Ballots have been mailed out for the Nov. 2 election.
In Montezuma County, voters in three districts will face at least one local ballot question, and all voters will face three statewide questions.
The county Clerk’s Office sent out 18,892 ballots last week, said Election Deputy Miranda Warren.
As of Monday, 1,198 ballots had been returned for possible acceptance, and 636 were returned as undeliverable . Warren said turnout has been low.
Voters in the Dolores and Montezuma-Cortez school districts will select school board members.
Voters in the Mancos Fire Protection District are being asked two tax-related questions.
Six seats are up for election on the Re-1 Montezuma-Cortez School District board, but only one is contested. In District E, voters will choose between Ed Rice and Tammy Hooten.
In the Dolores School District RE-4A, four candidates will vie for two director seats. The candidates are Heather Barritt, Casey McClellan, Jerry Whited and Lori Raney. The two candidates with the highest and second-highest votes will be elected to the board.
Voters in the Mancos Fire Protection District will decide two questions:
- Measure 6A asks voters for a 6 mill property tax increase to upgrade firetrucks, purchase firefighter equipment, improve building infrastructure and fund operations.
Fire Chief Tony Aspromonte said the funding would replace outdated water tenders that have limited capacity, and replace a 38-year-old fire engine.
He said the district needs two, 3,000-gallon water tenders, which will double the capacity of the current fleet and better serve rural residents who do not have access to fire hydrants.
The outdated Cedar Mesa station fire engine needs replacement because its level of maintenance is not cost effective, Aspromonte said.
The additional tax revenues would also go toward a new equipment bay at the Mancos station to replace one that is too small to house a fire engine, he said.
An increase in service calls because of the growing Mancos area population is another reason for the tax increase request, Aspromonte said.
He said the district responds to 360 emergency calls per year, up from 250 per year 10 years ago. It serves 3,500 to 4,000 people across 45 square miles.
“We have more demand for services, but our income has stayed the same, and even gone down some,“ Aspromonte said.
The volunteer fire district has 18 to 22 trained volunteers and operates on a budget of about $245,000 per year.
The district’s current mill levy is 5 mills. The last time the district asked for a mill levy was in 2000, when voters approved a 2 mill increase.
The request for 6 mills would increase the district mill levy to 11 mills and increase the budget by and estimated $306,925 per year.
- Question 6B asks voters of the Mancos Fire Protection District to allow the district to increase or decrease the mill levy to keep revenues at a set amount if there are changes in the method the state calculates assessed valuations of property.
Adjustments up or down would be made to keep the amount of tax revenues the same had such state changes had not occurred, and would “stabilize the budget long term,” Aspromonte said.
All voters in Montezuma County will face three statewide ballot questions. Amendment 78 relates to legislative authority for spending state money. Proposition 119 relates to a learning enrichment and academic progress program. Proposition 120 relates to a property tax assessment rate reduction.
The Montezuma County Election Office strongly encourages voters to return ballots to county drop boxes or they can be returned by mail. The mailed ballots must be received by 7 p.m. Nov. 2. Voters are reminded it can take days for a mailed ballot to reach the Clerk’s Office.
“Using the 24-hour drop boxes around the county are always a quicker way for us to receive the ballots,” Warren said.
The 24-hour ballot boxes are located at:
- Montezuma County Clerk & Recorder, 140 W. Main St., Suite No. 1, Cortez, CO 81321
- Dolores Town Hall, 420 Central Ave., Dolores, CO 81323
- Mancos Town Hall, 117 N. Main St., Mancos, CO 81328
- Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Complex, 124 Mike Wash Road, Towaoc CO. 81334
- Cortez City Hall, 123 Roger Smith Ave,. Cortez CO 81321
- Cox Corners, 18794 U.S. Highway 491, Lewis, CO 81327
Sample ballots and more information are available at the Montezuma County Clerk and Recorder website, and Facebook page.
