New state property-tax revenue limit will affect some Pitkin funds starting with 2026 budget year, county CFO warns

Pitkin County officials told commissioners on Jan. 28 that a sequence of recent state bills changed how assessed values are calculated and added a new property-tax revenue limit that will apply to some county funds beginning with property taxes levied in 2025 (collected in budget year 2026).

Anne (last name not stated), Pitkin County chief financial and administrative officer and public trustee, led the briefing and outlined the recent state actions. She said the cumulative legislative changes have been incremental and complex and that county staff are reviewing which local funds the new limit will affect.

What changed in state law - Timeline of bills: staff described a multiyear sequence: in 2022, Senate Bill 238 reduced assessed values; in 2023, Senate Bill 303 and subsequent special-session changes introduced additional assessed-value changes and a proposed revenue limit (voters rejected a statewide measure called Prop HH); later special-session adjustments followed; in 2024, Senate Bill 233 continued assessed-value changes and added a property-tax revenue limit; and in the 2024 special session a change extended the limit into future budget years (starting 2026 for local budgets). Staff also referenced a…