Carbondale and Rural Fire Protection District 2025 Ballot Measure Survey

Magellan Strategies is pleased to present the topline results of an online survey of 498 registered voters in the Carbondale & Rural Fire Protection District. The interviews were conducted from April 29th to May 7th, 2025.

The Carbondale & Rural Fire Protection District conducted a survey to assess voter attitudes toward potential ballot measures for additional funding. Respondents demonstrated strong familiarity with the district and overwhelmingly positive views of its performance, with 86% approving of the job the district was doing. Voters also widely recognized that the area’s population, fire risk, and need for emergency services had all increased significantly in recent years.

When presented with an uninformed sales tax ballot measure that would increase taxes by 1.5% for five years (stepping down thereafter), 72% of voters indicated they would approve it. A separate bond measure for workforce housing and fire station construction received 59% approval when voters were uninformed. Overall, voters preferred a sales tax increase over a property tax increase by a margin of 60% to 19%.

After being provided with detailed information about the district’s operations and needs, support for both measures increased. The informed sales tax measure garnered 75% approval, while the informed bond measure received 68% support. Key persuasive factors included information about increased call volumes (up 54% in five years), concurrent incidents straining resources, the impact of recent property tax legislation creating a $1.2 million annual loss, and the critical shortage of affordable housing for firefighters.

Voters who supported tax increases cited public safety as essential, acknowledged population growth and increased demand for services, expressed concern about wildfire risk, and wanted to ensure competitive wages and housing for first responders. Many viewed the funding as a worthwhile community investment. Those opposed expressed tax fatigue due to high costs of living, questioned the district’s fiscal management, or felt frustrated by frequent funding requests.

When asked to choose between the two funding mechanisms, voters showed distinct preferences based on equity concerns. Those favoring sales tax over bonds emphasized that sales taxes spread costs more broadly to include tourists and renters, while those favoring bonds appreciated the transparency and defined sunset provisions of bond measures. Many respondents noted that property taxes were already too high following recent assessments.

When asked how they would vote if both measures appeared on the ballot simultaneously, 48% said they would approve both measures, 18% would approve only the sales tax, 7% would approve only the bond measure, and 11% would reject both. The district’s strong approval ratings and the compelling data about increased service demands positioned both measures favorably with voters.

Voters expressed broad awareness of the district’s community outreach efforts, and information about the district’s public safety programs — including CPR classes, wildfire risk assessments, school fire safety education, and senior living safety programs — moved 76% of respondents to say they were more likely to approve a funding measure. Similarly, details about the district’s partnership with Colorado Mountain College and the Roaring Fork School District to develop a local pipeline of trained firefighters and paramedics resonated strongly, with 83% indicating that information made them more likely to support additional funding.