Monument district asks to double its debt ceiling

A small northern El Paso County special district with $47 million in debt wants voter permission to nearly double that amount.

Triview Metropolitan District, which serves about 1,000 homes in south Monument, wants the ability to issue $41 million in bonds to pay for water and wastewater improvements, roads and parks.

Depending on the growth of the district, officials may not need to issue some of the bonds, said Triview spokesman and former board president Steve Stephenson.

The new debt would be paid for with projected revenue increases, he said, mainly stemming from the influx of commercial growth in the district, including big-box stores and chains such as Wal-Mart and Home Depot.

“No tax increase or increase in fees will be necessary to fund the annual debt service,” Stephenson said in an e-mail to The Gazette.

But this fall’s election faces strong opposition from some residents.

Steve Meyer, vice president of the Homestead at Jackson Creek homeowner’s association and head of www.monumentmatters.org, wants his neighbors to vote against all four Triview questions on the ballot. He’s formed an issues committee called Triview Resi- dents Opposed To More Debt.

If the district incurs its maximum level of debt, that’s about $67,700 per parcel of property within the district, Meyer said.

Water and wastewater rates have already jumped almost 25 percent during the past two years, Meyer said.

Triview provides water, sewer, street maintenance and other services for customers between Baptist and Higby roads, mostly in the Jackson Creek subdivision.

Over the years, Triview’s debt has skyrocketed, from $4.8 million in 1987 to $47 million today. The district has also grown, from one house in 1998 to about 1,000 today.

Triview’s debt has increased to pay for this growth in fast-growing south Monument, Stephenson said. While development remained stagnant in the late 1980s and early 1990s, rising inflation costs devoured 75 percent of the $47 million debt, he said.

According to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, in 2004 the district’s debt ranked 23rd out of 287 special districts in the state. That’s the latest year the DOLA collected this data from special districts.

Colorado Springs attorney Ron Lehmann said recently the debt isn’t excessive as long as district property values keep increasing and the district’s mill levy stays steady.

Stephenson said Triview’s assessed property values rose from $29 million in July 2005 to $50 million in July 2007.

Today, Triview says it needs the ability to access more funds to pay for improvements in existing neighborhoods as well as the estimated 2,000 new homes planned for the district, Stephenson said.

Though the district says it won’t increase the district’s 25-mill property tax rate, the ballot language could cause residents to question that promise.

The third paragraph of each ballot question says the new debt can be paid “from a mill levy that may be increased in any year without limitation as to rate.”

Stephenson said the wording, required by attorneys and Colorado law, doesn’t accurately reflect the district’s intent. Stephenson said he’s frustrated that the wording may confuse voters.

“That is a disservice” to voters, he said.

Each ballot question also asks voters to remove Taxpayer Bill of Rights restrictions indefinitely from the revenue paying for the bonds and “all other district revenue.”

TABOR requires fast-growing entities to refund some tax money to the people who paid it.

Triview voters in 2006 already approved lifting TABOR caps through 2017, Stephenson said.

The new question would remove TABOR caps on all revenue allocated to pay for the bonds until they’re paid off, he said.

Meyer said he doesn’t like Triview seeking another de-TABOR measure so soon after last year’s vote.

For more information from both sides, visit www.triviewmetro.com or www.monumentmatters.org.

ALL-MAIL ELECTION

The Triview Metropolitan District issues are part of El Paso County’s mail-ballot election. Ballots were sent out Friday to most registered voters (those who registered after Sept. 26 will receive their ballots later). Ballots must be received at the Clerk & Recorder’s Office at Centennial Hall, 200 S. Cascade Ave., Colorado Springs, CO 80903, by Nov. 6. Call the El Paso County Elections Department at 575-8683 with questions.

MEETING

Triview Residents Opposed To More Debt, 7 p.m. Oct. 23. Creekside Middle School, 1330 Creekside Drive, Monument. For more information, call Steve Meyer at 487-1402 or visit www. monumentmatters.org