The City of Cherry Hills Village line on a property tax bill reads 14.722 mills, split between the General Fund and the Parks Fund. It hasn't changed since 2005, the year the Parks Fund was created. At its August 4, 2026 meeting, City Council told staff to plan a one-year property tax holiday that would take that line to zero. City Manager Cramer told Council the relief would show up as a single line item inside the overall bill, and that residents might overlook it without proactive outreach.
Most owners will see a smaller bill and move on. People with a closing on the calendar between now and the end of 2027 have a harder question. Colorado closings settle the year's taxes with an estimate built from the most recent mill levy, and both parties sign off on that estimate as final. A city levy that drops to zero for one year and then comes back is exactly the kind of change that estimate misses.
What disappears from the bill, and what stays
The holiday is narrower than "no property tax." The Villager, reporting on the August 4 meeting, put the City's share at about 15% of residents' total levies. It projected 2027 bills averaging $26,000 per single-family home, with about $3,800 of that going to the City. Staff estimated the zero-mill year would save Cherry Hills Village homeowners about $8.4 million, and the regular voter-approved levy would return in 2028.
The other 85% of the bill stays. That includes the school district levy, which on Arapahoe County's Tax Year 2025 schedule is 54.108 mills for Cherry Creek School District No. 5 or 51.071 mills for Englewood School District No. 1, depending on the parcel. Arapahoe County, the Arapahoe Library District, South Suburban Park & Recreation and South Metro Fire Rescue appear on the same schedule.
Two small groups of homes keep a separate city-related charge. The Charlou Park 3rd Filing General Improvement District levies 10.00 mills for its 2026 budget to pay off the cost of burying utility lines and removing poles along parts of South Denice Drive, Charlou Drive and South Dasa Drive. The Southmoor Circle and Hudson Parkway General Improvement District levies 10.50 mills for the same kind of work on parts of Southmoor Circle, South Hudson Parkway and East Oxford Avenue. The City Manager said on the record that these assessments continue during the holiday, because he wanted no resident surprised to find they still owed a property tax bill.
Per dollar of value, the math is simple. Colorado's 2026 residential assessment rate for local government levies is 6.8%. At 14.722 mills, that works out to about $1,000 of City tax a year for every $1 million of actual value, before any exemptions. That figure, set against the length of a seller's ownership year, is the amount a closing can get wrong.
Why the City chose a holiday over a rate cut
Council's reasoning explains why the zero lasts one year and doesn't become the new normal. Staff weighed one-time rebate checks against a tax holiday. Rebates could be taxable to residents, and administering them would put a heavy load on City staff. A holiday runs through the county's existing billing, gives larger relief to larger bills, and creates no taxable income.
During public comment, someone asked why the City doesn't simply lower the mill levy. Mayor Brown answered that under TABOR, a mill levy reduction can't be reversed without a vote of the people. The City wants more evidence of a structural surplus before making a permanent change. The surplus is real. Staff modeled a full one-year holiday for both funds and still projected a total fund balance of about $10.9 million at the end of the forecast in 2045, using a sales tax growth assumption of about 2% while actual growth was running near 4.5% through June.
Mayor Brown also raised the timing issue head-on. Someone who just moved to the City would receive a benefit funded by decades of contributions from earlier residents. She said she was comfortable going ahead because the holiday doesn't use up the full surplus, and future Councils can revisit the question. Council named the newcomer windfall as a policy concern. The same windfall also shows up at a smaller scale on the closing statement, where it moves money between one buyer and one seller.
How Colorado closings handle taxes
Colorado property taxes are paid in arrears. The Division of Property Taxation explains that bills for the preceding year go out as soon after January 1 as possible, with the first half due by the last day of February and the second half by June 15, or the full amount by April 30. At closing, nobody knows the current year's real tax yet, so the parties estimate it.
Blue Sky Title described the usual method in an October 1, 2026 explainer. About 95% of residential contracts prorate the current year's taxes using the most recent mill levy and assessed value. The other 5% use the prior year's tax total. The seller credits the buyer for each day the seller owned the home that year, and both sign an agreement making the credit a full and final settlement. If taxes later go up, the seller owes nothing more. If they go down, the seller gets nothing back.
That finality is where the holiday causes trouble. In most years, the most recent levy is a reasonable guess for the current year because levies barely move. Next year, one of the levies on a Cherry Hills Village bill will be zero for a single year and then return to 14.722.
Which year the zero lands in, and why it decides who comes out ahead
The staff memo in the August 4 Council packet points to the bill mailed in January 2027. It treats the holiday as a cut to 2027 General Fund revenue of $4.04 million and to 2027 Parks Fund revenue of $4.36 million. It expects an average $3,800 reduction in the 2027 property tax bill, with collections resuming at the adopted mill levy in 2028. The City's current levy ordinance shows how those year labels work. The 2026 levy was certified for taxes "to be collected in 2026 for the valuation year 2025." By the same convention, 2027 revenue means taxes collected in 2027, which is the tax-year 2026 bill. That reading isn't final until the budget is adopted. The memo says exact numbers would be known when the final 2027 budget goes to Council on December 14, 2026, and the October 6 Council agenda lists no budget item. Arapahoe County certified the 2026 levies on December 19, 2025, so the 2027 levy will most likely be certified in December 2026 as well.
On that reading, a standard most-recent-levy proration lines up like this:
| Closing window | Levy the proration likely uses | Tax actually billed for that year | Who gains |
|---|---|---|---|
| October through mid-December 2026 | 2025-year levy, City at 14.722 | 2026 taxes, billed 2027, City at zero | Buyer receives a credit for City tax that is never charged |
| After the December 2026 certification, through 2027 | 2026-year levy, City at zero | 2027 taxes, billed 2028, City back at 14.722 | Seller credits too little; buyer pays the City share for the seller's days |
If the adopted budget ends up applying the holiday to tax year 2027 instead, the 2027 row flips. Those prorations would include the City levy, and the bill paid in 2028 wouldn't.
To put the second row in dollars, take The Villager's projected City share of about $3,800 on an average home. A seller who closes at the end of June 2027 owned the home for roughly half that year, so the seller's share of City tax is about $1,900. A most-recent-levy proration would leave that out, and the signed settlement means the buyer has no way to recover it later. A December 2026 closing using the old levy has the same problem in reverse, crediting the buyer for nearly a full year of City tax that the January bill won't include. A given home's figure depends on its assessed value and exemptions. The roughly $1,000 per $1 million of value is a good starting point.
What to settle before the contract is signed
The fix is a short conversation. The Colorado Real Estate Commission's current residential contract has been mandatory since January 1, 2026. Section 16.1.1 has the parties choose whether taxes for the year of closing are based on the prior calendar year's taxes, on the most recent mill levy and valuation, or on "Other." Section 16.1.4 makes the prorations final unless the Additional Provisions say otherwise. Both choices are written into the contract when it's signed, so they can be changed before then. A Cherry Hills Village contract signed this fall or next year should settle these points:
- Which tax year the holiday applies to, based on the City's adopted 2027 budget and its December levy certification, if the contract is signed after they're published.
- Which levy the proration will actually use on the closing date, given that a December closing could fall on either side of the certification.
- Whether to use the "Other" option or the Additional Provisions for a different arrangement, such as adding the 14.722 mills back in or agreeing to settle up once the actual bill is issued, with the wording handled by the title company or a real estate attorney.
- Whether the home is inside the Charlou Park 3rd Filing or Southmoor Circle and Hudson Parkway district, since those levies stay on the bill and belong in the estimate.
Buyers comparing a Cherry Hills Village home to one in Denver or Greenwood Village have a related reason to check the bill. A 2027 tax bill that's missing the City's share understates what the home will cost to carry from 2028 on, when the regular levy returns. Base the comparison on the full levy, not the holiday-year bill.
Questions owners are asking
Do all Cherry Hills Village homeowners get the holiday? Council's direction covers the City's General Fund and Parks Fund levy, which applies throughout the City. Homes in the two General Improvement Districts still pay their district levies.
Is it final? Council has directed staff to plan it. The holiday takes effect once the 2027 budget is adopted and the levy is certified. Staff expect to present the final 2027 budget to Council on December 14, 2026. As of October 4, 2026, neither step had happened.
Could it happen again? Mayor Brown said future Councils could revisit the question. Finance Director Newman offered to build a yearly review of fund balances against the City's reserve policy into the budget process.
Is this tax advice? No. It explains how a public policy decision interacts with standard closing practice. Your title company, attorney or tax advisor can apply it to your situation.
If you're planning to buy or sell in Cherry Hills Village between now and the end of 2027, the Downing Street Group Private Office can review the tax proration terms with you and your title company before you sign. Request a private consultation.
