History of the Evans Mill Levy
Between 1988 – 1991, the city mill levy was adjusted annually from 11.139 mills to 13.536 mills. During the 20-year period from 1991 – 2011, the city mill levy was held flat at 13.536 mills. In early 2011, the Evans City Council initiated a project to dissolve the Evans Fire Department (a department of the city) and create the Evans Fire Protection District (a separate governmental entity) to provide fire and emergency services to the community. The creation of the Evans Fire Protection District involved a request to increase property taxes by 5.5 mills to support the fire district. Furthermore, according to project information provided in 2011 by the fire district,
“As part of the long-term formation process, the Fire District will ask the electors to increase the district mill levy to 10 and the City will reduce its mill levy by 10. This step will result in no net increase in taxes to the resident.”[1]
At the November 1, 2011 election, voters approved the organization of the Evans Fire Protection District, thereby dissolving the Evans Fire Department. The fire district was, and remains, fully contained within the City of Evans’ corporate boundaries. According to additional information provided to the voters of Evans by the Evans Fire Protection District in 2012,
“[t]he Fire District’s Service Plan provides that, after the Fire District’s organization, the City will transfer 10 mills of its property tax to the Fire District (“Property Tax Transfer”) to complete the funding of the Fire District.”[2]
Pursuant to the fire district’s Service Plan that was approved by the city council, the Evans City Council approved Ordinance No. 535-12 on March 6, 2012, which obligated the city council to reduce the City’s mill levy by 10 mills to 3.536 mills, contingent upon voter approval of the fire district’s May 8, 2012 ballot measure for a mill levy increase. Evans voters did approve the fire district’s ballot measure for the mill levy increase which finalized the “property tax transfer” and increased the fire district’s mill levy by 10 mills to 15.500 mills.
Mill Levy Timeline
| 2011 |
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| November 1, 2011 |
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| March 6, 2023 |
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| May 8, 2012 |
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Since the May 8, 2012 ballot measure to transfer 10 mills of property tax from the City of Evans to the Evans Fire Protection District, the city lost $23,422,254 in tax revenue from 2013 – 2025. During that time, the city has only received $9,994,983 in property tax revenue, making it increasingly difficult to continue to provide high-quality and essential municipal services in the face of growing costs.
With the creation of the fire district, the City of Evans and the Evans Fire Protection District also entered into an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) for the district to provide fire and emergency services to the community. When the current and final IGA expires on December 31, 2026, the City of Evans will have paid the Evans Fire Protection District $7,331,132 in IGA service fees above and beyond the $36,304,494 the fire district levied in property taxes on Evans property owners from 2013 - 2025. This double taxation has resulted in a significant re-allocation of taxpayer dollars from the city to the fire district that could have been used to make essential improvements to the Evans community. Neighboring communities of Johnstown, Windsor, and Eaton do not have any such financial obligation with their respective fire district.
The City of Evans has not asked the public for a mill levy increase in 34 years. In fact, in 2012, with the organization of the fire district, the city mill levy experienced a 74% reduction due to the property tax transfer of 10 mills from the City of Evans to the Evans Fire Protection District. Since 2012, the City of Evans has sustained a direct financial impact of $30,753,386 to the Evans Fire Protection District, while only receiving $9,994,983 in property tax revenue to provide essential municipal services to the Evans community. This equates to $713,927 annually.
For questions regarding the City's consideration of a mill levy adjustment, please reach out to us at mill_levy@evanscolorado.gov.
Contact Us
1100 37th Street
Evans, Colorado 80620
Phone: 970-475-1170
Fax: 970-475-1190
Office hours (Monday to Friday): 8:00am – 5:00pm
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