Garfield County Library Tax Extension

The Garfield County Public Library District has levied 1.00 mill since voters created it in 2006, and it used the money to build or remodel its six libraries. Executive Director Abraham Korah told The Sopris Sun that the original 20-year mill ends as the mortgage obligation on those buildings ends in 2027.

Issue 6B keeps the mill at the same rate with no end date. The library board's Resolution 26-1 asks voters whether the district may extend "an expiring portion of its mill levy for operations and maintenance purposes." The certified question estimates $2,666,876 in 2028 and authorizes whatever the levy generates in each later year.

The district has made fixed building-debt payments of approximately $1.7 million a year and has put the rest of the mill's revenue toward facility operations, The Sopris Sun reported in October 2025. That remainder averaged $1.02 million a year and rose from approximately $482,000 in 2022 to $2.33 million in 2024.

Under 6B, the whole mill pays for purposes that, in the question's words, "may include" library repair, safety and accessibility; recruiting and retaining staff; books, technology and materials; programs for children, seniors and others; partnerships with existing nonprofits dealing with food insecurity, mental health issues, domestic violence and other community resources; and other library services and programs.

The district also levies a 1.5-mill property tax under a 2019 approval that has no end date, and it receives one quarter of Garfield County's one-cent sales tax. The district's chief financial officer reported in August that oil and gas valuations fell 39% in 2026, cutting related property tax revenue by approximately $1.325 million, and that the county assessor's preliminary valuations show a projected 9% rise for 2027. The report calls that level of volatility typical for oil and gas valuations. According to The Sopris Sun, the measure's no-sunset provision safeguards the district's ability to maintain a reserve against emergencies and unpredictable swings in other income.

Starting in 2028, the district collects and spends revenue from the extension regardless of the property tax revenue limit in Section 29-1-301 of the Colorado Revised Statutes. In the question's words, all revenue from the extension is collected and spent "without limitation or condition, and without affecting the collection or spending of any other revenues or funds under Article X, Section 20 of the Colorado Constitution, or any other law." A no vote leaves the 2006 approval to expire in 2027; the 1.5-mill levy and the sales tax share continue. The district's trustees, appointed by the Garfield County commissioners, support the measure unanimously, The Sopris Sun reported.