Larimer County Ballot Measure Overview: Early Childhood and Childcare Tax

By AVA FRICKE

The Ramspondents

In the upcoming election, Larimer County residents will have the opportunity to vote on Larimer County Ballot measure 1B: Early Childhood and Childcare Tax. 

Through a joint effort with local advocacy groups like the Early Childhood Council of Larimer County (ECCLC), in partnership with the United Way of Larimer County, the county has identified that “dedicated funding for early childhood programs is essential to address such things as providing financial assistance for the cost of childcare and preschool programs for working families with children from birth to age five, investing in the early childhood system to expand capacity and improve quality, conducting evaluations, providing for administration, and other potential support,” according to the language in the ballot measure.

Liz Means, the chief strategy officer for the ECCLC, shared how their organization aided in the creation of 1B. 

“We’ve been working behind the scenes directly with the county commissioners,” Means said. “We’ve been working with them to build that relationship and design the program, asking things like what does the county prioritize, and what kind of things does the community prioritize?” 

“Our organization is informed by community partners, that's who really drives our priorities. Our partners are childcare providers, and others who work directly with children and families in the community,” she said.

Means gave an overview of the ballot measure, saying “We are asking voters to approve a 0.25% sales tax. That would be roughly 25 cents on a $100 purchase, or roughly $40 dollars per year for the average Larimer family.”

“It’s not much on the front end, but it generates close to $30 million annually,” she said.

The revenue collected would be disbursed by the ECCLA and funneled into three main areas for improvement. They are offsetting the cost of childcare tuition for families, increasing salaries for the early childhood workforce, and increasing the quality and capacity of early childhood education across the board. 

 “Families pay anywhere from 24%-40% of their annual income on childcare, which is actually more expensive than in-state tuition at Colorado State University right now. Our goal is to bring down the cost of childcare so that no family is paying more than 10% of their annual income,” Means said.

In regards to increasing salaries for the early childhood care workforce, Means said, “ Right now they make between $16 and $19 an hour, which is a little more than minimum wage, but far less than a living wage in Larimer County.”

“These are highly credentialed folks doing extremely important work in our community, and it's just an easier, better financial decision right now to go to work at some fast food restaurants or big box stores. We are trying to change that because we want to continue to professionalize the field and get more people interested in doing it,” Means said.

Means said that many opportunities to increase the quality and capacity of education will become available with the revenue collected, such as building better facilities and better training for educators.

The funding will also be subject to an annual audit by an independent third party expert and will establish a reserve fund that would survive the 20-year tax sunset.

For more information on this ballot measure, you can find it here.

Ava Fricke is a political journalist focusing on written media.

The full digest of stories we’re covering as part of the 2025 election are listed below with links to those stories. 

Ranked-choice voting and how it works

What’s all on the ballot for this election season? 

Analysis: What the candidates are saying about affordable housing (coming soon)