SUBJECT: Consent Agenda
Title
A Resolution of the Board of Trustees of the Town of Erie Establishing and Certifying the Property Taxes for the Town of Erie, Colorado, in Weld County and in Boulder County for 2020, to be Collected in 2021
Body
DEPARTMENT: Finance
PRESENTER: Candice Huot, Finance Manager
TIME ESTIMATE:
only required for non-consent items
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Approve resolution that certifies the mill levy for 2020, to be collected in 2021
End
SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND OF SUBJECT MATTER:
Property taxes are collected in the year following the annual determination of assessed values by the county tax assessor. The Town of Erie's gross total taxable assessed valuation has increased 2% from $526,797,981 in 2020 to $537,152,595 in 2021. The TIF district increment in 2021 is $23,891,369, which has increased 6% from $22,352,373 in 2020. As a result, net of this TIF increment, the net total taxable assessed valuation upon which the Town’s mill levy is calculated has decreased by 2.6%. The overall decrease in net assessed valuations was primarily due to significant reduction in oil and gas activity.
Pursuant to Colorado State Statues and the Town Municipal Code, the 2020 Operating Mill Levy (collected in 2021) will be 7.288 mills, unchanged from the prior year levy.
Erie voters approved an additional mill levy for trails and natural areas beginning in 2005. The purpose of this mill levy is the construction, acquisition and maintenance of trails and natural areas. The Trails and Natural Areas Levy shall be certified to each county as 4.000 mills for 2020, unchanged from the prior year.
In addition, Erie voters approved an additional mill levy in 2006 for debt service on the general obligation bonds issued for construction of the Erie Community Center. The ballot issue allows the mill levy to be increased in any year without limitation to pay for premium (if any), principal and interest on the existing debt or any refunding debt thereafter. The original mill levy for the Erie Community Center Construction Bond, which was certified in 2007, was 7.320 mills. This mill levy shall be certified to each county as 2.479 mills for 2020 (to be collected in 2021). This is an increase of 0.054 mills compared to the prior year and a decrease of 4.841 mills since the original levy. The mill levy is calculated from dividing the annual required debt service by the net total taxable assessed valuation. As a result, the increase is necessary to meet the 2021 annual debt service due to the decrease in the net total taxable assessed valuation.
The annual increases/decreases in net total taxable assessed valuation have caused temporary reductions and increases in prior years, none of which caused the mill levy to exceed the original levy of 7.320 mills.
In 2014, Erie voters approved an additional mill levy for debt service on the general obligation bonds issued to fund construction of a new public safety facility. The ballot issue allows the mill levy to be increased in any year without limitation to pay for premium (if any), principal and interest on the existing debt or any refunding debt thereafter. The original mill levy for the Public Safety Building Bond, which was certified in 2015, was 0.878 mills. This mill levy shall be certified to each county as 0.420 mills for 2020 (to be collected in 2021). This is an increase of 0.011 mills compared to the prior year and a decrease of 0.458 mills since the original levy). As indicated above, the increase is necessary to meet the 2021 annual debt service due to the decrease in the net total taxable assessed valuation. The annual increases/decreases in net total taxable assessed valuation have caused temporary reductions and increases in prior years, none of which caused the mill levy to exceed the original levy of 0.878 mills.
The total mill levy for General Obligation Bond Debt Service for the community center bonds and the public safety facility bonds for 2020 will be 2.899 mills compared to 2.834 mills in the prior year.
The total mill levy certified to each county is 14.187 for 2020 (to be collected in 2021). This represents an increase of 0.065 mills from the levy in the prior year due to the increases in the mill levy for General Obligation Bond Debt service as indicated above.
Board Priority(s) Addressed:
ü Attractive Community Amenities
ü Engaged and Diverse Community
ü Prosperous Economy
ü Well-Maintained Transportation Infrastructure
ü Small Town Feel
ü Safe and Healthy Community
ü Effective Governance
ü Environmentally Sustainable
ü Fiscally Responsible
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution 20-204