According to unofficial results, residents have voted ‘yes’ to Ballot Issue 7A, approving a mill levy extension equating to 1.4 mills for North Metro Fire Rescue District. As of Wednesday at noon, 33,511 votes had been counted, with 25,330 (75.6%) in favor of the tax extension and 8,181 (24.4%) opposed.  

The mill levy extension will strengthen North Metro Fire’s ability to address the growing emergency call volume and increasing risks and needs of the community. With the funding, North Metro Fire aims to improve emergency response throughout the fire district with the addition of critical resources. The mill levy extension will also support North Metro Fire’s ability to attract and train quality firefighters and paramedics while protecting their health and safety, and it will allow the district to replace and update essential equipment and emergency vehicles.  

“On behalf of North Metro Fire, I want to thank our community for your support and for putting your trust in us,” said North Metro Fire Chief Dave Ramos. “This mill levy extension provides the means for us to enhance emergency response and address several challenges facing our fire district. We are grateful to serve so many wonderful residents and businesses, and with this funding, we will continue to deliver excellence in care and service.” 

North Metro Fire serves over 125,000 residents covering close to 60 square miles. With the mill levy extension, residents and property owners will continue paying the same tax rate they have been paying. The 1.4 mills that previously was allocated to pay off a bond will now go into the district’s general operations fund. 

“As a board, we take our role as stewards of taxpayers’ money very seriously, and a lot of analysis, community engagement and discussion went into our decision to put the measure on the ballot,” said North Metro Fire’s Board President Richard Miller. “We are elated to receive the community’s support for the mill levy extension, and we are committed to ensuring North Metro Fire is equipped and supported to best serve our community.” 

The following is an unofficial count of the votes reported thus far by county:

The final results of the election will be made official on Nov. 16.