Mill Levy - Assessed Value or Equal Payments

Q. In the event of debt financing through a bond issue to finance roads, how would the interest payments be apportioned? Currently all property owners pay equally to the HOA to finance the roads. If the county uses the current assessment process, I assume a property owner with a home assessed at $1 million would pay 20 times more than a property owner with an assessed at $50,000 to pay interest costs.

A. Vacant land is appraised at approximately 6 times the rate of a house in the State of Colorado. So, the 20 times figure would not be accurate. There are a couple of methods for a Metro District to assign costs to property/homeowners via Ouray County Treasurer.

The most common Mill Levy method is based upon assessed value of vacant property and a property with a house on it. This is what I believe you are referring to. 

Another method, which the County Treasurer has previously used, is an equal pay per lot. This means all property owners, with or without a house, all pay equal amounts.

As recently as 2 months ago, a 20-year road bond final payment was completed, using this method. It was a road improvement bond to pave Loghill Village roads.

The methodology of the Mill Levy assessment would be the decision of the proposed Metro District members, if and when a bond for Roads, Park and Rec, or Sanitation were being proposed.