District 1
General Information - Morgan Hill Metro District No.1
Metropolitan districts are local governments that finance public improvements and provide services to promote the health, safety, prosperity, security, and general welfare of the inhabitants of the districts and the people of the state of Colorado. Metropolitan districts fill the gaps that may exist in services that other local governments will not provide, and the services residents may desire. The Morgan Hill Metropolitan District Nos. 1-3 (the “Districts”) provide the following improvements and services: streets, traffic and safety controls, water, storm and sanitary sewer, parks and recreation, transportation, and mosquito control.
Pursuant to the Districts’ Consolidated Service Plan, approved by the Town of Erie on September 23, 2008, as amended (the “Service Plan”), the Districts are authorized to incur $35,000,000 of debt and impose a maximum debt mill levy of 50 mills subject to adjustment, as defined in the Service Plan, for repayment of such debt. The Service Plan authorizes the repayment of debt from the following sources: ad valorem taxes.
The Boards of Directors (the “Boards”) govern the Districts. Board members are elected for four-year terms. During election years, the Districts must provide the Call for Nominations to the electors of the Districts noting the Board seats up for election. If an owner or resident would like to run for a Board seat up for election, he or she must submit a self-nomination form to the Designated Election Official by the applicable deadline as provided in the Call for Nominations. When a vacancy occurs on the Boards between elections, an owner or resident may contact the Districts and request to submit a letter of interest to be appointed to Boards. When an individual is appointed to the Boards, the term for that appointment runs to the next regular election.
To qualify as a director of a district, a person must be an “eligible elector” which is defined as a registered voter of Colorado and either: (1) a resident of the District, or (2) the owner (or the spouse or civil union partner of the owner) of taxable real or personal property located within the District. A person who is under contract to purchase taxable property and is obligated to pay taxes prior to closing is also considered an “owner.”
The Districts file their annual report for the prior year with the Town of Erie.
A Metro District is a local unit of government formed to provide necessary public services that the county or municipality cannot otherwise provide. It is essentially a tax-exempt financing mechanism used for the installation of public infrastructure. The Metro Districts issue debt to pay for the public infrastructure, which debt is repaid by property taxes levied within the Metro Districts’ boundaries. Public infrastructure includes streets, water, sewer, storm drainage, parks, trails and other similar improvements.
Initially, growing cities and towns financed and installed public infrastructure serving their municipalities, literally “paving the way” for new homes and businesses. However, cities and towns began to struggle to pay for the public infrastructure needed to grow. In the late 70’s and early 80’s a change to “Growth pays its own way” occurred. This shift by municipalities put the cost burden of growth on the shoulders of future property owners. To facilitate continued growth, the State of Colorado passed reenactment of Title 32 in 1981, the Special District Act, to allow Metropolitan Districts to satisfy the public need for infrastructure and allow the Districts to use tax exempt financing to pay for the public infrastructure. There are now approximately 2,000 Metro Districts operating throughout Colorado and the majority of States across the country having their own versions of the Special District Act using similar structures as Colorado’s special districts.
Metro District taxes work in the same manner as other property taxes in Colorado with a mill levy applied to Assessed Value of property. For residential property, that calculation is:
Actual Value x Assessment Ratio = Assessed Value
Assessed Value x Mill Levy = Annual Property Tax Cost
Actual Value = the value of your home as determined by the Weld County Assessor’s office and updated every two years by the Assessor. The Weld County Assessor’s website has more detailed information on the valuation process and property taxes in general here https://www.weldgov.com/departments/assessor/frequently_asked_questions
Assessment Ratio (in 2020) = 7.15%, as determined by the State of Colorado legislature.
Mill Levy (in 2020) = 55.663 Mills (The Mill Levy is set by the Board of Directors, subject to the limitations imposed by TABOR and Colorado statutes. In addition, limitations and requirements are governed by the Districts’ Service Plan and its debt covenants, all of which can be found on the Formation & Governance documents page. Mills are applied per thousand dollars of assessed value.
Example for a $400,000 home:
- $400,000 x 7.15% = $28,600 (Assessed Value)
- $28,600 x 55.663/1,000 = $1,591.96 (in annual property taxes payable to the Metro District)
NOTE: Metro District taxes are only one component of your annual property tax payments. For an entire listing of all taxing authorities and the total mill levy applied to your home, you can look up your property here: https://www.weldgov.com/departments/assessor/search_property
Colorado statutes provide for an elected Board of Directors, with the initial electors and Directors to be designees of the developer until new electors move into or buy property within the District and elect new Directors in biennial elections in May of even-numbered years. Your current Board of Directors is listed on the Board page. To be an eligible Director, you must satisfy three requirements. You must:
- be a registered voter in the State of Colorado;
- own taxable property within the boundaries of the Metro District or have an option to purchase property within the boundaries of the Metro District; and
- pay property taxes on the property within the boundaries of the District.
The powers of the District and its Board are limited by the provisions of the approved Service Plan. Interested in serving on your District’s Board of Directors? Find out when the next election is scheduled on the Elections page.
Metro Districts allow the costs of public infrastructure, which are initially paid for by the Metro District before all of the homes in a subdivision are built, to be recouped over a 30-40 year timeframe through collection of property taxes rather than attributing these costs to the initial home prices. By allowing these costs to be spread out among all of the homes in the subdivision and repaid over a longer period of time, initial home prices are typically $40,000-$60,000 lower than they would be if Metro Districts were not utilized. Metro District debt is also tax-exempt, meaning that the cost of this debt is less expensive, which results in additional savings to the homeowner. Homeowners who itemize deductions on their tax returns may be able to deduct all or a portion of the property taxes that they pay.