Ouray County voters turned down a request to raise taxes to fund the Public Health department, which would have been the first of its kind in the state.

About 57% of voters opposed the 2 mill levy, which would have generated more than $400,000 per year for the department. There were 1,106 votes for the tax, but 1,473 against it; more than half of the county’s registered voters weighed in on the tax.

Proponents of the proposal said the department needed a permanent, stable source of funding, inst...