SIRIA service-plan amendments and impact-fee IGA aim to smooth bond financing for regional projects

Michael Kerrigan and SIRIA representatives presented coordinated requests to amend 13 member-district service plans to clarify and fix ARI (Aurora Regional Improvement) mill-levy amounts that previously varied by long-term tiering and created uncertainty for bond financing.

Kerrigan said the SIRIA (South Aurora Regional Improvement Authority) establishment agreement originally identified 10 regional improvement projects; five are complete and five remain. He said the current tiered ARI mill-levy structure (1 mill for first 20 years, 5 mills for the next 20 years, then a tier-three mill based on the prior 10-year average) creates uncertainty and complicates revenue projections for bond markets. The proposed amendments fix the tier-three mill for affected districts to a known amount today, with differing fixed amounts by grouping:

- Affected residential districts with existing high debt would have a fixed tier-three ARI mill levy of 30 mills (affecting Forest Trace Metro District Nos. 1 and 3, Inspiration Metro District and Pronghorn Valley Metro District). - Districts currently with mill levies under 3 mills would fix tier three at their current mill levy (Soil Ranch Metro District and Whispering Pines Metro District). - Districts with no residents and no debt would increase tier-one ARI from 1 to 5 mills and fix tier-three at 3 mills (Kings Point South Metro District Nos. 1–3, Overlook at Kings Point South Metro District and Prairie Point Metro District Nos. 1–3).

Kerrigan said those 13 districts will pursue service-plan amendments; public hearings and council readings are scheduled with an anticipated first reading on March 10 and second reading March 24 if the committee and council approve. He said SIRIA plans a bond-market refunding this spring to refinance 2018 bonds and raise new capital to complete Gartrell Road (approximately $10.5 million) and a large portion of the Aurora Parkway bridge (approximately $12 million). Any additional proceeds could be applied to Gun Club Road; staff estimated SIRIA may raise “almost $2,000,000” toward Gun Club in this issuance depending on market conditions.

Kerrigan also presented an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) under which the city would transfer transportation capital impact fees collected from properties inside the 22 SIRIA member districts to SIRIA within 60 days of collection. He said estimated impact-fee revenue available to SIRIA is approximately $3,260,000 over the next seven years based on current build-out assumptions and the 2025 impact-fee schedule. He stressed the IGA is not a multi‑fiscal-year obligation of the city and would require annual appropriations.

Council members pressed staff on sequencing and transparency: why project IGAs were not packaged with the service-plan amendments, how SIRIA will prioritize which projects are funded if bond proceeds are limited, and what happens to impact fees collected from properties outside SIRIA. SIRIA counsel Tom George said SIRIA’s board has already approved an ARI master plan that prioritizes Gartrell Road and Aurora Parkway bridge work ahead of Gun Club; the current bond issuance will aim first to refund 2018 debt and fund the first two projects completely, with remaining proceeds (market-dependent) applied to Gun Club. George described the bonds as limited-obligation debt of SIRIA, not city debt, and said the bonding risk is borne by bond buyers and the pledged ARI revenues; the city’s IGA would pledge impact-fee receipts to SIRIA and those receipts could be used as additional pledge for bond repayment.