To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
From: David L. Corliss, Town Manager
Trish Muller, CPA, Finance Director
Title
Ordinance Levying General Property Taxes for the Year 2019, for 2020 Collection, for the Town of Castle Rock, Colorado (Second Reading - Approved on First Reading on September 17, 2019 by a vote of 7-0)
Body
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The Ordinance was approved on first reading on September 17, 2019 with a vote of 7 to 0 with changes as follows:
Changes to the ordinance have been made for the second reading and include the incorporation of the final assessed valuation information received from the Douglas County Assessor’s Office dated November 21, 2019. Changes since first reading in the final valuation result in a change in the mill levy from 1.187 to 1.196 mills.
Executive Summary
Attachment A is the Ordinance establishing the Mill Levy of the Town of Castle Rock collection in 2020. In August, the County Assessor preliminarily certifies the Total Value of all Personal and Real Property in the Town. This value is used to calculate the mill levy rate that was presented in the proposed budget. In November, the County Assessor issued a final certification of the Total Value of Real and Personal Property. Based on the 2019 assessed valuation, the Town mill levy is reduced to 1.196 mills, however 2020 property tax collections remain the same. This mill levy is slightly higher than the mills requested in first reading and have been adjusted based on changes in the final certification.
Discussion
Property taxes are placed solely in the Town’s General Fund which supports core Town services including Police and Fire. As shown below, the total taxable assessed value for the Town of Castle Rock has increased approximately $167 million dollars, or 17.32 percent, from the previous year’s certified total. This results in a mill levy rate of 1.196, a decrease of 0.134 mills from the prior year, and total property tax revenue of approximately $1.35 million for the Town.
Per Colorado revised statutes 29-1-301 (1) (a), all statutory tax levies for collection in 1989 and thereafter when applied to the total valuation for assessment of the state, each of the counties, cities, and towns not chartered as home rule shall be so reduced as to prohibit the levying of a greater amount of revenue than was levied in the prior year plus five and one-half percent. Castle Rock Municipal Code also states that the Town shall levy no more than the amount of revenue that was levied in the preceding year plus five and one-half percent. Annual growth in excess of the five and one-half percent limitation results in a corresponding mill levy reduction in that year in order to align with the revenue growth limitation. The table below shows history of the mill levy rate since 2004.
Financial Impact
As the final assessed valuation is received and certified by December, the resulting property tax revenue will be reflected in 2020. Approximately $1.35 million in property tax revenue will be collected in 2020 based on a 1.196 mill levy.
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommend that Town Council approve this Ordinance as written.
Proposed Motion
“I move to approve the ordinance as introduced by title, on second reading.”
Attachments
Attachment A: Ordinance