Where the money goes
Your property tax bill is not one tax. It is a stack of separate taxes, each set by a different board. Here is the whole stack in one place.
How your bill works
- 01
The assessor sets your home's value every two years.
- 02
The state sets the share that is taxed. For 2025, homes were taxed on 6.25% of their value for local governments and 7.05% for schools.
- 03
Each district sets its own rate, called a mill levy. One mill is one dollar per $1,000 of taxed value.
Home value x assessment rate x mills / 1,000 = tax
What changed
In the 2025 reappraisal, assessed values countywide rose about 22% for homes and 32% for commercial property. A county commissioner wrote that some bills rose 30%, 50%, even 80%. Rates cannot rise without a vote. But when values jump and rates stay flat, revenue rises anyway.
Sources: Assessor's report, Telluride Times column
The districts
| District | Mills | Assessed value | Property tax revenue | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Town of Telluride | 5.188 | $550,236,181 | $2,854,625 | 2025 tax year | County abstract |
| Telluride Fire Protection District | 8.151 | $1,496,534,809 | $12,198,255 | 2025 tax year | County abstract |
| San Miguel County (all funds) | 11.620 | $1,271,424,310 | $14,773,950 | 2025 budget | County budget brochure |
| Town of Mountain Village (for comparison) | 11.360 | $580,221,685 | $6,591,318 | 2025 tax year | County abstract |
How the county's 11.62 mills were divided (2025 budget)
| County fund | Mills | Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| General | 6.175 | $7,851,046 |
| Road and bridge | 1.900 | $2,415,706 |
| Parks and open space | 1.000 | $1,271,424 |
| Early childhood education | 0.750 | $953,568 |
| Mental health services | 0.750 | $953,568 |
| Housing | 0.500 | $635,712 |
| Retirement | 0.390 | $495,855 |
| Human services | 0.155 | $197,071 |
San Miguel County · 2025 adopted budget
Inside the general fund
The general fund is the largest share of the county’s property tax levy — not of every district on your bill. It supports county offices, public safety, facilities and other services. Property taxes are pooled with sales taxes, fees, interest and other revenue, so a specific property tax dollar cannot be traced to one department.
Sources: adopted budget, pp. 24–29 · County levy allocation, brochure p. 3
Where the spending is budgeted
The largest line is personnel: $10,185,883, or 58.9% of general fund spending. It is booked centrally under “Other Administration.” It would be misleading to call that all administrative overhead — or to treat the smaller department totals as their full cost.
Source: personnel costs, account 101.0120.10.4002, p. 29
| Spending group | Budget | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Centralized personnel Personnel costs booked in Other Administration. These support departments across the general fund; the adopted table does not allocate this line by service. | $10,185,883 | 58.9% |
| Public safety & justice — remaining costs Sheriff administration, patrol, corrections, fire control, search and rescue, emergency management, sheriff buildings, district attorney, coroner and juvenile services. Centralized personnel is above, not included here. | $2,344,512 | 13.5% |
| Government offices & technology — remaining costs Commissioners, finance, treasurer, public trustee, clerk and elections, attorney, human resources, IT, GIS and assessor. Centralized personnel is separate. | $1,244,077 | 7.2% |
| Transfers to other funds Road & Bridge $750,000; Public Health & Environment $300,000; Grant Fund $75,711; Vegetation Control $65,000; Open Space/Recreation $31,591. These are general fund outflows, not extra countywide spending. | $1,222,302 | 7.1% |
| Other Administration — remaining costs Insurance, workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, employee incentives, professional services, utilities, maintenance, advertising and other operating expenses. Personnel and transfers are removed from this subtotal. | $898,685 | 5.2% |
| County facilities & fleet — remaining costs County buildings, rental properties and fleet vehicles, excluding sheriff buildings (under public safety) and the Open Space/Recreation transfer. | $514,600 | 3.0% |
| Land use & natural resources — remaining costs Natural resources, planning, building, addressing and surveyor. Centralized personnel is separate. | $472,739 | 2.7% |
| Fair, extension & veterans — remaining costs Fairboard, CSU Extension and veterans services. Centralized personnel is separate. | $423,398 | 2.4% |
| Total general fund spending | $17,306,196 | 100% |
Our grouping of the county’s adopted expenditure lines, not an official departmental cost allocation. Shares use total general fund expenditures and may not sum exactly after rounding. Source: department summary, pp. 25–26 · Personnel and transfers, p. 29 · Open Space/Recreation transfer, p. 42
All adopted department lines
These are the original budget lines before our regrouping. Other Administration includes the centralized personnel line; many departmental amounts therefore exclude that personnel allocation.
| Department / account | 2025 adopted | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Office of the Board101.0110 | $185,352 | p. 25 |
| Other Administration101.0120 | $11,910,279 | p. 25 |
| Natural Resources101.0125 | $154,784 | p. 25 |
| Finance101.0130 | $134,645 | p. 25 |
| Treasurer101.0135 | $97,225 | p. 25 |
| Public Trustee101.0136 | $14,700 | p. 25 |
| Clerk - Operations101.0137.10 | $70,696 | p. 25 |
| Clerk - Elections101.0137.15 | $99,864 | p. 25 |
| Attorney101.0140 | $105,898 | p. 25 |
| Human Resources101.0150 | $114,239 | p. 25 |
| Planning101.0160 | $265,203 | p. 25 |
| Info Technology101.0161 | $158,086 | p. 25 |
| GIS101.0162 | $53,879 | p. 25 |
| Assessor101.0163 | $209,493 | p. 25 |
| Facilities Maintenance-Admin101.0164.10 | $156,579 | p. 25 |
| Facilities Maintenance-Courthouse101.0164.75 | $40,475 | p. 25 |
| Facilities Maintenance-Miramonte Bldg101.0164.80 | $100,449 | p. 25 |
| Facilities Maintenance-West Annex101.0164.81 | $23,650 | p. 25 |
| Facilities Maintenance-Sunnyside101.0164.89 | $28,686 | p. 25 |
| Facilities Maintenance-Glockson101.0164.90 | $73,132 | p. 25 |
| Facilities Maintenance-Norwood Garage101.0164.91 | $14,800 | p. 25 |
| Facilities Maintenance-508 Society101.0164.92 | $12,300 | p. 25 |
| Facilities Maintenance-Pinion Park101.0164.93 | $9,600 | p. 25 |
| Facilities Maintenance-Village Court101.0164.94 | $4,200 | p. 25 |
| Facilities Maintenance-Norwood Rental101.0164.95 | $33,500 | p. 25 |
| Facilities Maintenance-Eider Creek101.0164.96 | $15,500 | p. 25 |
| Facilities Maintenance-11 Miguel Street101.0164.97 | $8,900 | p. 25 |
| Facilities Maintenance-305 Society B1101.0164.98 | $14,500 | p. 25 |
| Fleet Vehicles101.0165 | $9,920 | p. 25 |
| District Attorney101.0210 | $278,048 | p. 25 |
| Sheriff-Administration101.0310.10 | $316,765 | p. 25 |
| Sheriff-Civil101.0310.20 | $4,286 | p. 25 |
| Sheriff-CORE101.0310.21 | $0 | p. 25 |
| Sheriff-Operations101.0310.25 | $466,964 | p. 25 |
| Sheriff-Corrections101.0310.30 | $465,917 | p. 25 |
| Sheriff-Fire Control101.0310.35 | $19,126 | p. 25 |
| Sheriff-SAR101.0310.40 | $92,407 | p. 25 |
| Sheriff-Emergency Management101.0310.45 | $222,363 | p. 25 |
| Sheriff-Ilium Building Maintenance101.0310.85 | $159,661 | p. 25 |
| Sheriff-Norwood Annex101.0310.86 | $25,602 | p. 25 |
| Coroner101.0340 | $188,446 | p. 26 |
| Building101.0350 | $40,643 | p. 26 |
| Juvenile Services101.0380 | $104,927 | p. 26 |
| Transfer to PH&E Fund101.0505 | $300,000 | p. 26 |
| Addressing101.0910 | $250 | p. 26 |
| Fairboard101.0920 | $355,231 | p. 26 |
| CSU Extension101.0930 | $33,459 | p. 26 |
| Transfer to Vegetation Control101.0940 | $65,000 | p. 26 |
| Surveyor101.0950 | $11,859 | p. 26 |
| Veterans Services101.0960 | $34,708 | p. 26 |
What these figures do — and do not — tell us
- Budgeted, not actual spending. This uses the 2025 adopted budget to match the county fund table above. It is a spending plan, not a claim about what was ultimately spent. Budget, pp. 25–26
- The county’s sources disagree on property tax revenue. The brochure reports $7,851,046 for the general fund’s levy allocation; the full adopted budget lists $9,087,295 in current property tax revenue. We retain both with their source labels rather than treat them as interchangeable or guess why they differ. Brochure p. 3 · Full budget p. 28
- Some services also have separate funds. Road & Bridge, Public Health & Environment and other funds have their own budgets. The transfers above show general fund support, not those funds’ total spending. Budget p. 29 · Budget p. 26
Your bill by district
- Town of Telluride$324
- Telluride Fire Protection District$509
- San Miguel County (all funds)$726
Total per year$1,560
This is an estimate for illustration. Your actual bill is on your notice from the county treasurer.
One standard for everyone
State law limits most local governments to 5.25% yearly growth in property tax revenue. Many local districts have voter approval to exceed it, and home rule towns like Telluride are exempt. We ask every body that taxes Telluride property to commit to the limit anyway, and to credit back anything above it.
| District | Bound by the state limit | Has it pledged | Public record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Town of Telluride | unknown | not yet | None yet |
| Telluride Fire Protection District | unknown | not yet | None yet |
| San Miguel County (all funds) | unknown | not yet | None yet |
| Town of Mountain Village (for comparison) | unknown | not yet | None yet |
| Telluride School District R-1 | unknown | not yet | None yet |
| SMART (regional transit) | unknown | not yet | None yet |
| Telluride Hospital District | unknown | not yet | None yet |
| Library and other districts | unknown | not yet | None yet |
Sources: Assessor's presentation, legal summary
We are not against paying for what this town needs. We are for being asked, and for seeing the receipt.