Castle Rock voters shot down a police levy Tuesday, voting against it nearly three to one in a move that means the City Council will have to make deeper cuts in the 2010 budget.

“I don’t know that I’m surprised, but I’m certainly disappointed,” said Police Chief Bob Heuer, noting the tough economic times. “We knew times were really tough for people, and it’s hard to ask for them for more.”

Just 100 people, or 26.8 percent of voters, supported the levy, according to unofficial results Tuesday night. The 272 “no” votes made up 73 percent of the preliminary results.

The levy needed a 60 percent supermajority to pass.

Failure of the levy makes the 2010 budget process more difficult, though officials said Tuesday night they haven’t specifically identified what will be cut. It’s likely more city jobs will be lost, though.

“Obviously not passing the levy is going to be an impact, but we’re not sure exactly how much,” Heuer said Tuesday night. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”

Faced with looming budget cuts, the City Council proposed the first-ever police levy to help soften the budget blow as well as keep as many officers as possible patrolling the streets. The police department is the largest chunk of the city’s general fund — more than 50 percent of expenses and six of the city’s 14 employees — and as such is the most likely to face cuts for 2010. (Many of the city’s Public Works Department employees are not paid out of the general fund, and thus cutting those jobs doesn’t help balance the books).

The levy would not have covered all the police costs, city officials said, but would have helped protect some jobs. The city is still trying to figure out how to cut as much as $300,000 from the 2009 budget. It has not identified specific cuts for 2010.

The city recently received a federal stimulus grant to save one officer’s position for three years, but Heuer said that doesn’t mean other cuts can’t be made within the department.

If passed, the $250,000 levy would have cost the owner of a $150,000 home $312 a year in taxes.