Boulder County child-care tax heads to ballot as city staff warn of state initiative effects
The proposed 2.579-mill county tax would raise about $30 million annually; Boulder staff say separate measures could affect police operations and transportation projects.
Boulder County commissioners voted unanimously July 23 to put a proposed 2.579-mill property-tax increase for child care and preschool on the Nov. 3, 2026, ballot. If approved, the tax would begin in January 2027 and raise about $30 million annually, the county’s ballot-measure record says.
The measure would cost the owner of a home with the county assessor’s median assessed value of $725,000 an estimated $115 a year. The county’s fiscal-impact table estimates annual increases of about $79 for a property assessed at $500,000, $146 at $900,000 and $163 at $1 million. It does not provide a comparable estimate for commercial property, saying businesses are taxed at a different rate and should seek individual estimates.
The proposal would direct $20 million annually to affordability programs: $8 million to expand the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program and $12 million for sliding-scale tuition assistance for families earning between $60,000 and $150,000. It also calls for $5 million for provider expansion and quality improvements and $2.5 million for workforce stability, including wage support and shared-services infrastructure.
Those listed investments total $27.5 million. The proposal materials also cap administration and infrastructure at 10%, or about $3 million if the full cap were used, leaving the materials unclear about how all listed uses would fit within the projected $30 million in revenue.
The county’s proposal materials set a three-year goal of increasing licensed infant and toddler slots by at least 30%, described during the presentation as more than 600 slots. They also set a goal of reducing annual early-childhood educator turnover from about 30% to 18% or less. The implementation roadmap projects serving 1,500 to 2,000 families at full enrollment capacity during months 18 to 36 after passage. Separate materials cite the potential to serve about 800 children through CCCAP and roughly 6,000 families through tuition assistance, but those figures do not establish a single total number of new recipients.
Support has emerged through Brighter Start Boulder County, a coalition of early-childhood advocates, providers, educators, labor representatives, nonprofit groups and local officials. The coalition’s website lists Boulder County Commissioner Claire Levy, YWCA Boulder County, the Early Childhood Council of Boulder County, Boulder Valley Education Association and Sister Carmen Community Center among its supporters.
Commissioner Marta Loachamin voted to refer the measure to the ballot but raised concerns about its permanent duration, the size of the tax increase and its effect on residents facing Boulder County’s high living costs. She said she would have preferred a 15-year tax and a 2-mill increase, Daily Camera reported. Her position was support with reservations, not opposition.
State initiatives could affect Boulder
Separately, two state initiatives on the November ballot could affect Boulder’s police operations and transportation planning. As of Aug. 17, Initiative 95, concerning law-enforcement communication with federal immigration authorities, and Initiative 175, concerning transportation revenue, were listed as active or on the ballot in Colorado’s official initiative records.
Initiative 95 would require covered law-enforcement personnel to notify the U.S. Department of Homeland Security within 72 hours after charging a person who is unlawfully present, or whose lawful status remains unknown after a reasonable effort to determine it, if the person is charged with a crime of violence or has a prior felony conviction. The final measure text includes certified peace officers, correctional officers and certain district-attorney employees among those covered.
Boulder city staff described Initiative 95 as an unfunded mandate that would change police-department operations and affect the department’s relationship with the community. The Aug. 13 briefing did not estimate the city’s potential implementation costs.
Initiative 175 would require specified state revenue from motor vehicles, motor-vehicle fuel and certain vehicle parts to be spent on “road transportation” focused on public streets, roads, highways and bridges designed and primarily used for motor vehicles. The final measure text would take effect Jan. 1, 2027, if approved.
City staff said Initiative 175 could reduce funding for transit, local transportation services and multimodal programs, with potential effects on projects in the Transportation Master Plan, Core Arterial Network and Vision Zero Action Plan. Depending on the funding changes, projects could require additional local money, redesign or phased implementation. Staff said they could not yet predict the measure’s precise effect on Boulder’s budget.
The city briefing records no completed Boulder City Council vote or adopted position on either initiative as of Aug. 17. Staff asked whether council wanted resolutions drafted, with formal consideration expected at the council’s Aug. 20 regular meeting. That scheduled action had not occurred at the time of this update.
County voters will decide the child-care measure in November. The final operative county resolution and ballot language, along with any campaign disclosures or organized opposition, could provide additional detail before the election.