Castle Pines fight to dissolve Colorado special district gets pricey
A battle between Castle Pines and a special district over the city's quest to integrate the district into the city is getting expensive and ugly.
More than $500,000 has been spent by Castle Pines and the Castle Pines North Metropolitan District since early 2010, when the city started legal dissolution proceedings.
Much of that has gone to lawyers, consultants and others hired by either side.
The city says that by integrating the metro district into the city, it will be able to provide services at a cheaper rate and save taxpayers money.
But the metro district doesn't trust the city and thinks Castle Pines isn't working with them to come up with the best solution.
So, now the issue is playing out in
court.
The metro district provides services that include water, wastewater, storm draining, and parks and open space to about 3,200 customers.
The district was formed in 1984 and has provided services for Castle Pines residents since then.
After residents voted in 2007 to incorporate as a city, leaders envisioned consolidating the district into the city, but keeping related taxes to provide services or to fund other improvements.
The metro district recently received an extension until February to come up with a dissolution plan. Should the judge approve it, the issue will be decided by voters.
City officials say integrating the metro district into the city would save about $500,000 annually. About half the savings would be in salaries paid to the metro district's manager and finance director.
There would be other savings from consolidation.
Metro district residents now pay high fees and property taxes just for district services — 41 mills, more than half of which covers debt service.
"We want to cut taxes and fees, but we can't do that until we integrate services," City Councilwoman Kim Hoffman said. "It streamlines the process, for no other reason than to make it easier for people to work with us having one entity."
Dwight Kemp, a Castle Pines North Metro District board member, said some of the animosity stems from the timing of the dissolution by the city.
Both sides had been discussing how to proceed, he said, when the council suddenly moved to eliminate the metro district altogether.
"We felt like the city aborted all of our efforts to integrate and do what's best for the community," Kemp said. "The city said, 'You have to go away.' "
While most of the council favors dissolution, Mayor Jeff Huff is against it, saying he wanted more time to study the issue.
Huff also says the money spent by both sides fighting this has gotten out of hand and that it's only going to get worse.
"I expected it would create a protracted legal action, and there would be no assurance of what the outcome would be," Huff said.
Metro district resident Donald Reese agrees that the legal battle is already too costly. But he said, "I don't see how the city can function with an arm out there that doesn't have as much transparency than you would think."
More than $500,000 has been spent by Castle Pines and the Castle Pines North Metropolitan District since early 2010, when the city started legal dissolution proceedings.
Much of that has gone to lawyers, consultants and others hired by either side.
The city says that by integrating the metro district into the city, it will be able to provide services at a cheaper rate and save taxpayers money.
But the metro district doesn't trust the city and thinks Castle Pines isn't working with them to come up with the best solution.
So, now the issue is playing out in
(Click for larger map)
The metro district provides services that include water, wastewater, storm draining, and parks and open space to about 3,200 customers.
The district was formed in 1984 and has provided services for Castle Pines residents since then.
After residents voted in 2007 to incorporate as a city, leaders envisioned consolidating the district into the city, but keeping related taxes to provide services or to fund other improvements.
The metro district recently received an extension until February to come up with a dissolution plan. Should the judge approve it, the issue will be decided by voters.
City officials say integrating the metro district into the city would save about $500,000 annually. About half the savings would be in salaries paid to the metro district's manager and finance director.
There would be other savings from consolidation.
Metro district residents now pay high fees and property taxes just for district services — 41 mills, more than half of which covers debt service.
"We want to cut taxes and fees, but we can't do that until we integrate services," City Councilwoman Kim Hoffman said. "It streamlines the process, for no other reason than to make it easier for people to work with us having one entity."
Dwight Kemp, a Castle Pines North Metro District board member, said some of the animosity stems from the timing of the dissolution by the city.
Both sides had been discussing how to proceed, he said, when the council suddenly moved to eliminate the metro district altogether.
"We felt like the city aborted all of our efforts to integrate and do what's best for the community," Kemp said. "The city said, 'You have to go away.' "
While most of the council favors dissolution, Mayor Jeff Huff is against it, saying he wanted more time to study the issue.
Huff also says the money spent by both sides fighting this has gotten out of hand and that it's only going to get worse.
"I expected it would create a protracted legal action, and there would be no assurance of what the outcome would be," Huff said.
Metro district resident Donald Reese agrees that the legal battle is already too costly. But he said, "I don't see how the city can function with an arm out there that doesn't have as much transparency than you would think."
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