Gov. Jared Polis asks school districts to lower mill levies for property tax relief in Colorado

Gov. Jared Polis visited Breckenridge to talk about a plan to provide property tax relief on Thursday. He is calling on local governments to take action. 

Earlier this month, Polis called an executive session for state lawmakers which resulted in more than $400 million in tax relief. What was totaling $15,000 in exemptions will increase to $55,000. 

Polis said he wants local governments to build on that work. He would like them to follow the lead of Colorado Mountain College, a special district that plans to reduce its mill levy to keep growth near inflation rates. 

"I signed a law that allows districts to do this on a temporary basis. That means if you cut your property tax rate, let's say for some reason property taxes go down over the next two years or are steady, you don't have to eat that cut or go back to your voters, you can float it back up, you have the flexibility to do that legally because we don't want people to gamble their future just because of this really bizarre 40% increase that we've had over the past two years," said Polis. 

Polis sent a letter asking for school districts to lower mill levies. The Colorado Association of School Executives sent a reply stating that it is irresponsible to ignore what voters have agreed to.