
SHALL CONIFER FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT TAXES BE INCREASED $400,000 ANNUALLY (FIRST FULL FISCAL YEAR), OR BY SUCH AMOUNT AS MAY BE RAISED, BEGINNING JANUARY 1, 2027, BY INCREASING THE DISTRICT'S PROPERTY TAX RATE BY 4.0 MILLS (AT A COST OF APPROXIMATELY $2.00 PER MONTH PER $100,000 IN PROPERTY VALUE FOR RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES) FOR THE PURPOSES OF PROVIDING FIRE PROTECTION, RESCUE, SAFETY, AND SUPPORT SERVICES FOR THE RESIDENTS, PROPERTY OWNERS, AND BUSINESSES SERVED BY THE DISTRICT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO: MAINTAINING FIREFIGHTER AND PARAMEDIC STAFFING LEVELS TO SAFELY AND EFFICIENTLY RESPOND TO EMERGENCIES; BEING PROACTIVE IN MAINTAINING EXISTING STATIONS AND FACILITIES; EXPANDING, REMODELING, AND/OR REBUILDING OUTDATED OR INADEQUATE INFRASTRUCTURE; AND REPLACING AND MAINTAINING EMERGENCY VEHICLES, ENGINES, AND AMBULANCES; AND ATTRACTING AND RETAINING HIGHLY QUALIFIED FIRST RESPONDERS AND OTHER ESSENTIAL PERSONNEL; AND SHALL THE DISTRICT'S TOTAL MILL LEVY RATE OF 16 MILLS BE ADJUSTED ANNUALLY TO OFFSET REVENUE LOSSES FROM REFUNDS, ABATEMENTS, AND SHALL THE DISTRICT BE AUTHORIZED TO COLLECT, RETAIN, AND SPEND THE PROCEEDS OF SUCH TOTAL MILL LEVY RATE AND ALL OTHER REVENUE FROM ANY YEAR AS A VOTER-APPROVED REVENUE CHANGE, OFFSET, AND EXCEPTION TO THE LIMITS WHICH WOULD OTHERWISE APPLY UNDER TABOR (ARTICLE X, SECTION 20 OF THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION) OR ANY OTHER LAW AND AS A PERMANENT WAIVER OF THE 5.5% LIMITATION UNDER SECTION 29-1-301, C.R.S.?
A yes vote means
The district could impose the increase, adjust its total levy annually and retain revenue outside TABOR and statutory limits.
A no vote means
This question would not authorize the tax increase, annual levy adjustments or limit waivers.
Four More Mills for Conifer Fire01
Starting January 1, 2027, Ballot Issue 7D adds 4.0 mills to the Conifer Fire Protection District's property tax rate, and the question sets no end date. The question puts the increase at $400,000 in the first full fiscal year, or whatever amount the 4.0 mills raise, about $2.00 a month for each $100,000 of residential property value. Jefferson County's TABOR notice estimates the district's spending in that first full fiscal year at $2,650,000 without the increase.
The Canyon Courier reported in April that the district's base levy is 12 mills and that a voter-approved assessment offset brings it to 13.545 mills. The ballot asks for four additional mills and calls the total levy 16 mills, with annual adjustments for refunds and abatements. The held record does not explain how the existing assessment offset would be treated after approval or establish the final levy including any continuing offset.
Annual property tax increase
The 4.0-mill increase adds $4 a year for every $1,000 of taxable assessed value.
Example at $100,000 taxable assessed value
$100,000 × 4.0 ÷ 1,000 = $400
Taxable assessed value is not a home's market value. For 2026 it is about 6% to 7% of the actual value the county assessor sets. A home with an actual value of $500,000 has an assessed value of about $30,600 for local government taxes and $35,250 for school district taxes.
This estimates only the 4.0-mill increase, not the total tax bill or any annual adjustment for refunds and abatements. The amount changes with taxable assessed value.
Estimated annual increase
Enter a value of zero or more, with no more than two decimal places.
Douglas County composite sample ballot, Ballot Issue 7D; Larimer County Treasurer, property tax calculation.
Two Fire Districts Become One02
In 2023, the Elk Creek, North Fork and Inter-Canyon fire districts asked their voters to consolidate and to raise property taxes to 16 mills, so that taxpayers across the new district paid the same rate and to help fund the consolidation. North Fork and Inter-Canyon voters approved consolidation by about two to one, and Elk Creek voters turned it down, so the three did not merge. North Fork and Inter-Canyon then signed a unification agreement in 2024, and their merger took effect January 1, 2025, according to the district's audited 2025 financial statements.
The district says Inter-Canyon property taxes decreased to equalize rates across the new service area, and that the merger captured meaningful financial efficiencies, though savings alone are not enough to meet the growing cost of emergency response. The audited 2025 statements show the district's fund balance ending that year at $3,946,605, up $492,445, and say it will use savings from merger efficiencies to upgrade equipment and assets.
Staff, Stations and Engines03
The question lists staffing, stations, emergency vehicles and attracting and retaining first responders among the uses, and does not limit the money to them. In May, the district said that with $400,000 a year it would add six first responders in 2027, staff East Station 3 at Windy Point around the clock, and replace aging fire engines and ambulances.
The district covers 300 square miles in Jefferson and Douglas counties and answers about 650 emergency calls a year, 60 to 70 percent of them medical.
Revenue Kept Outside TABOR04
The question lets the district collect, keep and spend the revenue from its total 16-mill levy and all other revenue from any year as an exception to the limits of TABOR or any other law. It also permanently waives the 5.5% limitation on increases in property taxation under section 29-1-301 of the Colorado Revised Statutes.
Sources05
Official documents
Douglas County composite sample ballot, November 3, 2026 election
