General Information About the District
Dancing Willows Metropolitan District (District), a quasi-municipal corporation and political subdivision of the State of Colorado, was organized on January 06, 2005 and is governed pursuant to provisions of the Colorado Special District Act (Title 32). The District operates under a service plan approved by Jefferson County (County) in January 2005. The District's service area is located within Littleton, Colorado in the northwest section of W Bowles Avenue and S Simms Street. The District is comprised entirely of residential property consisting of (1) 96 condo units, (2) 57 patio homes and (3) 143 townhomes. The District was established to provide financing for the design, acquisition, construction and installation of public Improvements within the District boundaries that benefit the taxpayers and inhabitants of the District. The District also maintains and operates roads and recreational facilities within the District.
Currently, the District provides the following services to its residents: (1) operation of the recreational facilities comprised of the clubhouse and swimming pool, (2) maintenance of landscaping and monument signs at the Bowles Ave entrance, (3) maintenance of the streets and alleyways - including snow plowing and street lighting, (4) maintenance of the stormwater underdrain system and (5) maintenance of the landscaping in the S Union Ct island.
XXXX was the first time in the history of the District where the majority of the District's board was comprised of homeowners rather than the land developer.
DISTRICT REVENUE SOURCES
Property Taxes: Each year, the District assesses property taxes on the homeowners living within the District. Property tax assessments are the District's primary source of revenue and currently comprises approximately 91% of the District's total annual revenue. Restrictions exist on how much property tax revenue the District can collect to fund (1) its annual operations and (2) its annual debt service.
Tax Revenue for Operations: In November 2005, the land developer established a $500,000/year maximum limit on property tax revenue that the District can collect from property owners to fund the operations of the District. If the District desires to raise the annual revenue limit, it must first obtain voter approval from the voters within the District.
Tax Revenue for Debt Service: For its annual debt service requirements (i.e. the principal and interest payments due on its debt), the District has no limitations regarding the mill levy rate it can set each year to generate property tax revenue to fund its debt service. That said, the annual payments due on the District's bond debt is fixed through the December 2046 payoff date - which requires a fixed amount of tax revenue to fund such payments.
State Tax Subsidies: Each year, the District receives a "specific ownership tax" subsidy from the State of Colorado. The State funds this subsidy from its collection of annual vehicle registration fee taxes paid by owners of Colorado-registered vehicles. The subsidy is paid out in the form of a matching contribution to the District and is calculated as a percentage of the total property taxes assessed by the District. The State establishes the rate each year for matching contributions. A historic trend of the matching rates set by the State is provided in Exhibit 1.
Interest Income: State laws restrict the types of funds in which the District may invest its cash. For the past several years, the District's investment income has been an insignificant source of revenue to the District. Because the State of Colorado District only allows the District to invest excess cash in investments that pose no risk to loss of principal, the District earns a relatively low rate of return on its excess cash balances.
District Contractors
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