Homeowners in several metro districts across Colorado are pressing for greater transparency and financial details from the developer-controlled boards that govern them – a few are pushing for their outright ouster via a recall – in light of Denver Post stories highlighting their operations.
With about four weeks remaining for metro district residents to file the paperwork needed to run for their local board of directors – seats on dozens of metro district boards are up for election in May – resident interest in wresting control of their community’s future has been high following The Post’s stories detailing concerns with the heavy debt and property taxes they face.
The metro district industry also appears poised to join the fray with a proposed comprehensive public relations campaign its creator calls “critical” to success in the current legislative session. News stories have helped “to create an increasingly hostile atmosphere … one (that) will likely inspire state lawmakers to consider legislative action,” according to a fundraising document obtained by The Post.
Other reactions to The Post’s articles include:
- Officials from at least four municipal governments that have sponsored metro districts said they are reevaluating those relationships and the processes that got them there.
- At least one lawyer representing a metro district has resigned, citing potential conflicts of interest that could violate rules of professional conduct for attorneys.
- Two legislators have met with constituents to discuss how legislation could fix issues highlighted by The Post’s reporting.
- Three real-estate professionals have said they are pressing the state board that issues their licenses to ensure future training and tests include information about metro districts. Currently, they do not.
- Residents in two districts with non-profits funded with fees are assessed when someone sells their home say they are pushing for a voice in how those dollars get spent.
“Thanks to your hard work, we did get the (Southshore Metro) District #2 to hire a proper investment professional on the eve of a $45 million (bond) vote,” said Ross Garrett, a Southshore resident who is running for its board. “I’d estimate that single move may save (us) $5 million to $10 million by not sealing the bad deal they were supposed to vote on.”
In addition, meetings of the Southshore board were moved from Englewood, nearly 20 miles away, to the district clubhouse south of the Aurora Reservoir, Garrett said.
“Your reporting is having a tremendous impact,” he said.
Residents at the Erie Commons Metro District #2, just south of downtown Erie, in December filed paperwork to begin a recall of the five-member developer-controlled board following The Post’s stories. When they learned state law prohibits board members from being recalled within six months of a new election, residents decided to run for the seats themselves.
“Your articles helped to get me involved,” resident Cathy Cormack told The Post in an email. “But since we have an election in May, the recall election will transition to a scheduled election. Hopefully, Erie Commons will be able to elect homeowners to the board in May.”
The same is true in BNC Metro District #2 in Commerce City, where residents are determined to have a say in the finances that dictate their property taxes.
“I am just getting into this, and all I know is that the builder is making all the decisions for the homeowners,” resident Joel Person said. “I have the right to be on the board to help control the debt being issued here.”
The Post detailed how developers and builders control metro districts from the moment they are formed, voting on debt limits and tax obligations that residents are required to pay for decades, but have no say in how they are formulated. Some developer-controlled districts have approved debt limits as high as $20 billion, The Post found.
In Fort Collins, the city council has taken time to review how it handles the few metropolitan districts it has supported, according to Mayor Wade Troxall.
“I think it’s basically made us stand back and assess what we’re doing and how it stacks up to what’s going on,” Troxall said in a telephone interview. “The scrutiny has been ratcheted up and that’s good.”
Aurora Mayor pro tem Nicole Johnston Zipsie said her city is adding detailed information about metro districts to its highly used municipal website to bolster additional education.
Council members in Loveland have scheduled a special study session about metro districts, much of it prompted by heated meetings in which residents and elected officials have been at odds.
“Since the articles, some of the residents in The Lakes at Centerra have started attending the metro board meetings and are coming to our city council meetings, asking very good questions,” Mayor Jacki Marsh said in an email. “In addition, residents have learned they owe $33 million and the current repayment is interest only. Your articles are getting a lot of attention in Loveland.”
In Berthoud, Mayor William Karspeck said city council staff is looking to shore up how it deals with metro districts.
“Staff is currently working on a new metro district policy that I believe will be necessarily quite strict,” Karspeck told The Post in an email. “Over the past couple of weeks, I have been talking with other mayors regarding their metro district policies. As metro districts are coming into maturity … we are seeing first hand their downsides, mainly the exorbitant mill levies and the consequent financial burden our metro district residents are under.”
The proposed pro-metro-district fundraising effort was launched by Catalyst Public Affairs in Denver, which pitched metro district “industry professionals” on an idea to raise $160,000 — at $3,000 per contributor — to “launch an effort to disseminate facts and educate Coloradans (which) is critical to maintaining metro districts as a valuable tool for communities,” the pitch letter reads.
Part of the pitch is to survey the public “to accurately gauge” its opinion about districts, then to “engage in exhaustive opposition” and use select outlets, including its own website to drive its message.
According to the six-page pitch letter, their toolbox will include a lobbying team, social media team, and media blitzes to include op-eds, letters to the editor and other public relations campaigns designed to cast the industry in the most positive light — including a database of “publications to target with tailored angles.”
“This is a group of business leaders who believe that metro districts are an important tool to Colorado’s economic vitality and they want to educate the broader community,” Catalyst senior vice president Kristi Pollard told The Post in an email. “The goal is to describe what metro districts are, what they are not, and how they can help communities meet their infrastructure needs.”
Similarly, the Urban Land Institute is hosting a program on March 4 to discuss whether metro districts are “Wild West or Promised Land?” Its advertised panel is made up of attorneys who represent districts, underwriters of the bonds that districts pass, and metro district developers.
“Developers say that since TABOR they are simply using the tools available to fund housing, commercial areas, amenities, and infrastructure that serves hundreds of thousands of Coloradans,” the program announcement reads.
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January 31, 2020 at 08:00PM
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Metro district residents, municipalities, legislators, stakeholders seek changes, greater voice in how districts work - The Denver Post
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