This measure would serve to replace the current Local Improvement District (LID) that owns, operates and maintains the wastewater treatment plant with a Public Improvement District (PID) that would continue to provide the wastewater treatment and sewer systems.
The LID was created in 2003 to build and expand the Eldorado Springs Wastewater Treatment Facility, which replaced 130 septic systems that were “a water quality and public health hazard to Boulder Creek,” according to a county memo.
The debt from the LID will be paid off in December 2025, and LIDs expire once loan repayment is complete.
How much would taxes or fees go up?
There are not any anticipated changes to fees or operations as a result of the transition.
The facility will continue to be funded by customer fees; taxes will not go up.
However, the PID could seek taxing authority in 2025 or later to fund capital improvements and bring the facility “into the future.”
Assistant County Attorney Olivia Lucas said in a commissioners meeting that the goal is to have a consultant understand what improvements are needed before proposing a mill levy.
Taylor Ladenburg, the county’s Eldorado Springs Local Improvement District liaison, said that funding options outside of a tax or mill levy are also being explored.
Other things to consider:
- While imposing a new tax requires voter approval, rate increases do not. A 40% rate increase was approved in September. That was the first rate increase in nine years. Prior to that, the LID had smaller increases every two years.
- The rate setting method based on number of bathrooms in a home will remain the same and there will continue to be a resident advisory committee
- Organizers and county staff say the transition to a PID is necessary to ensure wastewater and sewerage services continue running smoothly.
What is a public improvement district?
Per the county: “A PID is a type of special district that can be formed to finance, construct and maintain public improvements or provide a public service. With voter approval, a PID can issue debt and impose a property tax mill levy on real and personal property within the district. PIDS can be formed to provide any type of public improvement or service that a county has statutory authority to provide. All revenues generated by the PID must be used only for the intended purpose of the PID.”
Who will be voting on it?
These are the same boundaries as the Eldorado Springs LID. That includes about 138 homes and other occupied buildings. Eldorado Springs Canyon west of the state park gate, the Valle Del Rio subdivision east of the canyon, and any properties east of 3450 and 3461 Eldorado Springs Drive are not included.
Ballots will be mailed to those who live and are registered to vote within the district. For a map of the proposed district, visit bit.ly/EldoSpringsPIDMapBW