1985 Special District Legislation
| Publication year | 1985 |
| Pages | 2178 |
| Citation | Vol. 14 No. 9 Pg. 2178 |
1985, December, Pg. 2178. 1985 Special District Legislation
There are approximately 750 special districts currently existing in Colorado although estimates vary.(fn1) Special districts are an increasingly important level of local government in Colorado. Among other things, they provide a convenient method for a developer to obtain governmental services for a development through the issuance of the district's tax-exempt bonds. These are repaid by the district's taxpayers or users of the district's facilities. As the sole or primary property owner in a developer district for the first several years after its formation, the developer essentially controls or influences heavily the operation of the district.
In response to the concern that existing laws permitted special districts to operate with limited accountability and public involvement, the Colorado General Assembly considered and adopted a number of bills affecting special districts during its 1985 session.(fn2) This article summarizes the principal bills affecting special districts adopted during the 1985 session. The majority of the legislation was designed to increase public knowledge of special districts and their activities, to provide better access to information concerning special districts and to expand municipal and county control over the formation and activities of special districts.
Special districts are independent political subdivisions of the state of Colorado that are formed pursuant to Title 32, Article 1, of the Colorado Revised Statutes ("District Act"). Each one is governed by a five-member board of directors elected biennially by the qualified electors of the special district.
Special districts provide one or more governmental services, but often have no formal role in the planning process of general purpose local governments. Under the District Act, several types of special districts may be formed, including ambulance, fire protection, hospital, metropolitan, park and recreation, sanitation, water, and water and sanitation districts. The name of each of the listed special districts is descriptive of the services it may provide with the exception of a metropolitan district, which is authorized to provide two or more of the following services: fire protection, mosquito control, parks and recreation, safety protection, sanitation, street improvement, television relay and translation, transportation and water.
The board of a special district has the power to manage the business and affairs of the special district; to furnish services within and without the boundaries of the special district; to levy and collect ad valorem taxes on all taxable property within the special district; to establish rates, fees and charges for services rendered by the special district; to enter into contracts; to borrow money; and to issue bonds or other forms of indebtedness.
The bill with the most significant effect on the organization of special districts is H.B. 1020. This bill clarifies and increases the information which must be included in a service plan and which gives counties and municipalities greater control over the formation of special districts within their boundaries. H.B. 1020 requires the proponents of the formation of any special district to file a service plan with the board of county commissioners ("commissioners") of each county which has territory included within the proposed special district. Or, if the proposed special district's boundaries are contained entirely within the boundaries of one or more municipalities, H.B. 1020 requires that the plan be filed with the governing body of each municipality ("governing municipality").
Any service plan must detail the compatibility of the special district's proposed facility and service standards with those of any county within the special district. It must also detail compatibility with the facility and service standards of any municipality or special district that is located within a radius of three miles of the special district and which has levied an ad valorem tax within the next preceding tax year. The bill also shifts to the proponents of the formation of the special district the burden of proving that the statutory approval criteria have been met. This includes proving that (1) there is sufficient need for the organized service; (2) existing service is inadequate; (3) the special district is capable of providing economical and sufficient service; and (4) the special district has or will have the financial ability to discharge the proposed indebtedness on a reasonable basis. The commissioners of governing...
To continue reading
Request your trial