What they say
Ballot Issue 6A
Without increasing taxes, starting in 2022 and thereafter, shall Loveland Rural Fire Protection District be authorized to continue to collect 2.90 mills approved by voters in 2012 for general operating purposes expiring in 2022, for the purpose of meeting the ongoing and future general operating needs of the district, including financing the construction of a strategically planned fire station to be located on donated real property and maintaining staffing levels necessary to continue the current high level of service to district residents and property owners?
Ballot Issue 6B
Without increasing taxes in 2021, shall Loveland Rural Fire Protection District be authorized beginning in 2021 and annually thereafter to set the mill levy at a rate sufficient to generate the tax revenues levied in 2020, as such amount is adjusted annually thereafter for inflation and local growth, to stabilize revenue for operating and other expenses?
What it means
The Loveland Rural Fire Protection District surrounds the city of Loveland and collects property taxes to fund firefighting services offered through the Loveland Fire Rescue Authority. In 2012, voters opted to raise the district’s mill levy by 2.9 mills to its current rate of 8.708 mills. The language of the 2012 ballot issue phases out the increase in 2022, which would eliminate roughly $1.2 million in annual revenue. 6A would allow the district to maintain its current mill levy of 8.708 mills. If the current level of funding is maintained and the city’s 1% mixed sales tax hike also passes, the authority may break ground as early as next year on Fire Station No. 10, on the eastern edge of the district in Johnstown.
The language of 6B would allow the district to work around the consequences of the Gallagher Amendment to the state Constitution, which caps the share of state property tax revenue that can come from residential properties at 45%. As home values have risen, the state has been forced to slash its residential assessment rate, which has also impacted other local governments that depend on property taxes. The second LRFPD issue would allow the district to adjust its mill levy annually to continue to collect the amount of revenue that was collected in 2020, which is currently projected to be around $3.8 million, according to LFRA Chief Mark Miller.
Allowing the mill levy to sunset would wipe out roughly a third of the district’s revenue and jeopardize the current level of service for residents, which could in turn impact homeowners’ insurance rates. Both items are necessary to keep up with population growth and inflation. With Colorado’s Legislature considering reducing the state’s residential assessment rate further in 2021, from 7.15% to 5.88%, an additional $1 million could be lost if the district isn’t given the flexibility to change its mill levy. The failure of both issues could eliminate more than half of the district’s budget. Although maintaining the amount of revenue collected in 2020 may require a mill levy adjustment down the road, neither issue is a tax increase.
The current mill levy places too much of a burden on property owners, who should also be able to take full advantage of a drop in the residential assessment rate.
The district should not be able to adjust its mill levy without first returning to voters.
The government of the district is too large and ought to be scaled down.