Glenwood Springs Rural Fire District Tax

The Glenwood Springs Fire Department serves about 72 square miles, covering both the City of Glenwood Springs and the unincorporated rural district around it, the Aspen Daily News reported. The city and the Glenwood Springs Rural Fire Protection District are separate taxing authorities, and each levies a property tax for the department. The district contributes about $1.6 million a year, the city's fact sheet says.

Issue 6A raises the district's tax rate by 5.9 mills through December 31, 2046. The district levies 12.339 mills now, and the city's fact sheet puts the new total at 18.239 mills. The question directs the revenue to "THE OPERATIONAL AND CAPITAL NEEDS FOR PROVIDING FIRE PROTECTION, RESCUE AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES AND WITHOUT ANY OTHER LIMITATION OR CONDITION," and closes with the words "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?" 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 5.9 mills would cost about $373 in taxes payable in 2027.

The ballot question states a $980,000 increase in 2027, the first full fiscal year. The city's fact sheet estimates that 6A raises $767,207 a year beginning in January 2027.

In a summer poll of 451 city and rural residents, 73% of district respondents and 56% of city respondents favored a fire tax, the Aspen Daily News reported. The district board's August 11 agenda listed a general election funding discussion, and its August 25 agenda listed a resolution to certify the ballot issue. City voters decide Issue 2B, which puts the city's total at 16.503 mills, the fact sheet says.