Property tax increaseA property tax limit waived in all future years
Raises district taxes by $497,646 a year, beginning in collection year 2027 and continuing until collection year 2051, for new fire stations; waives the 5.25% property tax limit on all district taxes in all future years.
Elbert Fire Protection District
On the November 3, 2026 ballot
Kim's Recommendation
NO
Vote No on Elbert Fire Protection District Ballot Issue 7B
I start with the station tax's size: on the district's 2025 value, it alone comes to more mills than Elbert Fire levied in 2025, and it runs every year until collection year 2051.
The waiver concerns me more than the tax. It lifts the growth cap from every district tax, the general levy included, and it stays lifted long after the station tax ends. I want the cap's check kept: when collections would pass it, the board must grant a temporary credit or cut its levy, or else refund the excess. This question gives up that check permanently in the same vote that pays for new stations, and voters cannot approve one without the other.
I recommend a no vote on Elbert Fire Protection District Ballot Issue 7B.
Kim Monson
Host, The Kim Monson Show · President, Colorado Union of Taxpayers · Colorado Voter's Guide 2026
Certified ballot question
SHALL ELBERT FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT TAXES BE INCREASED $497,646 IN COLLECTION YEAR 2027 AND ANNUALLY THEREAFTER UNTIL COLLECTION YEAR 2051, WITH SUCH REVENUE DEDICATED TO THE COSTS OF DESIGNING, ACQUIRING, CONSTRUCTING, COMPLETING, EQUIPPING AND FINANCING NEW FIRE STATIONS; AND SHALL THE 5.25% PROPERTY TAX LIMIT BE WAIVED ON ALL DISTRICT TAXES IN ALL FUTURE YEARS?
A yes vote means
Approves the station-tax increase and waives the 5.25% property tax limit on all district taxes in all future years.
A no vote means
Rejects this station-tax increase and tax-limit waiver.
Money for New Fire Stations01
Elbert Fire Protection District's Ballot Issue 7B raises district taxes by $497,646 a year, starting in collection year 2027 and running until collection year 2051. The question dedicates that money to the costs of designing, acquiring, constructing, completing, equipping and financing new fire stations. It states a yearly dollar amount rather than a mill rate.
The state Division of Property Taxation lists the district in Elbert and El Paso counties. Its 2025 levy table shows one general levy of 9.23 mills, no bond levy and a taxable assessed value of $52,336,505. Measured against that 2025 value, the station tax works out to about 9.509 mills, more than the district's whole 2025 levy. That figure is an estimate based on 2025 values.
Two different terms
Authorization
Term and scope
$497,646 annual tax increase
Collection year 2027 and annually thereafter until collection year 2051; new fire stations
5.25% property tax limit waiver
All district taxes in all future years
El Paso County certified sample ballot, Elbert Fire Protection District Ballot Issue 7B.
Estimated annual property tax increase
The question's $497,646 a year beginning in collection year 2027 and annually thereafter until collection year 2051, set against Elbert Fire Protection District's certified assessed value for tax year 2025 ($52,336,505), works out to about 9.509 mills: $9.51 a year for every $1,000 of taxable assessed value.
Example at $100,000 taxable assessed value
$100,000 × about 9.509 ÷ 1,000 = $950.86
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.
An estimate: the mill figure uses the district's certified assessed value for tax year 2025, and the value when the tax is collected will differ. The question states a dollar amount ($497,646 a year beginning in collection year 2027 and annually thereafter until collection year 2051), not a mill rate. This is the added tax, not the total property tax bill.
Estimated annual increase
Enter a value of zero or more, with no more than two decimal places.
El Paso County ballot, Elbert Fire Protection District Ballot Issue 7B
Colorado's Limit on District Revenue02
Beginning with property tax year 2025, Colorado limits how much a district's property tax collections can grow. The limit starts from the most qualified property tax revenue the district collected and lawfully kept in a year of the previous reassessment cycle, adds 5.25% for each year of the current cycle, and adds any carryover amount allowed by state law. When collections would pass the cap, the board must grant a temporary tax credit or lower the levy for that year, or else refund the excess. Revenue from new construction, and from mill increases that voters approve at elections on or after November 5, 2024, falls outside the cap. The state's 2025 levy table shows no temporary credit for the district.
A Waiver with No End Year03
The second part of the question waives "the 5.25% property tax limit" on "all district taxes in all future years." Under state law, once voters approve a waiver, the district is not subject to the cap for the years they approved. The waiver reaches every tax the district levies, including the 9.23-mill general levy. The station tax runs until collection year 2051, and the waiver has no end year.
One Vote for Both Requests04
A yes vote approves both the station tax and the waiver with no end date. A no vote rejects both requests. The existing limit on qualified property tax revenue would remain, with the exclusions allowed by state law.
Sources05
Official documents
El Paso County certified sample ballot, November 3, 2026 election
