Adds a 0.28% East Grand fire district sales tax from January 1, 2027, stated at $875,000 a year, for fire and emergency services, wildfire mitigation and equipment.
East Grand County Fire Protection District No. 4
Kim's Recommendation
NO
Vote No on East Grand County Fire Protection District No. 4 Ballot Issue 6D
Ballot Issue 6D lays a sales tax on top of East Grand Fire's mill levy and retires no part of it. The district's January workshop notes describe a long-term strategy that may alternate sales tax and mill levy adjustments.
At the current mill levy, the June projections place possible operating deficits around 2030 to 2032, and collection under 6D starts January 1, 2027, at a stated $875,000 a year plus whatever more it raises afterward. My objection is the timing: this tax has no end date, adds to the mill levy and begins collecting in 2027, years before the deficits the June projections say could come.
I recommend a no vote on East Grand County Fire Protection District No. 4 Ballot Issue 6D.
Kim Monson
Host, The Kim Monson Show · President, Colorado Union of Taxpayers · Colorado Voter's Guide 2026
Certified ballot question
SHALL EAST GRAND COUNTY FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT NO. 4 TAXES BE INCREASED BY $875,000 ANNUALLY COMMENCING ON JANUARY 1, 2027, AND BY WHATEVER ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS ARE RAISED ANNUALLY THEREAFTER, FROM A 0.28 PERCENT SALES TAX ON SALES AND INCIDENTS TAXED BY THE STATE, FOR THE PURPOSE OF MAINTAINING HIGH LEVELS OF FIRE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES, INCLUDING RECRUITING VOLUNTEER AND PAID FIREFIGHTERS, AND REINFORCING REVENUE SOURCES FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION, COMMUNITY EDUCATION, EMERGENCY RESPONSE CAPABILITY AND NECESSARY FIREFIGHTER EQUIPMENT ACQUISITION AND UPKEEP, SUCH SALES TAX TO BE IN ADDITION TO ALL OTHER TAXES LEVIED BY THE DISTRICT AND NOT TO SUPPLANT ANY FUNDING THAT THE DISTRICT VOTERS PREVIOUSLY AUTHORIZED OR WHICH IT IS ENTITLED TO RECEIVE BY LAW?
A yes vote means
East Grand County Fire Protection District No. 4 would levy a 0.28% sales tax from January 1, 2027, on the sales the state taxes, in addition to its other taxes.
A no vote means
The district would not levy the sales tax.
East Grand Fire Seeks a Sales Tax01
East Grand County Fire Protection District No. 4 asks voters for a 0.28% sales tax on the sales and incidents the state taxes, starting January 1, 2027. The certified question states the increase at $875,000 a year, plus whatever additional amounts the tax raises in later years, and sets no end date. The district covers 209 square miles of the Fraser Valley, from the top of Berthoud Pass to Red Dirt Hill, and lists the towns of Winter Park, Fraser and Tabernash inside its boundaries.
As an example, at 0.28%, a $100 purchase adds 28 cents.
The sales tax comes in addition to all other taxes the district levies, and the question bars it from supplanting any funding the district's voters previously authorized or the district is entitled to receive by law.
Added tax on taxable purchases
The added 0.28% tax equals $2.80 for every $1,000 of taxable purchases.
Example for $1,000 in taxable purchases
$1,000 × 0.0028 = $2.80
This is the added tax from the measure, rounded to the nearest cent, not the total tax. Actual rounding at the register may differ.
Estimated added tax
Enter a value of zero or more, with no more than two decimal places.
Grand County ballot, East Grand County Fire Protection District No. 4 Ballot Issue 6D
What the Revenue Pays For02
The question's stated purpose is maintaining high levels of fire and emergency services, including recruiting volunteer and paid firefighters, and reinforcing revenue sources for wildfire mitigation, community education, emergency response capability and the acquisition and upkeep of necessary firefighter equipment.
The district's January 6 workshop notes record 523 calls in 2025, up from 424 in 2024, and report projections that reaching 800 annual calls by 2031 would require adding a full crew of approximately 15 firefighters.
How the Board Chose a Sales Tax03
The same notes describe a 0.25% sales tax with "the potential to generate approximately $600,000 annually," and say a blended strategy "may be pursued that alternates between sales tax and mill levy adjustments" over the long term. In the board's March discussion, concerns were raised about a sales tax "given the already high rates in Winter Park." On June 24, a straw poll showed consensus for developing a 0.25% sales tax measure. The projections the board saw that night showed deficits could begin around 2030 to 2032 if the mill levy stays at its current rate, and that a 0.25% sales tax could extend the district's financial stability. The rate on the certified ballot is 0.28%.
Issue 6E and the Property Tax Limit04
Ballot Issue 6E, on the same ballot, asks voters to waive the district's 5.25% property tax limit (10.5% for the two-year assessment period) in section 29-1-1702, C.R.S., starting with the property tax year that begins January 1, 2026, and for all future years. In May the board "generally agreed that separate ballot questions would provide voters with greater flexibility." The board's August 19 agenda listed resolutions for a mill levy increase with a limit waiver and for a waiver alone; Grand County's certified ballot carries 6D and the waiver, 6E.
East Grand Fire's August 19, 2026 board meeting agenda lists a resolution to initiate an election to enact a district sales tax for firefighter staffing, wildfire mitigation, community education and emergency response, but as an agenda it records no outcome.
East Grand Fire Protection District's January 6, 2026 workshop notes describe the district evaluating a 0.25% sales tax, estimated at about $600,000 a year, made possible by new state authorization for special districts.
The East Grand Fire Protection District board minutes of May 27, 2026 record discussion of preparing multiple ballot question options, including a sales tax increase, a mill levy increase and release of the 10.5 mill cap, with general agreement on separate questions for the November election.
East Grand Fire Protection District's June 24, 2026 board minutes record a straw poll consensus to develop a 0.25% sales tax ballot measure with a TABOR de-Brucing measure for the coordinated election, with the reasons and projections discussed.
