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Boulder County is considering asking voters in November to support new sales taxes for wildfire mitigation and emergency response, as well as asking voters to extend an existing countywide transportation sales tax.

Virtual public hearings on the proposals are scheduled for Aug. 4.

The hearing on the transportation tax is at 10:30 a.m., with registration at tinyurl.com/389vykm4. The hearing on the emergency response and wildfire mitigation taxes is at 3 p.m., with registration at tinyurl.com/39vsme3y. To submit comments in advance of the meeting, go to tinyurl.com/ypd9w9h7.

Boulder County is proposing a 0.1% sales tax for wildfire mitigation, as well as a 0.1% sales tax for emergency response. The emergency response tax would decline to 0.05% after five years. A 0.1% sales tax is a penny on $10.

About 17% of those surveyed in Boulder County’s most recent public opinion survey identified more wildfire mitigation as the most important issue facing Boulder County, second only to affordable housing. About 75% of those surveyed supported a sales tax for wildfire mitigation.

The proposed wildfire mitigation tax would provide money to address the increasing risk of climate-driven wildfires in two main areas, according to the county.

The first would be conducting forest and grassland management projects to reduce wildfire risks, protect water supplies and create more resilient forest and grassland ecosystems. The second would help residents by making homes more fire resistant through community partnerships, individual technical assistance and rebates.

Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said the Marshall Fire showed that wildfire danger is no longer confined to the Boulder County foothills. The fire started near Colo. 93 on the afternoon of Dec. 30 and, powered by high winds, quickly spread to more than 6,000 acres and destroyed more than 1,000 homes, mainly in Louisville and Superior.

Pelle said state and federal grants generally are aimed at mountain wildfire mitigation and are limited to specific projects, while Boulder County needs ongoing, landscape level fire mitigation at all elevations.

“There really is not a lot of grant funding for the plains, the lower foothills and the grasslands,” he said. “There’s a lot of work that needs to be done to make those areas safer.”

The emergency response measure would pay for the facility, equipment, capital and operational costs of search and rescue organizations; fund the capital needs of fire departments in mountainous and rural areas; and fund ambulance services in areas not covered by municipal ambulance services.

Pelle said Rocky Mountain Rescue, an all-volunteer agency, responds to more than 200 search and rescue calls in Boulder County every year. It’s now housed in an old metal building that’s too small for all the equipment and vehicles. A new facility would provide adequate storage space plus meeting and training space, he said.

Along with covering the estimated $600,000-a-year cost to subsidize ambulance service in the mountains and rural areas, the tax also would allow the county to offer small grants to rural fire departments for equipment, maintenance and training.

The 0.1% transportation sales tax has been in place for about two decades and funds transportation projects across the county. The current tax is set to expire in mid-2024.

The money will generally be used to support transit service, safety and resilience, mobility programs, regional trails and bikeways and regional corridors.

Practically, this includes projects such as flood resilience improvements on East County Line Road over Coal Creek in Erie, intersection safety projects at 61st Street and Valmont Road in Boulder and the reconstruction of Eldora Ski Road.

Because the county is expecting to extend its current funding source rather than increase it, it’s proposed redistributing the money to allocate about 5% for equity programs such as pass supports for the Boulder County Housing Authority’s EcoPass program and community-based mobility supports, including HopSkipDrive.

Polling results indicate support for extending the transportation sales tax, with 69% of respondents supporting the proposal.

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