As Jefferson County faces up to $30 million in 2025 budget cuts, one key — and familiar — ballot initiative will stand out as voters head to the polls Nov. 5.

Ballot Measure 1A, if passed, would “de-Bruce” or allow the county to collect, retain, and spend its current 2024 tax revenue and those in each fiscal year after that, but would not increase taxes or raise the mill levy. 

With less than three weeks until the November election, Citizens for Jeffco’s Future — the leading issue committee advocating for the ballot measure — reported $68,364 in monetary contributions as of its Tuesday, Oct. 15, filing with the Secretary of State.

The Westminster-based organization registered with the state as an issue committee in mid-August, with Lindsey Rasmussen of Hilltop Public Solutions listed as its registered agent.

Rasmussen previously worked in the office of former State Rep. and current Jefferson County Commissioner Tracy Kraft-Tharp, including managing her successful 2020 campaign. 

To date, the heftiest contributions in support of the measure have come from unions, firefighters, lobbyists, car dealers, and homebuilders.

At $25,000 each, the largest individual contributions came from The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and Greg Stevinson of Stevinson Toyota. AFSCME, affiliated with the AFL-CIO, is the largest public employees’ union in the U.S. Stevinson, who also serves as chair of Colorado Concern, leads a statewide organization of CEOs focused on fostering a pro-business environment through political engagement.

West Metro Professional Firefighters IAFF Local 1309 dropped $5,000 on the cause, as did Colorado Forum president Gail Klapper.

The Homebuilders Association of Metro Denver, a professional trade organization representing the residential construction industry — homebuilders, developers, remodelers, suppliers, and service providers across eight metro-area counties — rounded out top donations for the 1A ballot measure at $2,500.

No issue committee has registered to oppose the specific measure.

But several groups oppose Jeffco’s 1A measure.

Notable opposition includes The Independence Institute, a conservative Colorado-based think tank that argues that Jefferson County should focus on more efficient use of current funds instead of increasing government revenues by removing TABOR limits. It’s concerned that taxpayers would lose their rights to future refunds.​

This is the third time in five years that the county’s elected officials have asked voters to keep and spend excess tax revenue collected above the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights limit.

If passed, the measure which would eliminate taxpayer refunds. 

For fiscal year 2024, that refund amount is estimated to be $54.4 million.

Last year, the county refunded $39.4 million to roughly 210,000 property taxpayers.