One Snowmass Village property tax is ending. On July 7, 2026, the Snowmass-Wildcat Fire Protection District board voted unanimously to "let the .75 mills sunset." In the same motion, the board sent voters a new 0.55% district sales tax. On the same November 3 ballot, the Snowmass Water and Sanitation District asks for bonds that would be repaid through a property tax with no fixed mill rate.
So one district is moving its costs off property bills and onto the register at restaurants, shops and lodging, and another district is moving costs onto property bills. If you are adding up what it costs to own in Snowmass Village, this ballot changes who pays for public services. It does more than add a line to the bill.
The Line Item That Goes Away
The fire district's dedicated Snowmass Village levy is small but specific. In April 21, 2026 minutes, the Roaring Fork Fire Rescue Authority described it as "sunsetting mills in Snowmass Village, which will expire soon," worth $651,000 as a dedicated property tax. Those minutes do not give the year it expires.
Next, the planning documents counted that $651,000 as a cost the new tax would need to cover. The authority's consultant, TischlerBise, laid out three scenarios. A retention scenario added no new staff, at a 0.47% rate. A readiness scenario added eight positions, at 0.80%. A growth scenario added 14 positions, at 1.10%. Each one included the same $651,000 line for the expiring mills.
The $651,000 is still in the budget, but it would be raised a different way. The money that used to come from a property levy on Snowmass Village parcels would come from taxable sales across the fire district. The sunset was a separate board decision and is not written into Issue 6B.
Why the Rate Fell From 1.5% to 0.55%
Early in the process, both fire boards had voted to move ahead with a 1.5% sales tax. At the July 7 joint meeting, Chief Thompson told the boards he believed the Colorado Department of Revenue data behind that figure was wrong, after speaking with the Snowmass Village town manager.
The July 7 minutes list what the first analysis missed:
- Online sales
- Food delivery services
- Airbnb and other third-party lodging bookings
- Taxable activity inside the fire district but outside municipal boundaries
With those included and data from both Pitkin and Eagle counties added, TischlerBise estimated that a 0.55% tax in both fire districts would raise about $3.5 million combined. That met the funding target.
That correction explains how the measure works. Short-term rental bookings carry enough of the sales-tax base that leaving them out nearly tripled the rate needed to reach the target. In a resort economy, visitors are a large share of the people who pay a sales tax. The district's leadership said so plainly. According to the April 21 minutes, Chief Thompson "wants to emphasize that the tax increase should fall on tourists rather than residents." In July, board members talked about going further. They considered keeping or cutting the existing mill levy "to consider providing property tax relief while shifting more funding to visitor-generated sales taxes."
The money would pay for an expansion. The minutes describe 15 new employees for large-scale fuel-reduction projects and a wildland team based in Old Snowmass that is expected to bring in revenue outside fire season. The district's finance director told the boards that without the sales tax, the district would have to draw on reserves and could not support the added staff.
What the Ballot Actually Says
The certified question includes a revenue clause along with the rate. This excerpt is from the Pitkin County 2026 General Election sample ballot:
SHALL SNOWMASS-WILDCAT FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT TAXES BE INCREASED $2,300,000 MILLION IN THE FIRST FULL FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING JANUARY 1, 2027 AND BY SUCH AMOUNT AS ARE RAISED ANNUALLY THEREAFTER BY A SALES TAX OF 0.55% (55 CENTS ON EACH $100)... AND SHALL ALL DISTRICT REVENUES BE COLLECTED, RETAINED, AND SPENT NOTWITHSTANDING ANY REVENUE LIMITS PROVIDED BY LAW?
Three things in that text matter for an owner reading it closely. First, the question sets no end date. Second, groceries and other exempt items are excluded. Third, the last clause lets the district keep all of its revenue, not just the new sales tax, above the limits Colorado law would otherwise set. As printed, the dollar figure reads "$2,300,000 MILLION." Aspen Public Radio's election guide reports the estimate as about $2.3 million a year.
Down valley, the Basalt & Rural Fire Protection District has its own question, Issue 7A, with the same 0.55% rate and an estimated $1.518 million a year. Each question taxes sales only inside the district that asks for it.
How 10.65% Would Become 11.20%
Pitkin County's sales and use tax chart breaks down the rate for a typical in-town Snowmass Village sale, where the buyer and seller are both inside town or the item is delivered there. The current total is 10.65%:
- State of Colorado: 2.9%
- Pitkin County: 3.6%
- RFTA: 0.4%
- Town of Snowmass Village: 3.5%
- Confluence Early Childhood District, effective January 1, 2026: 0.25%
If 6B passes and covers the transaction, the total would be 11.20%. On $1,000 of taxable purchases, the district's share works out to $5.50. The county's own chart warns that some addresses may not fall inside a given fire district. Use it as a general guide to rates, not a parcel-by-parcel answer.
For a full-time owner, the trade comes down to math they can do on their own budget. The share of an expiring levy that falls on their parcel goes away, and a small charge appears on each taxable purchase in the district. For an owner who rents to short-term guests, the July correction showed that those guests' bookings are part of the base the new tax draws on.
The Water District Is Asking for the Other Kind of Tax
Issue 6A pulls in the other direction. The Snowmass Water and Sanitation District is asking for up to $15 million in general-obligation bonds, with total repayment capped at $22.5 million and up to $2 million a year in new district taxes. The board would set whatever mill levy it needs to make the payments, and the question sets no fixed rate. None of the 2026 coverage reviewed for this post includes a per-home estimate.
The project is Ziegler Reservoir. According to the Aspen Times, a 2027 expansion would add 40 million gallons of storage, with work scheduled from May to September 2027. The reservoir already stores water and supplies snowmaking. District manager Kit Hamby said in a press release quoted by the paper that the added storage would be "an indispensable asset during periods of drought and low stream flows."
Longtime owners will know the site. During a 2010 expansion, a construction crew found a single mammoth tusk. The Denver Museum of Nature & Science then excavated more than 6,000 large-animal bones and 30,000 small-animal bones, including mammoths, mastodons, giant ground sloths and Ice Age bison.
Put next to 6B, the pattern is clear. The fire district is replacing a $651,000 property levy with a tax on purchases. The water district would add up to $2 million a year to property bills. Snowmass's water supply is tied to snowmaking and to the land itself, and it is paid for through property. The fire district has chosen to pay for its expansion through people passing through. The two districts do not share the same boundaries, so the net change on any one tax bill depends on the parcel.
A third, countywide measure fills in the property-tax side. Pitkin County Issue 1A would replace the Healthy Community Fund levy, which expires December 31, 2027, with a 0.853-mill levy first collected for tax year 2028. It is expected to raise $5,266,081 a year and would last no more than 30 years.
Who Gets a Ballot
For owners whose primary home is somewhere else, the question is whether they can vote on 6A and 6B at all. Colorado's special-district statute, C.R.S. 32-1-806, lets someone vote as the owner of taxable property inside a district even if they do not live there. The required affirmation, though, begins with a sworn statement that the person is "registered to vote in the state of Colorado." The statute also covers a spouse or civil union partner of a qualifying owner and a person obligated to pay taxes under a purchase contract. For mail voters, the affidavit on the ballot envelope can stand in for the separate affirmation.
So an owner registered on the Front Range may be able to weigh in on the water bond and the fire tax. An owner registered in another state, who pays the same property taxes, cannot. The research for this post did not turn up the Pitkin County Clerk's procedure or 2026 deadline for out-of-district owners. Owners who believe they qualify should contact the clerk through PitkinVotes directly.
FAQ
Does the Snowmass Village fire levy expire if 6B fails? The sunset was approved in its own July 7 motion and is not part of 6B's ballot language. The April 21 minutes say only that the mills "will expire soon," with no year given.
When would 6B collections start, and when would the district see the money? The ballot counts the first full fiscal year from January 1, 2027. In April, the consultant told the authority board that tax collected in 2027 would go toward the 2028 budget.
Is there an estimate of what 6A adds to a typical home's tax bill? Not in the 2026 materials reviewed. The board would set the levy needed to cover bond payments, up to $2 million a year.
Snowmass Village carrying costs depend on district boundaries and board decisions that never show up on a listing sheet. If you'd like help understanding how this November's measures could affect a home or condo you own or are considering, Garrett Reuss will go through the parcel, its districts and the numbers with you. Book an appointment.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
