What is a mill levy?  

A mill levy is the property tax rate that a local government (such as a city, county, school district, or special district) applies to assessed property value to generate revenue for public services.

One mill equals one-tenth of one cent, or $1 of tax for every $1,000 of assessed value.

What is an assessed value?

It is NOT the actual value or the market value of property.   Instead, the assessed value is a percentage of the County Assessor's Total Actual Value.  The State of Colorado sets percentages per type of property to calculate the amount of tax.  

Beginning in 2025, Senate Bill 24-233 and House Bill 24B-1001 establish separate residential assessment rates for the purposes of school districts and for all other taxing entities. Finalized 2025 assessment rates will depend on total statewide growth; as of May 2025, the projected assessment rates are:

• 7.05% for residential property for the purposes of a school district
• 6.25% for residential property for the purposes of other local governments
• 27% for most other types of property, both real and personal

That means, if the County Assessor determines a property has a Total Actual Value of $500,000, the residential Assessed Value for local governments would be $31,250.   The mill levy rate gets applied to this Assessed Value.  

How do I find my Assessed Value?

Visit Gunnison County's website at https://www.gunnisoncounty.org/132/Assessors-Office and click "Property Search" at the top of the left menu bar.  Enter an address and find the "Local Govt. Assessed Value" on the bottom right table.  

If I vote yes, how much will it cost me?

For the first 20 years, the mill levy rate for the firehouse and services would be a total of 12.5 in both the City and the District.  Once the firehouse loan is paid off, the mill levy would decrease to 6.0 in both jurisdicitions.

• The District currently assesses 4.5 mills.  Therefore, the increase would be 8 mills to total 12.5.
• The City does not currently assess property tax specific to fire services.  Therefore, the increase would be 12.5 mills.  The existing 3.868 mills assessed by the City would continue to fund general fund services. 

 If the "Local Govt. Assessed Value" is $31,250 ($500,000 Residential Total Actual Value) the fire station/services tax increase would be:

• District: 8 mills / 1,000 = 0.008 x 31,250 =  $250 per year or $20.83 a month
• City: 12.5 mills/ 1,000 = 0.012 x 31,250 = $375 per year or $31.25 a month