REMINDER! Drop off your ballot by November 5th. Click here for Eagle County ballot drop locations.

Vote YES on 6A

Protecting Our Community. Supporting Our Firefighters.

Did you know?

  • Tourists and visitors who are non-property owners

    do not pay when they use Eagle River Fire Protection

    District’s (ERFPD) emergency services.

  • YOU can change that with your YES vote for Ballot Issue 6A!

  • ERFPD’s mill levy, which is separate from this ballot issue, decreased.

    to 6.618 from 9.32 in 2023 to account for the recent large increases in assessment

    rates for residential and commercial properties in Eagle County.

Ballot Issue 6A proposes a 0.79% sales tax to raise $6.8 million annually for ERFPD to maintain critical fire protection services so our community can rely on these services when an emergency inevitably occurs.

Why a sales tax?

  • To ensure tourists and visitors pay for ERFPD’s fire and emergency response services.

  • Right now, visitors in ERFPD’s service area do not contribute when ERFPD responds to their emergency calls.

  • Estimates show that ~50% of sales tax in Eagle County is paid by tourists and visitors, with larger numbers likely in ERFPD’s boundaries.

  • This sales tax would NOT apply to groceries or prescriptions.

  • ERFPD’s current funding comes largely from property tax, and the District does not want to increase property taxes for homeowners and businesses in our community.

What would the money be used for?

6A will provide sustainable funding to ensure that our community’s firefighters are safe and well‐equipped and that ERFPD can quickly respond to emergencies by:

  • Maintaining fire equipment to extend useful life and replacing firefighting vehicles when necessary.

  • Investing in up-to-date firefighter safety gear to protect emergency personnel and ensure they are prepared to respond to any type of emergency.

  • Upgrading wildland firefighting equipment to help prevent and address growing wildfire risk.

  • Providing adequate staffing to address increasing emergency call volume.

  • Improving and equipping current and future fire stations to maintain prompt response times.

For more information about ERFPD’s budget, please review the district’s 6A Factual Summary:

6A Supports Essential Services
and Eagle River’s Firefighters

Our community is growing and aging, and Eagle River Fire must have well-maintained equipment and facilities to promptly respond to all types of emergency calls. The Colorado Demographer’s Office estimates Eagle County’s population will grow to 70,000 by 2035. Demographers also estimate that more Eagle County residents will retire “in‐place,” contributing to our aging population. National statistics show that people 65 and older are far more likely to need fire services and be impacted by a fire in their homes.

Emergency calls continue to increase each year, straining Eagle River Fire’s personnel, vehicles, equipment, and facilities. Over the past 10 years, as the District’s population has grown, the number of emergency calls has increased. In 2022, Eagle River Fire received 3,085 calls, more than a 20 percent increase from 2020.

Wildland fires are becoming a greater risk for Eagle County, and Eagle River Fire needs the resources and equipment to help prevent wildland fires and respond as necessary to these fires to protect the community.

However, firefighting equipment costs continue to increase, about 4–6% each year, limiting the District’s ability to prepare for and prevent future wildfires and other emergencies.