ELIZABETH, Colo. — The Elizabeth Fire District is urging community members to approve a proposed .5% sales tax increase in the special district election on May 6 to address funding concerns for the rural fire district.
A special district is an entity that operates independently from a city or county government to deliver services like fire protection and EMS to areas that don’t lie neatly within city or county boundaries.
The Elizabeth Fire District, like other special districts across the state, receives funding solely from property tax revenue. Due to recent state legislation, special districts can now seek out a voter-approved sales tax to help with funding.
“Costs continue to go up. The property tax assessments are going down,” said Elizabeth Fire District Fire Chief TJ Steck. “So, we’re stuck trying to figure out how to provide services with less money."
Property tax rates in Colorado have been declining steadily since the 1980s. The population within the Elizabeth Fire District is growing, but the amount of money received from these taxes is going down. Between 2024 and 2025, the district’s property tax revenues decreased by 12%, for a total loss of about $500,000.
The challenge is compounded by the rising cost of equipment. The same fire engine that cost the district $500,000 a decade ago now carries a price tag of $1.2 million. Ambulances have seen a similar increase, jumping from $140,000 to $379,000.
“If the sales tax doesn't come through, we're not going to change our attitude towards service. We’re going to provide the best service we can,” said Steck. “But there will be things we have to change, as far as making trucks last longer and not increasing our services to areas that otherwise wouldn’t have those services.”
The current funding structure hits the Elizabeth Fire District especially hard. Many people from across the eastern portion of the state spend money in Elizabeth and end up needing services from the Elizabeth Fire District but don’t pay into it. This is especially true in the western part of Elizabeth, which contains a Walmart Supercenter. It’s the furthest east Walmart in the state, drawing customers from throughout Colorado’s rural communities.
“When they come into our community and are customers here, we find that when they expect certain services to be available to them, our existing customers are subsidizing those costs for services,” said Steck.
The proposed sales tax increase is .5%, or half a penny to every dollar spent in the jurisdiction. It will generate an estimated $1.2 million that the fire district will use to support its administration, operations, and personnel needs.
By 2032, the district seeks to purchase new emergency vehicles, including three structural engines, three wildland brush trucks, two water tenders, and a ladder truck. By the same year, they want to hire 12 additional personnel to staff their fire stations. They also seek to add two fire stations south of Elizabeth and update their main fire station within the town of Elizabeth.
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