Issue 6B waives the 5.25% property tax limit in section 29-1-1702 of the Colorado Revised Statutes. It lets the Morrison Creek Metropolitan Water and Sanitation District collect, retain and spend all of its property tax revenue from 2026 on, as a voter-approved revenue change. It authorizes the district to raise the total mills it levies in each future property tax year to a maximum of 20. It places that revenue outside the limits of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, or TABOR (Article X, Section 20 of the Colorado Constitution), outside sections 29-1-301 and 29-1-1702, and outside any other law limiting the district's property tax revenue, spending or mills, as that law stands now or as it may be amended or added. Neither the waiver nor these exemptions has an end date.
Morrison Creek Revenue-Limit Waiver and Levy Authority
Morrison Creek has a 20-mill general levy on the state's books, and for 2025 a temporary credit of 9.022 mills brought the total it levied down to 10.978 mills. Issue 6B makes those 20 mills the ceiling for every future year, holds the adjusted levy at its 2026 level only through 2031, and waives the 5.25% limit for the district for good.
The board heard in June that the state limits would restrain the district's revenue if growth comes faster. In a year of faster growth, those limits are what hold the district's property tax revenue down, and I think property owners should keep that protection. Issue 6B lets the district keep all of its property tax revenue in every year from 2026 on, rather than leaving what exceeds the limits with the property owners who pay the Morrison Creek levy.
I recommend a no vote on Morrison Creek Metropolitan Water & Sanitation District Ballot Issue 6B.
SHALL THE MORRISON CREEK METROPOLITAN WATER AND SANITATION DISTRICT (THE "DISTRICT") WAIVE THE 5.25% PROPERTY TAX LIMIT FOR ALL FUTURE PROPERTY TAX YEARS, AS SUCH PROPERTY TAX LIMIT IS SET FORTH IN SECTION 29-1-1702, C.R.S., PROVIDED HOWEVER THAT THE ADJUSTED PROPERTY TAX MILL LEVY OF THE DISTRICT FOR EACH FISCAL YEAR OF 2027 THROUGH 2031 SHALL BE EQUAL TO THE ADJUSTED PROPERTY TAX MILL LEVY IMPOSED BY THE DISTRICT IN 2026 (THE FOREGOING WAIVER BEING PROVIDED FOR AND PERMITTED BY SECTION 29-1-1704, C.R.S.), AND SHALL THE DISTRICT BE AUTHORIZED TO COLLECT, RETAIN, AND SPEND THE FULL AMOUNT OF ALL PROPERTY TAX MILL LEVY REVENUES IMPOSED, GENERATED, COLLECTED OR RECEIVED BY THE DISTRICT DURING 2026 AND EACH FISCAL YEAR THEREAFTER, SUCH AMOUNTS AND REVENUES TO CONSTITUTE A VOTER APPROVED REVENUE CHANGE, AND SHALL THE DISTRICT BE AUTHORIZED TO INCREASE THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MILLS LEVIED BY THE DISTRICT IN EACH FUTURE PROPERTY TAX YEAR TO A MAXIMUM OF 20 MILLS AS PERMITTED BY SECTION 29-1-1705(2)(a), C.R.S., AND SHALL THE PROPERTY TAX MILL LEVY REVENUES AS MAY BE IMPOSED, GENERATED, COLLECTED, RETAINED AND SPENT BY THE DISTRICT IN ALL FUTURE PROPERTY TAX YEARS BE WITHOUT REGARD TO ANY SPENDING, REVENUE RAISING, OR OTHER LIMITATION CONTAINED IN ARTICLE X, SECTION 20, OF THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION, AND WITHOUT REGARD TO ANY LIMITS IMPOSED ON INCREASES IN PROPERTY TAXATION OR REVENUES BY SECTION 29-1-301, C.R.S., AND BY SECTION 29-1-1702, C.R.S., IN ANY SUBSEQUENT PROPERTY TAX YEAR, AND WITHOUT REGARD TO ANY OTHER LAW WHICH PURPORTS TO LIMIT THE DISTRICT'S PROPERTY TAX REVENUES OR EXPENDITURES OR NUMBER OF MILLS LEVIED AS CURRENTLY EXISTS OR AS MAY BE AMENDED OR ADDED IN THE FUTURE?
The district could waive the 5.25% limit, retain property tax revenue from 2026 onward and levy up to 20 mills in total, with its adjusted levy for 2027–2031 equal to the adjusted 2026 levy.
This question would not waive the 5.25% limit or grant the requested retention and 20-mill authority.
For each fiscal year from 2027 through 2031, the district's adjusted property tax mill levy must equal the adjusted levy it imposed in 2026. The condition ties each year's levy to the 2026 adjusted levy without stating that figure, and the question states no dollar amount. For the years after 2031, the only limit on mills that 6B states is the 20-mill maximum.
The state Division of Property Taxation's table for tax year 2025 lists a general levy of 20 mills for Morrison Creek, a temporary tax credit of 9.022 mills, and a total levy of 10.978 mills, on a total assessed value of $54,895,120. The 20-mill maximum in 6B equals the district's 2025 general levy.
At the June 18 board meeting, the district's attorney recommended that the board consider asking voters to free the district from the "5.25% and 5.5% revenue limits imposed by the State." The minutes record that the board was told those limits restrict the district's revenue growth and "would not allow the District to grow financially as desired in the event of faster growth." The board directed the district manager to work with Routt County and bond counsel on the ballot process, at a cost not to exceed $5,000. On August 20, after bond counsel and the district's election officer had checked the wording for compliance, the board made minimal changes and approved the ballot language.
- Morrison Creek Metropolitan Water & Sanitation District Ballot Issue 6B: ballot proof approved 2026-09-11Morrison Creek Metropolitan Water & Sanitation District · Sep 11, 2026