Ballot Issue 7A: South Metro Fire Rescue Protection District
For the first time in over two decades, South Metro Fire Rescue Protection District is asking voters for more funding to maintain operations and increasing costs
Our community has an opportunity this November to come together at the ballot box and prevent a potential public safety crisis. South Metro is asking voters to approve a property tax increase of 3 mills, which amounts to approximately $131 per year for a $700,000 home.
South Metro has maintained a mill levy rate of 9.25 since 2004, and the proposed increase would bring it to 12.25—still lower than many other fire protection districts in the Denver metro area. For comparison, the neighboring West Metro district has an effective mill levy rate of 13.68, while North Metro’s is 14.62.
How does a mill levy impact property tax?
“To determine the property tax, multiply the assessed values times the decimal equivalents of the total mill levy. A mill is equal to 1/1000 of a dollar. A tax rate is the mill levy expressed as a percentage. Thus 100.0 mills = 10.000% or 0.1000 as the decimal equivalent.”
- Douglas County Assessors Office
South Metro faces a $16 million shortfall in 2026, along with an additional $34 million in annual expenses. This shortfall stems partly from legislation passed in 2024 that lowered property taxes, thus significantly reducing funding for fire districts. Rising costs are also a factor. In 2019, a fire engine cost $725,000; today, it costs $1.3 million.
SMFR Chief Government Affairs Officer Mike DellOrfano and the Board of Directors have been transparent about these financial challenges, engaging residents through a variety of channels including full-page newspaper ads, community surveys, and more than 45 public presentations. Ultimately, the Board determined that a property tax increase would be the most stable and sustainable funding solution.
Quick Facts About South Metro Fire Rescue (SMFR)
Serves 215,000 households
Five response teams: Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF), Water Rescue (Dive), Hazardous Materials (HazMat), Technical Rescue, and Wildland Firefighting & Mitigation
Four deployment teams: Ceremonial (Honor Guard and Pipes and Drums), SWAT Paramedics, Urban Search and Rescue, and national disaster response teams
41,834 medical-related 911 calls in 2024, representing a 20% increase since 2019
1,200 patients received care and support through SMFR’s public health program
For Highlands Ranch residents who lived here prior to 2019, you may recall voting in a special election to transfer fire and EMS services from the City of Littleton to South Metro Fire Rescue. That merger allowed the Highlands Ranch Metro District to reduce its mill levy rate from 18.205 in 2018 to 11.205 in 2019, as residents assumed South Metro’s 9.25 mill levy.
One of the greatest benefits to our community has been improved emergency response times. In 2021, South Metro Fire Rescue built Station 20 in Highlands Ranch making it the community’s third fire station located across from Mountain Vista High School and Mountain Ridge Middle School.
The Highlands Ranch Metro District Board of Directors passed a resolution supporting South Metro’s ballot initiative on August 26, 2025, followed by an endorsement from the Douglas County Democratic Party’s executive committee on September 16, 2025.
As a board-certified emergency room nurse who has worked directly with South Metro’s first responders and as a community leader, I fully support Ballot Initiative 7A. I hope you’ll join me in voting yes this November.
Sources:
South Metro Fire Rescue. South Metro Fire Rescue. Retrieved October 10, 2025, from https://www.asafersouthmetro.org/
Engage South Metro. Engage South Metro. Retrieved October 10, 2025, from
https://www.engagesouthmetro.org/
In 2019, a fire engine cost $725,000; today, it costs $1.3 million. 😲 It's astounding that the cost of a fire engine has nearly doubled in just 6 years!!
3 thousandths of 700,000 is 2,100.