Longmont City Council, Tuesday night, gave unanimous backing of proposed legislation that forces more transparency among Colorado’s special districts.
Councilmember Polly Christensen said Senate Bill 21-262 probably doesn’t do enough to ensure more openness on special district operations. “...It’s a start,” Christensen said. “It’s a pretty modest bill, it is necessary and a good start toward holding people accountable.”
The requirements proposed in the legislation are in alignment with the city’s interest to make districts more transparent and provide a higher level of city oversight, Assistant City Manager Sandi Seader told the council.
A key provision in the bill requires developers to tell potential buyers the property tax bills they likely face are based on the purchase price of the home, not the undeveloped value they see in their first tax bill, according to the Denver Post. Newly constructed homes do not initially reflect the purchase price in the first tax bill, so homeowners are frequently surprised by a bill that’s much higher than they anticipated, the Post states.
The bill also requires Colorado’s 2,000 metro districts to let residents know how to run for election to the metro district board of directors, according to the Post.
Critics of SB 262 say the legislation doesn’t come close to addressing the abuses they have experienced, including the inability to address metro district spending that saddles them with large tax bills, the Post states.
“I can truthfully say SB 262 is inadequate to properly address the abuse that’s occurred for many years. Metro districts are a reason why housing is so unaffordable in Colorado now,” Gail Bell of Denver’s Green Valley Ranch, told Colorado lawmakers, earlier this month. “Two-thirds of my property taxes of 188 mills - 114 mills- goes to my metro district to which I have no voice. This truly is taxation without representation,” the Post states.
