Page 17 - The Castle Pnes Connection OCT 2008

Page 17
www.cpnhoa.org
Ballot Questions -
(Continued from page 1)
The CPN Metro District does not want to trans- fer mills that would reduce its operating fund to the city, but suggested the possibility of transfer- ring some of the 24 mills from its debt repayment program without impacting its ability to meet all of its current debt obligations. According to Gilbert, the CPN Metro District has asked for more flexibility in how the transfer mechanism was structured. Gilbert says all of the safeguards of the original ballot question Question 2E remain. “It is simply a discussion of how best to structure revenue-sharing,” Gilbert said.
“This is a critical issue to our community, and the District Board is looking at it carefully before tak- ing any position,” said CPN Metro District Board President Bill Santos. “Ever since the CPN bank- ruptcy, [which occurred in the early 1980s], the Metro District has worked diligently to develop strong financials and reduce long-term debt. We have to balance the importance of helping to fund city operations with the importance of cre- ating a renewable water solution. Working with the city to fund operations only makes sense, in my mind, if it can be done in a way that does not impact our ability to finance our water solu- tion, which is a fundamental responsibility of the Metro District.”
According to Gilbert, the Metro District and other city interests should work together, not against each other.
“The future of CPN is not only an issue of renewable water.” said Gilbert. “Instead, the city must achieve a viable economy through the tools of a new city and renewable water. If renewable water were enough, Sheridan, Colorado, would be a prime example of a robust economy. Despite having renewable water, a place like Sheridan suf- fers a blighted economy because of lack of eco- nomic development. We must achieve both goals through integration of the city and Metro District services and finances.”
In order to correct the original language of last year’s ballot question 2E, the City Council has referred two tax questions for the November 2008 ballot. The first question, 2D, is a cor- rection to last year’s ballot question and would allow the city to take over a mill levy equal to any reduction in mill levy by the CPN Metro District to be used for general purposes. It is not an increase in property taxes.
The second question on the November 2008 bal- lot, 2E, would allow the city to collect, retain and spend those property taxes (mill levy) that would be relinquished by the Metro District, and vari- ous other taxes such as park fees, water tap fees, facility fees, service charges, inspection charges, administrative charges and grants, etc. This ques- tion also is not an increase in property taxes.
According to city officials, the language of the questions was developed with the input and agreement of the city and the CPN Metro District, as well as bond financing attorneys. “Thelanguagechangesareseenasveryimportant to allow integrated public services and to ensure that renewable water funds are available,” said Mayor Maureen Shul.
City officials say these ballot questions will NOT increasepropertytaxes(milllevys.)Themaximum mill levy remains the same, as does the require- ment that the CPN Metro District first reduce its mill assessment before the City can assess the equivalent or lesser amount of mills.
“The wording of the new questions clearly indi- cates that there is absolutely no increase in the tax rate,” said Shul.
Understanding the
A Message from the City Treasurer -
Doug Gilbert
The Colorado municipal budget
cycle starts in earnest for the city
on October 15 with the presentation of the budget by the treasurer to council. The budget must then be approved by council by December 15.
Over the past several months the city, with the help of CH2M HILL OMI, has been assembling the first annual city budget. Considerable data has been collected and validated on cost drivers such as numbers of lane miles of streets and roads, types of traffic signals, and costs of administration depart- ments such as community development and public works.The overriding goal of these efforts has been to gain a full understanding of cost drivers and find ways to improve on past services.
Through this process some interesting preliminary conclusions have emerged. As a new city, Castle Pines North will be in a position to increase levels of service in many areas, while still abiding by the pre-incorporationpledgeofnotincreasingproperty taxes. Some of these improvements have already been seen. Community development, or planning, functions have received very positive reviews for quick turnaround times for submissions and very thorough staff reports.
One of the next targets is public works. Based on early estimates, the city should be in a position to provide equal or better street maintenance to that received from Douglas County. More importantly, the city will spend up to 50 percent more than the County for capital projects to fund badly needed repairs and upgrades to streets, intersections, and roads. The city’s public works operations cost per lane mile appear to be around 25 percent less than those of Douglas County.
Thebudgetisbeingdesignedtobetransparentfrom bothafinancialandanoperationalperspective.The financial transparency comes from ensuring that all budgeted amounts are reported in the proper categories as required by accounting principals. Operational transparency, something not always a partofgovernmentalbudgeting,willcomefromthe inclusion of explicit service levels and performance measurement. The city was founded with the idea of implementing high performance government shown through detailed performance metrics.This first budget is an important step in reaching that goal.
To date, none of the City officials--including city council,themayor,theclerk,andthetreasurer--have been paid for their work in setting up the City. All the hundreds of hours of work of the nine elected officialshavebeentotallyvoluntarywithoutanypay. Even out-of-pocket expenses have not been reim- bursed. At this time, the 2009 city budget does not include any pay for these elected officials. If some pay is included in the future, it will be only minimal thereby reflecting a continuation of the spirit of public service of all the elected officials.
Over the next several weeks, city officials will hold a series of meetings to discuss the budget and the approachtofinancialandoperationaltransparency. Our hope is that, through this open and transparent process, we will raise the game for governmental budgets.
ContactDougGilbertattreasurer@castlepinesnorth- co.gov.
City’s Finances
Thefollowinglistof“mythsandfacts”wasprovidedbythe City of Castle Pines North.
Myth: The City is already running a deficit and cannot balance its budget.
Fact: By state law, the City cannot run a deficit. The City is currently providing a limited number of services, which do not cost more than the amount of money generated by the City’s revenue stream.
Myth: The City will go bankrupt if it does not secure additional funding.
Fact: The City will not go bankrupt. The City will only operate with a balanced budget.
Myth: The incorporation feasibility study was flawed, and the City did not realize that it would not have sufficient funds to operate. Now it is seek- ing funds from the Metro District to “bail the City out.”
Fact: The feasibility study concluded that without levying a property tax the City would not have suf- ficient funds to provide all services. The study also recognized that: a) there would be oppor tunities to achieve economic efficiencies by working with the Metro District and the Homeowners Associations to optimize the delivery of services and eliminate unnecessary duplication of resources, and b) the Metro District was collecting more revenues than it needed to meet all of its operations and current and future capital requirements. These facts were provided to the community prior to the incorpora- tion vote. That is why there was a ballot question in the November 2007 election regarding 19 mills of the Metro District’s levy ability being“transferred” to the City.
Myth: The City cannot generate enough revenue to properly fund its operations without a tax in- crease
Fact: The City can afford to deliver full services to its citizens if it works with the Metro District and the Homeowners Associations to optimize the delivery of services in the community. The pre- liminary budget for 2009 with sharing of revenues shows a service level to City residents that is higher than services delivered by Douglas County. This is especially evident in public works with capital projects for streets and roads.
Myth: If the Metro District reduces its current level of revenue collection, it will not be able to generate sufficient funds to meet its current debt obligations or build up sufficient capital reserves to purchase renewable water rights
Fact: The Metro District levies 24 mills specifically for servicing existing debt associated with three bond issues. It cannot use these revenues for any purpose other than to service those bonds. The Metro District is building cash reserves for future capitalprojectsthroughothermilllevyassessments and special charges on the water bills it issues.
Myth: The Metro District needs all of the funds generated by the 24 mills to meet its debt obliga- tions.
Fact: The annual revenues generated by the 24 mills exceed the amount of funds needed to meet theannualdebtserviceobligations.Thebondscan- not be paid off early without significant financial penalty. The Metro District can reduce its levy to 14.5 mills and still meet its annual debt service ob- ligations with funds left over to build a reasonable reserve. This would allow the City to levy 9.5 mills without the need for a property tax increase.
Read more “myths and facts” at www.cpnhoa.org.