Northland advisor outlines revenue options for Wellington: DDAs, sales tax, home‑rule and lease financing among tools

Troy Bermberg, managing director at Northland Securities, told the Wellington Board of Trustees that the town has a range of revenue and financing tools it can consider as it plans for growth.

Bermberg — who said he has 23 years of public‑finance experience and works with municipalities and development authorities — framed his recommendations around Wellington’s liquidity and fund balance strength, then outlined options including property tax adjustments, sales tax increases, downtown development authorities (DDAs) and urban renewal authorities (URAs), general improvement districts (GIDs), lease‑purchase financing and the longer, multistep process of adopting home‑rule.

Key points he presented: - Fund balance and liquidity are strengths for Wellington, which makes one‑time capital spending viable but cautions against sustained support of enterprise funds with general fund revenues. He urged conserving reserves for one‑time capital rather than ongoing operations. - Property tax is a steady but politically sensitive source of revenue; ballot language and voter communication are essential. Sales tax is also a familiar vehicle and generally hits discretionary spending rather than fixed household costs. - DDAs and tax‑increment financing create a funding stream tied to new development in a defined downtown boundary; they are not a new tax but capture growth above a base value to reinvest locally. Bermberg said DDAs can raise mill levies up to 5 mills but most use tax increment rather than a new mill levy. - URAs and GIDs offer other ways to capture growth or fund infrastructure but have additional study and boundary requirements (for example, blight findings for URAs) and higher formation costs. - Lease‑purchase financing can be an efficient way to fund capital projects (fire trucks, public works facilities) without naming a specific revenue pledge; payments are from legally available funds and are commonly used by Colorado municipalities. - Home rule gives municipalities greater local control (for example, more direct access to some sales and lodging revenue), but Bermberg stressed this is a multi‑year effort (two or more elections in Colorado) and requires sustained public outreach and trust building.

Bermberg provided illustrative numbers — for example he used an assumed $132,000,000 in gross retail sales to show the revenue yield from various sales tax rate increases and noted the town’s median comparative sales tax rate among peers. He also warned that ballot language must set a clear dollar ask because underestimating collections can force a jurisdiction to go back to voters.

Trustee and public questions focused on practical impacts: whether higher sales tax would push shoppers across the state line; which taxing entities capture most of a property tax bill (schools typically levy the largest share); how DDAs distribute benefits; and the time and cost to form URAs and GIDs. Bermberg and trustees discussed recent state legislation affecting commercial assessment rates (he referenced changes from recent state bills) and how reassessments affect local tax bills.

What trustees said and next steps: town leadership framed the presentation as information gathering. Town Administrator Patty Garcia said the board had asked staff to present additional revenue options and no immediate action or decision was expected. Several trustees said they prefer a multi‑pronged, carefully timed approach that includes public education and town halls before any ballot measures, and recommended relying on DCI (Downtown Colorado, Inc.) resources and consultants to develop specific proposals.

Ending: Bermberg offered follow‑up support and the trustee majority asked staff to use the presentation as a starting point for further study and public engagement rather than to pursue any immediate tax changes.