Property tax increaseCity mill levy for fire and emergency services
Adds 7.9 mills to Glenwood Springs' city property tax for fire and emergency services through December 31, 2046, with $3,132,000 stated for 2027.
City of Glenwood Springs
Kim's Recommendation
NO
Vote No on City of Glenwood Springs Ballot Issue 2B
Issue 2B nearly doubles the city's property tax rate and keeps it there until the end of 2046. That is a property tax increase I oppose. The way the city would use it also counts against it in my judgment.
If the measure passes, The Sopris Sun reported, the tobacco and marijuana money that helps cover fire service now would go toward building a fire and EMS reserve fund. As I read it, the council asks property owners to take over a cost that existing revenue covers today, while that revenue is set aside. I do not support a tax on homes and businesses that lets the city bank part of the money it already collects.
I recommend a no vote on City of Glenwood Springs Ballot Issue 2B.
Kim Monson
Host, The Kim Monson Show · President, Colorado Union of Taxpayers · Colorado Voter's Guide 2026
Certified ballot question
SHALL THE CITY OF GLENWOOD SPRINGS TAXES BE INCREASED ANNUALLY $3,132,000 IN THE FIRST FULL FISCAL YEAR (2027) BY INCREASING THE CURRENT AD VALOREM TAX RATE BY 7.9 MILLS THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2046; THE REVENUES OF WHICH SHALL BE USED FOR THE PURPOSES OF MEETING THE OPERATIONAL AND CAPITAL NEEDS FOR PROVIDING FIRE PROTECTION, RESCUE AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES AND WITHOUT ANY OTHER LIMITATION OR CONDITION, AND WITHOUT LIMITING THE COLLECTION AND SPENDING OF ANY OTHER REVENUES OR FUNDS BY THE CITY OF GLENWOOD SPRINGS UNDER ARTICLE X, SECTION 20 OF THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION OR ANY OTHER LAW?
A yes vote means
The city could add 7.9 mills for fire, rescue and emergency medical needs through December 31, 2046, under the question's revenue provisions.
A no vote means
This question would not authorize the city's 7.9-mill increase.
How Fire Service Is Paid For Now01
The city's property tax of 8.603 mills is dedicated to fire and emergency medical services, and the city's fact sheet says the city's share of that levy brings in about $3.1 million a year. The Glenwood Springs Rural Fire Protection District, which the same department serves, contributes another $1.6 million, the fact sheet says. It says the city has addressed the shortfall "with about $1.7 million a year from its General Fund, along with tobacco tax and marijuana tax revenue," and that the General Fund has run a deficit for two consecutive years, largely because of this transfer. At the August 20 meeting, City Manager Steve Boyd said a $1 million annual allocation from the General Fund subsidizes fire and EMS and that the goal is to eliminate it, The Sopris Sun reported.
Boyd gave the council three reasons for the measure, the Sun reported: adding firefighters to meet the standard for coverage, raising firefighter and EMS pay to compete in the market, and building and improving stations and replacing equipment. The fact sheet lists a new West Glenwood station among the uses.
A Twenty-Year Fire Levy02
Issue 2B adds 7.9 mills through December 31, 2046. The ballot puts the first full year's revenue, in 2027, at $3,132,000; the city's fact sheet estimates $2.85 million a year. The revenue goes to operating and capital needs for fire protection, rescue and emergency medical services. The fact sheet puts the city's new total rate at 16.503 mills. For a standard home with an assessor's actual value of $1 million and no additional exemptions, the state's 2026 rules give a taxable assessed value of $63,240. The added 7.9 mills would cost about $500 in taxes payable in 2027.
The Added City Tax
Issue 2B would add 7.9 mills through December 31, 2046.
$10,000 in taxable assessed value
$10,000 × 7.9 ÷ 1,000 = $79 more per year.
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.
Use taxable assessed value, not market value. This shows only the added city levy, excluding existing taxes. A change in assessed value changes this illustration.
Annual city tax increase
Enter a nonnegative dollar amount with no more than two decimal places.
City of Glenwood Springs Issue 2B: a 7.9-mill increase.
Polling and the August Vote03
The Aspen Daily News reported that polling of 451 city and rural residents earlier this summer found 56% of city residents and 73% of the district in favor, and that support rose to 63% and 79% when the survey proposed a smaller tax raising $2.9 million.
Resolution 2026-20, passed on August 20, sets the 7.9-mill question as the ballot title. The Sopris Sun reported the vote as 6-0, with Councilor Mitchell Weimer absent. It also reported that, if the measure passes, existing tobacco and marijuana tax money would go toward building a fire and EMS reserve fund.
The Rural District's Question04
Voters in the rural fire district decide Issue 6A, a 5.9-mill increase ending on the same date, which the ballot puts at $980,000 for 2027. The district board has also approved putting the question before its voters, The Sopris Sun reported.
Aspen Daily News story stating the city will host 10 question-and-answer sessions regarding a proposed property tax increase to boost fire department funding.
The 2026 election is over. Requests for personalized guides closed on November 3, 2026. The full guide remains available to read.
