Voter turnout in Eagle, Pitkin and Garfield counties ranged from 33% to 39%. That’s based on the number of people voting versus those who received a ballot. In Eagle and Garfield, about 10,000 people voted in each county, and more than 5,000 turned out in Pitkin. Residents in Basalt, Carbondale and Glenwood voted to pay more in property taxes to support schools and a sizable fire district.
Voters in three counties passed a bond proposal by the Roaring Fork School District by a large margin. That means the District can borrow $122 million. The bond will pay for renovating Glenwood Springs Elementary and other schools and paying for teacher affordable housing, among many other things.
Superintendent Diana Sirko says officials will pursue building contracts quickly. “Due to the amount of overcrowding that we have in Glenwood, we would go as fast we possibly can to do it,” she said at an election watch party on Tuesday night. “In a high quality way, of course, but [so] that we could break ground and really get moving.” The bond requires a property tax increase, which will be about $275 more a year for owners of a $500,000 home. Commercial property taxes will go up more.
Voters in the Roaring Fork School District also chose a new Board representative. Jennifer Rupert handily beat incumbent Karl Hanlon for the District A seat.
In Basalt, voters overwhelmingly decided to extend a property tax that supports for a fire district capital fund, assisting with employee housing and other big ticket items.
Voters also approved two years of additional funding for the Carbondale and Rural Fire Protection District. Ballot Issue 4B means property taxes will go up about $70 a year for a $500,000 home. The measure passed with 2358 “yes” votes to 1300 votes against. The sizable district is more than three hundred square miles and has been struggling since a much more ambitious property tax question failed two years ago.
