Beyond the City Taxes: Five Library, Pueblo West and Fire-District Questions on Pueblo County Ballots
A permanent Pueblo West fire tax, two property-tax limit waivers, a Rye mill levy and an Edison annexation. Here is what each ballot text says.
Updated November 1, 2026: We checked the Rye Fire Protection District figures ($1,098,568.97 in the first year, 11.652 mills for ten years) against Pueblo County's official 2026 sample ballot; they match. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3. Mail ballots must reach the county by 7 p.m. that day, so use a drop box rather than the mail.
Pueblo West voters will decide whether to make the district’s 1% fire sales tax permanent instead of letting it expire at the end of 2030, according to the text of Ballot Issue 6B published by KRDO on October 9. The question puts the tax at $5 million a year and does not change the rate.
It is one of five special-district questions in KRDO’s October 9 series of Pueblo County ballot texts. Which ones you see depends on where you live. The Ledger has covered the City of Pueblo’s Question 2A and Question 2B separately.
Pueblo West Metropolitan District, Issue 6B: fire sales tax
- Extends and permanently approves the existing 1% sales tax, “currently set to expire on December 31, 2030,” with no rate change.
- States the amount as $5 million annually, plus whatever it raises in later years.
- Money is to be used “solely for fire protection purposes”: firefighters and staff at existing or future stations; apparatus and equipment; and fire facilities.
- Asks for a TABOR revenue-change exception.
Pueblo West Metropolitan District, Issue 6C: parks revenue waiver
The 6C text asks to let the district keep property-tax revenue above two state limits: the 5.25% limit in C.R.S. 29-1-1702 and the 5.5% growth limit in C.R.S. 29-1-301. The excess would go only to the district’s Parks and Recreation Department. It would apply from fiscal 2026 on.
The question says this happens “without increasing any tax rate or imposing any new tax.” A waiver of a revenue limit is about how much the district may keep, not the rate itself. The text gives no estimate of how much more revenue the district would keep.
Pueblo City-County Library District, Issue 6A
The 6A text asks to waive the 5.25% property-tax limit set by House Bill 24B-1001 (C.R.S. 29-1-1702) for all future tax years, so the district can “realize the full benefit of its current voter authorized property tax rate.” It says this is “without increasing taxes.” The text gives no estimate of how much more revenue the library district would keep.
Rye Fire Protection District, Issue 7B: mill levy
The 7B text is the only question in this group that raises a tax rate. It asks for an added 11.652 mills, raising about $1,098,569 in the first full fiscal year. The levy would start with the 2026 tax year, collected in 2027, and expire after the 2035 tax year unless voters renew it. Listed uses include emergency staffing; fire, EMS, ambulance, rescue and wildland services; apparatus and gear; stations; and reserves.
Edison Fire Protection District, Question 6D: annexation
The 6D text asks whether unincorporated land in northeast Pueblo County that is not in any fire protection district should join the Edison district. The Town of Boone is excluded. KRDO’s page shows only the annexation question and boundary description, not any tax that would follow.
What we don’t know yet
- Dollar estimates for the 6A and 6C waivers. The districts’ TABOR notices, mailed to voters, should include fiscal information.
- What Edison district taxes would apply to annexed property if 6D passes.
- Whether KRDO’s series covers every question on Pueblo County ballots. We did not find the county clerk’s official sample ballot online as of October 17.