What does a YES vote on Bennett Fire Protection District Ballot Issue 7F mean?

Bennett Fire Protection District would add a 0.75% sales tax, excluding groceries, raising $1.2 million the first full year starting July 1, 2027, for fire, ambulance and rescue services, including stations and staffing.

What does a NO vote on Bennett Fire Protection District Ballot Issue 7F mean?

Bennett Fire Protection District would not add the 0.75% sales tax.

No. The ballot excludes groceries and other items exempt from state sales tax.

How is this different from Issue 7G?

7F is a new 0.75% sales tax. 7G would let the district keep property tax revenue at its already-approved 13.152-mill rate despite the 2024 state limit, without raising the mill levy. They are separate questions.

What does the district say happens if only one or neither passes?

The district's brief says that with only one measure, staffing would be hard to maintain and new construction unlikely; with neither, replacement of aging apparatus would be deferred and new stations would not be possible without more debt.

How many votes does Bennett Fire Protection District Ballot Issue 7F need to pass?

A simple majority: more than half of the YES and NO votes on this measure must be YES. Leaving it blank doesn't count either way.

Should I vote yes or no on Bennett Fire Protection District Ballot Issue 7F?

SpectrumVote doesn't endorse anyone or tell you how to vote. Read what a YES and a NO vote each do, and the official text, then decide based on what you want to happen.

The general election was Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Counts are unofficial until each state certifies its results over the following weeks; your state or county election office has the official results.

Bennett Fire Protection District Ballot Issue 7F (Adams County)

Last updated Sat, Nov 7, 3:09 PM ET

Ballot measure · November 3, 2026 · Only voters in this district

What it does: SHALL BENNETT FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT TAXES BE INCREASED $1.2 MILLION IN THE FIRST FULL FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING JULY 1, 2027 AND BY SUCH AMOUNTS RAISED ANNUALLY THEREAFTER BY A SALES TAX OF 0.75% (75 CENTS ON EACH $100) UPON EVERY TRANSACTION IN THE DISTRICT IN WHICH THE STATE IMPOSES A SALES TAX (EXCLUDING GROCERIES AND OTHER EXEMPT ITEMS) FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING FIRE PROTECTION, AMBULANCE, EMERGENCY MEDICAL RESPONSE, RESCUE, SAFETY, AND SUPPORT SERVICES, INCLUDING: • EXPANDING, REMODELING AND/OR REPLACING OUTDATED AND INADEQUATE STATIONS AND FACILITIES • MAINTAINING FIREFIGHTER AND PARAMEDIC STAFFING LEVELS • RETAINING AND ATTRACTING HIGHLY QUALIFIED FIRST RESPONDERS AND OTHER ESSENTIAL PERSONNEL • PROVIDING ADEQUATE STAFFING TO ADDRESS INCREASING EMERGENCY CALL VOLUME AND SHALL ALL DISTRICT REVENUES BE COLLECTED, RETAINED, AND SPENT NOTWITHSTANDING ANY REVENUE LIMITS PROVIDED BY LAW?
A YES vote means: Bennett Fire Protection District would add a 0.75% sales tax, excluding groceries, raising $1.2 million the first full year starting July 1, 2027, for fire, ambulance and rescue services, including stations and staffing.
A NO vote means: Bennett Fire Protection District would not add the 0.75% sales tax.
Needed to pass: A simple majority: more than half of the YES and NO votes on this measure must be YES. Leaving it blank doesn't count either way.
Left–right lean: Unclear: our AI read of the official summary isn't confident enough (we require 70%) to place this on the left–right spectrum, so we don't. Read the summary and decide for yourself.

The YES and NO lines are SpectrumVote's plain-language reading of the official text above; the official text is what you vote on.

Official text: source

Only on your ballot if you live in the Bennett Fire Protection District.

Explained

Today

Bennett Fire Protection District No. 7, which operates as Bennett-Watkins Fire Rescue, serves about 9,000 residents across roughly 365 square miles of Adams and Arapahoe counties from four stations, answering about 1,600 calls a year.
The district is funded mainly by property tax. Voters approved a 13.152-mill rate, but the district says a 2024 state cap on property tax revenue growth limits what it may keep to the equivalent of about 9.0 mills, roughly $4 million a year less.
The district has no sales tax of its own.

If it passes

A district sales tax of 0.75% (75 cents per $100) would apply to purchases in the district that the state taxes, starting July 1, 2027. Groceries and other state-exempt items would be excluded.
The ballot estimates $1.2 million in the first full fiscal year, for fire protection, ambulance and emergency medical response, rescue, safety and support services, including remodeling or replacing stations, maintaining firefighter and paramedic staffing, and retaining personnel.
The district could collect, keep and spend all of this revenue regardless of state revenue limits.

Example

At 0.75%, a $100 taxable purchase in the district would carry 75 cents of district sales tax. The ballot estimates the tax would raise $1.2 million in its first full fiscal year beginning July 1, 2027. (source)

Who would notice

Anyone making taxable purchases inside the Bennett Fire Protection District, including in Bennett and Watkins, and residents served by Bennett-Watkins Fire Rescue.

How it got here

The district's board referred two funding measures to the November 3, 2026 ballot: Issue 7F (this sales tax) and Issue 7G, which would waive the state's new property tax revenue limit while keeping the 13.152-mill rate. The district cites a 2024 state cap on property tax revenue, rising equipment costs and growth, including a temporary station serving the Sky Ranch neighborhood.

Written by SpectrumVote from 3 linked sources (1, 2, 3). Arguments are each side's own, not ours; the official text is what you vote on.

Background

Bennett Fire Protection District No. 7, which operates as Bennett-Watkins Fire Rescue, says it serves about 9,000 residents over roughly 365 square miles of Adams and Arapahoe counties from four stations, and responds to about 1,600 calls a year.

According to the district's brief, the 0.75% sales tax would begin July 1, 2027, would exclude groceries and other state-exempt items, and is estimated to raise about $1.2 million in its first full fiscal year.

The district says the money would go to fire, EMS and rescue services, keeping staffing levels, and remodeling or replacing stations. A companion measure, 7G, asks voters to waive the state's new property tax revenue limit at the current 13.152 mills.

The board's September 2, 2026 special meeting agenda listed Resolution 2026-05, which calls the November 3 election on both questions; minutes of that vote were not posted.

Put on the ballot by Bennett Fire Protection District No. 7 Board of Directors, vote not posted, September 2, 2026 special meeting (Resolution 2026-05).

From official source 1, official source 2, official source 3.

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Quick answers

What does a YES vote on Bennett Fire Protection District Ballot Issue 7F mean?: Bennett Fire Protection District would add a 0.75% sales tax, excluding groceries, raising $1.2 million the first full year starting July 1, 2027, for fire, ambulance and rescue services, including stations and staffing.
What does a NO vote on Bennett Fire Protection District Ballot Issue 7F mean?: Bennett Fire Protection District would not add the 0.75% sales tax.
Are groceries taxed?: No. The ballot excludes groceries and other items exempt from state sales tax.
How is this different from Issue 7G?: 7F is a new 0.75% sales tax. 7G would let the district keep property tax revenue at its already-approved 13.152-mill rate despite the 2024 state limit, without raising the mill levy. They are separate questions.
What does the district say happens if only one or neither passes?: The district's brief says that with only one measure, staffing would be hard to maintain and new construction unlikely; with neither, replacement of aging apparatus would be deferred and new stations would not be possible without more debt.
How many votes does Bennett Fire Protection District Ballot Issue 7F need to pass?: A simple majority: more than half of the YES and NO votes on this measure must be YES. Leaving it blank doesn't count either way.
Should I vote yes or no on Bennett Fire Protection District Ballot Issue 7F?: SpectrumVote doesn't endorse anyone or tell you how to vote. Read what a YES and a NO vote each do, and the official text, then decide based on what you want to happen.
When is the vote?: The general election was Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Counts are unofficial until each state certifies its results over the following weeks; your state or county election office has the official results.

Not sure how to decide? Read our nonpartisan guide to the Adams County ballot.

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