City Council Study Session Agenda and Packet 2020 01 28

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1/22/2020 Denver Post investigation into Colorado's metro districts reveals billions in debt paid by homeowners AdChoices Sponsored Citations Colorado Department of Local Affairs, special districts. Source link .................................... Nonprofit 990 tax returns, at GuildeStar.org. Source link .................................... Electronic Municipal Market Access. Source link .................................. Sourcing & Methodology The Denver Post delved into the inner workings of metropolitan districts in Colorado after hearing from several residents and some builders about their concerns regarding rising property taxes. The Post began by researching how metro districts function and reviewing the available body of work concerning this form of quasi -government, both in the private sector as well as public. The Post studied state and federal lawsuits and other documents and reports to locate experts and sources of information relative to metro districts and their operations. As the scope of the issue unfolded, The Post focused on the areas that appeared to have the most concern and impact: debt and democracy. How metro districts establish their own debt and issue that debt was critically important to learning how property tax increases occur. Also, unraveling how metro district elections occur and how the election process works offered insight into a democracy that doesn't actually work as one. Once the scope of the issue was identified, The Post spent more than eight months culling through a sampling of the more than 1,800 metro districts that exist in Colorado to see which worked and which did not. By locating residents and board members in each, The Post was able to stitch together a profile of how metro districts actually operate and what about them https://www.denverpost.com/2019/12/05/metro-districts-debt-democracy-colorado-housing-development/ 43 17/19