Laserfiche WebLink
1/22/2020 Denver Post investigation into Colorado's metro districts reveals billions in debt paid by homeowners <br />Metro districts are taxing authorities created by subdivision developers, <br />with the consent of the local government, for the sole purpose of selling <br />government -like bonds to finance their projects. Repayment of the bonds <br />is tied to future property taxes assessed to the homes that will eventually <br />be built. <br />Joe Amon, The Denver Post <br />Construction continues on a street in the Thompson River Ranch community in <br />Johnstown on Oct.14, 2019. <br />But a Denver Post investigation into the inner workings of the state's 1,800 <br />metro districts found a governmental system that operates without the <br />usual oversight of voters, without the usual restrictions on conflicts of <br />interest, and without the usual checks and balances to ensure <br />communities won't spiral into insolvency. <br />Instead, Colorado law permits developers to elect themselves to serve on a <br />district's board of directors, then use that position to approve tens of <br />millions of dollars in public financing for their businesses, and leverage <br />the property taxes on homes they haven't yet built. No regulations stop <br />these developer -controlled boards from approving arrangements that are <br />financially advantageous to their business, allowing them to finance overly <br />ambitious plans without fear of liability, knowing future homeowners <br />ultimately shoulder the burden. <br />It has virtually become the exclusive mechanism by which all new <br />development occurs in Colorado today. <br />The Sterkels are among tens of thousands of Colorado homeowners buried <br />https://www.denverpost.com/2019/12/05/metro-districts-debt-democracy-colorado-housing-development/ 28 2/19 <br />