San Juan County commissioners authorize ballot question to waive 5.25% property-tax growth limit

San Juan County commissioners voted to put a ballot question before voters asking whether the county should be allowed to collect and spend property-tax revenue above the state—6s newly enacted 5.25% growth limit.

The Board of County Commissioners passed Resolution 2025-05 during its regular meeting on Aug. 26, authorizing an election question that, if approved by voters, would waive the statutory cap for 2025 and all future property-tax years. Commission discussion and staff analysis emphasized both the short-term dollar impact and the potential long-term erosion of revenue under the statutory limit.

County staff described the mechanics and expected fiscal effect. "The 5.25% cap would impact us to the tune of between $70,000 and $85,000 in 2025," staff member Willie said during the discussion, noting the county had built the estimate from assessed-value projections and the statutory formula.

Staff explained that the statute allows counties to present a single-sentence ballot question to opt out of the cap, but that attorneys and county officials have debated whether to include extra explanatory language. "You can state the 'magic first sentence'—`Shall San Juan County waive the 5.25% cap pursuant to the statute'—or you can include additional, belt-and-suspenders language to explain retention and use of the funds," Willie said. He recommended the longer version to give voters clearer context and to reduce legal risk.

Commissioners discussed timing and costs. Because the item would be placed on an existing election rather than triggering a special election, staff said direct county costs would be minimal. The resolution includes a provision to publish the ballot question four times after the board passes the resolution; staff said that publication is not strictly required by statute but is good practice to inform voters.

Officials also reminded the board of campaign restrictions: once the county certifies a ballot question, county staff and elected officials may answer questions and provide information but cannot actively campaign for the measure. "You can answer questions," Willie said. "But you can't actively campaign and you can't send out flyers."

Commissioners framed the vote in budget context. One commissioner said that while the short-term loss would not immediately jeopardize the county's healthy fund balance, repeated application of the cap could compound into multi-year losses. Staff presented a 25-year scenario showing that the cap could reduce cumulative revenue by several million dollars over decades, a pattern commissioners compared to prior "debrucing" measures such as Taber.

After discussion, a commissioner moved to adopt Resolution 2025-05 (option A, the longer question text). Another commissioner seconded the motion. The board approved the resolution by voice vote; the chair declared the motion passed.

The resolution directs staff to publish the ballot question per the draft language and to proceed with placing the item before voters. It also corrects two typographical statute references in an earlier draft of the resolution staff noted during discussion.

The ballot question will ask voters whether San Juan County should be permitted to collect, retain and spend property-tax revenues in excess of the 5.25% statutory growth limit for 2025 and all future property-tax years. If voters approve the measure, the county would not be subject to the 5.25% cap for those years; if voters reject it, the cap would remain in effect.

The board moved on after the vote to other agenda items, including funding requests for local services that proponents said would benefit if the county retained the additional revenue in future years.