DENVER — In a special session of the State Legislature lawmakers passed a bipartisan package of bills that will cut property taxes for all Colorado homeowners for the 2025 tax year.
The bills result from negotiations between Gov. Jared Polis, bipartisan state leaders, and conservative backers of Ballot Initiatives 50 and 108. The measures would have significantly reduced tax revenues for state and local government budgets.
House Bill 24B-1001 lowers the property tax limit for local governments except school districts from 5.5% to 5.25%. Additionally, it creates a property tax limit for school districts that considers several factors to determine an increased limit.
House Bill 24B-1003, makes the business personal property tax exemption for agricultural equipment permanent. The exemption aims to keep agricultural production affordable for farmers.
For most democrats at the capitol where the party controls the house, senate, and governor’s office the bills were a necessary evil. The legislature had already cut property taxes by $1.3 Billion in May with SB-233.
“I do feel like, at this point, the risks of having either 108 or 50 pass outweigh the sadness that comes with knowing we’re cutting property taxes a little more by voting yes on this bill,” Sen. Janice Marchman, D-Loveland said. Marchman is the Colorado State Senator for District 15 which includes the Estes Valley area.
Fire departments, which are reliant on property taxes, often as their only revenue source, will feel the brunt force of the cuts. Colorado State Fire Chiefs were one of the only interest groups not supporting the package.
Across Colorado, fire protection districts will lose $539 million over the next five years as a result of SB-233 and HB-1001. A number that Kristy Olme, the president of the fire chiefs, says will result in layoffs for staffed departments and even worse for rural volunteer forces.
“This will very, definitely cause departments to close their doors,” Olme said.
Olme went on to say the loss of fire stations, and increased response times will cause homeowner insurance rates to spike and make some properties uninsurable. Many rural homeowners have already experienced being dropped by their insurance due to wildfire risk.
The legislature did not provide any exception for fire districts in the special session which gaveled out Thursday immediately following the passage of the two bills in the Senate.
EVFPD may not feel the full brunt of the cut
Estes Valley Fire Protection District gets part of its funding through a mill levy that goes specifically towards the fire district, but unlike many rural districts, the EVFPD also receive revenue from local sales tax.
Paul Capo, the EVFPD’s interim fire chief, said he thinks the district’s operations model will keep residents of Estes Valley from feeling any effects of lost revenue. He will know more after attending a conference next week where he will have an opportunity to talk with others about the legislation. The district has 47 volunteer firefighters that respond to calls, eight full time employees, and eight auxiliary members.
“I’m 100% confident that it will not affect our service to the public because of our model,” Capo said.
While Capo has not seen any specific data, he said the district may need to look at postponing or finding alternate funding for capital improvement projects to ensure daily operations are not affected.
The legislation was signed by Gov. Jared Polis Wednesday after both Initiatives 50 and 108 were pulled from the ballot.
Lincoln Roch is a UC-Boulder student majoring in journalism. He is the managing editor of the CU Independent, CU Boulder’s Student News. Roch has been working at the Jimmy John’s in both Boulder and Estes Park. We are excited to have him join the Estes Valley Voice editorial team as intern stringer this semester.