Healthy Community Fund extension heads to the PitCo ballot
The tax will be calculated as a fixed mill levy and extend the length to 25 years
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 will look fundamentally different than it has in the past, according to a staff report submitted to a Board of County Commissioners meeting on Wednesday. The new structure will change the way the tax is calculated, allowing collections to rise and fall with property values rather than collecting a fixed amount each year. It will also extend the tax’s “sunset” period — how long it remains in place before returning to voters — to 25 years.
“At a time when property valuations have gone up, we’ve seen a huge growth in requests for funding,” Assistant County Manager Ashley Perl said. “Since Covid, there’s easily been half a million dollars in unmet need every year.”
Historically, the Healthy Community Fund tax has been structured as a fixed-amount, meaning roughly the same amount is collected every year even as property values change. According to Perl, it is the only property tax in the county structured this way.
This year’s ballot measure will propose a 0.853-mill property tax levy, which the county estimates would collect about $5.27 million in its first year — nearly $500,000 more than the county is predicted to collect in 2028 should it maintain its current funding system.
In practice, homeowners would pay $85.30 in taxes per $100,000 of valuation on their property, confirmed Perl.
The change is intended to address what she called an “inverse relationship” between growing property values and the demand for social services in the county. Across Colorado’s Western Slope, property values have more than doubled since 2012, according to the previous reporting from The Aspen Times.
Created in 2022, the Healthy Community Fund supports organizations that provide health, behavioral senior services and more to people who live and work in Pitkin County. The current tax is set to expire at the end of 2027.
The program has grown substantially since its inception, when it initially funded nine agencies, according to the report. In 2025, 74 non-profits received grant money, including The Buddy Program, Hospice of the Valley and the Hope Center. Grantees for 2026 will be announced in January, according to Nick Smith from Pitkin County Health and Human Services.
If passed, the November proposal would include another significant change: The tax would remain in place for 25 years, a number determined at Wednesday’s meeting after Commissioner Patti Clapper proposed 25 years, rather than 30, for the “comfort of voters.”
“I heard from two folks who were concerned about the 30 years,” she said. “I think it’s important to tweak it now to ensure this has an opportunity to get past.”
Historically, the tax has had sunset periods ranging from four to nine years.
The longer sunset period intends to give stability to organizations that rely on the Healthy Community Fund, Perl told The Aspen Times.
“This has become the bedrock of our community services,” she said, “When it’s not stable or long-term, it’s really hard for non profits to plan in advance.”
Voters will decide on the outcome of the measure in the Nov. 3 election.
Healthy Community Fund extension heads to the PitCo ballot
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.
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