The LuLac Edition #4, 701, March 6th, 2020

 

THE LONELY LOBBYIST 

 When you think of a lobbyist, you think of a person who has tons of lavish gifts, subtle or otherwise to bestow on politicians. The hope is that by doing so, the politicos will see things the way a lobby wants them to go. In Pennsylvania, Governor Tom Wolf changed the lobbying system when he took office in 2015. But in other states money talks. The last person to expect to be a lobbyist was my friend Jim Gibson of Denver Colorado by way of Kingston, Pennsylvania

Gibson took up a cause of home owners in developments who could have called for the resignation of their local neighborhood boards if they had ties to developers in their community or what is designated as a metro district.

While developers had a lot of money in their coffers to lobby, (which was successful) Gibson had fifty bucks. But through his efforts there  is now information on the radar about this unfair representation. Residents are being informed through e mail and other social media channels. LuLac heard about it through this missive with the message::

This Better Know Your Metro Districts (BKYMD) email is an update on the progress of metro district reform in Colorado, distributed to hundreds of elected officials, members of the media and activists.  Reform focuses on ensuring residents have taxation with representation and eliminating wasteful, abusive practices by developer-controlled districts.

Here’s more from The Denver Gazette.

 

DENVER METRO DISTRICT REFORM BILL DIES IN COLORADO SENATE COMMITTEE AFTER OPPOSITION FROM DEVELOPERS

David Migoya, The Denver Gazette Mar 2, 2022 Updated Mar 3, 2022

Denver metro district residents in Colorado would have been able to instantly toss from their local neighborhood board any member with ties to the developers building their community under a state Senate bill discussed Tuesday.

But heavy opposition from developers and metro district proponents scuttled Senate Bill 22-136, which died in that chamber's Local Government Committee. The panel killed the measure after hearing from several residents who testified of abuses they’ve experienced through the years.

Developers, bankers, finance experts and lawyers that work or control metro districts testified how any changes to current law would affect future home building in a state thirsty for it. Metro districts are largely how new housing is built in Colorado.

The good news is that an ever-growing number of state legislators and local elected officials understand that metro districts, as currently practiced, must end.  Some highlights from the article above drove that home (emphasis added):

“Wolfersberger showed senators several examples where interest rates returns on construction bonds issued by developer-controlled metro district boards - all to be paid by the residents who will eventually move there - are as high as 40 percent. In some cases, the developer is the owner and beneficiary of the bonds.”

 “In Jefferson County, metro district resident Fayre Ruszczyk told legislators, ‘Of the 27 metro districts with the highest mills (property tax levy), 20 are controlled by developers.’ ”“Developers frequently qualify someone to be on a metro district board by giving an option to purchase a sliver of land - without actually buying it - to a family member, friend or associate. In some cases, metro districts are formed by as few as two people.”

 “Jim Gibson, a critic of developer-controlled boards, said one developer controlled 146 metro district board seats by the people it placed there, and one person held seats on 73 metro district boards. ‘The last time that I checked, each of you only held one elected seat,’ Gibson said to the senators.”

 Taxation without representation will not last.  A well-known quote - “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”  Thanks to resident reformers and their supporters - stay tuned and keep up the fight!