Taxed and voiceless: How a debt trap turned Meadows Metro District residents into an ATM for bondholders
By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice
Imagine paying a $200 tax each month for a community infrastructure project that was completed decades ago. To add insult to injury, consider being told that you’ll continue doing so for 100 years.
That’s the reality for approximately 20,000 property owners who reside in Meadows Metro District (MMD), Castle Rock's largest neighborhood in Douglas County.
The MMD ‘limited tax’ general obligation bonds were issued in 1989 to finance infrastructure, including roads and sewer systems. The project’s initial price tag was $57 million. But residents have paid approximately $400 million, with a remaining debt of $600 million due to a negative amortization structure.
How did a ‘limited tax’ bond turn into a debt that...
