Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Local Tax Districts topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Tuscan Foothills residents seek refinancing to eliminate $70 monthly fee; council to consider service‑plan amendment
Summary
Residents of Tuscan Foothills Village Metropolitan District asked the council to approve a service‑plan amendment that would increase certain mill levies and a debt cap so the district can refinance debt and reduce a $70 monthly household fee.
Allison Stocker, senior planner with the City of Colorado Springs land‑use review division, told council on June 9 that the Tuscan Foothills Village Metropolitan District is requesting a limited service‑plan amendment to raise the operations and maintenance mill levy from 10 to 20 mills, the debt service mill levy from 30 to 35 mills and the district’s maximum authorized debt from $1.1 million to $2.0 million.
“All of the increases are within the confines of the model service plan,” Stocker said, noting the city’s model allows an O&M maximum of 20 mills and a debt‑service maximum of 50 mills.
Jack Panamasevi, the district manager, said the district is 100% resident controlled, covers about 30 acres and includes roughly 100 housing units. He said the district imposed a $70 monthly household fee in 2023 because the existing mill levies did not generate enough revenue to cover infrastructure maintenance and other services.
“We are trying to bring that mill levy down,” Panamasevi said, describing a refinance that would reduce interest rates and allow the district to shift some of the $70 fee into the mill levy. He said an immediate projection based on a May 20 model would lower the fee to about $40 per household and that, over time as the tax base grows, the fee could be eliminated.
Panamasevi said the district plans a 2025 refunding loan of about $1.389 million and that the district’s last issuance in 2019 was just under the $1.1 million cap. He asked council to approve the amendment and the refinancing so the district can reduce residents’ monthly bills.
Council members asked for clarification about why the fee existed and whether the proposal would be used for special amenities. Panamasevi and Stocker said the fee paid routine costs such as stormwater maintenance, trash and snow‑removal and that the refinancing is intended to reduce the additional household fee rather than to fund a new recreation center.
Stocker told council the item is scheduled for a decision vote on June 24 and that materials in the packet include the clean and redline model service plan and a preliminary financial plan. Councilmember Donaldson said he supports the request after meeting with district representatives.
