Pitkin County Property Tax Jump Threatens Homeowners With $500K Hike

Gunnison —Will your property tax bill jump by nearly $500,000 in total county collections next year?

The short answer is yes. Pitkin County voters will decide this November whether to extend the Healthy Community Fund, a property tax that has supported local nonprofits and county Health and Human Services programs since 2002. But the measure on your ballot will look fundamentally different than anything you have seen before.

The new structure changes how the tax is calculated. Instead of collecting a fixed amount every year, collections will rise and fall with property values. The county estimates the new 0.853-mill levy would collect about $5.27 million in its first year. That is nearly $500,000 more than the county predicts it will collect in 2028 under the current system.

For homeowners, the math is simple and direct. You will pay $85.30 in taxes per $100,000 of valuation on your property. Assistant County Manager Ashley Perl confirmed this figure in a staff report submitted to the Board of County Commissioners on Wednesday.

Perl pointed to an “inverse relationship” between growing property values and the demand for social services. Across Colorado’s Western Slope, property values have more than doubled since 2012, according to previous reporting from The Aspen Times. Perl noted that since the pandemic, there has easily been half a million dollars in unmet need every year.

The Healthy Community Fund supports organizations providing health, behavioral, and senior services to people who live and work in Pitkin County. The current tax is set to expire at the end of 2027. It was created in 2022 and initially funded nine agencies. In 2025, 74 non-profits received grant money, including The Buddy Program, Hospice of the Valley, and the Hope Center. Nick Smith from Pitkin County Health and Human Services said grantees for 2026 will be announced in January.

The most controversial change is the sunset period. The tax would remain in place for 25 years before returning to voters. Historically, the levy has had sunset periods ranging from four to nine years.

Commissioner Patti Clapper proposed the 25-year term rather than 30 years. She said she heard from two folks who were concerned about the longer duration. “I think it’s important to tweak it now to ensure this has an opportunity to get past,” Clapper said.

Read that again. The county is asking you to lock in a tax for a quarter of a century because two people were worried about 30 years.

The existing levy is the only property tax in Pitkin County structured as a fixed amount. That means it has collected roughly the same money every year, regardless of whether home values spike or crash. The new variable structure ties revenue directly to the real estate market. If property values continue their upward trajectory, your bill grows. If they dip, the county’s revenue for social services dips with them.

The longer sunset period intends to give stability to organizations that rely on consistent funding. But it also means voters won’t have a chance to vote on the tax again for 25 years. No re-election of the levy. No public check-in. Just a set rate tied to your home’s value for two and a half decades.

The county argues the growth in requests for funding makes the fixed amount obsolete. The 74 agencies funded in 2025 are a far cry from the nine at inception. The demand for behavioral and senior services has outpaced the static revenue stream.

But the shift to a variable mill levy changes the risk profile for residents. You are no longer paying a flat fee into a pot; you are funding the county’s social safety net based on your home's market price. In a market where values have doubled in a decade, that is a significant difference.

The 25-year lock-in on the variable tax is a long-term commitment to a rising cost base.

The next time you see your property valuation notice, remember that number is now directly tied to the funding of local social services. And for 25 years, you won’t get a vote to change your mind.

The fund expires at the end of 2027. If voters reject the extension, it disappears. The 74 nonprofits lose their primary source of county support. If voters approve it, the tax stays for 25 years.

There is no middle ground on the ballot. You accept the variable rate and the 25-year term, or you lose the fund entirely.

The county is betting that voters will choose continuity over uncertainty. It is a reasonable bet, given the growth in service needs. But it ignores what residents are not being told: that a 25-year lock-in on a variable tax is a long-term commitment to a rising cost base.

The next time you see your property valuation notice, remember that number is now directly tied to the funding of local social services. And for 25 years, you won’t get a vote to change your mind.