Aurora Metro Taxing Districts and SARIA

Sent to CO Attorney General's Office

Dear Mr. Riester: I sent you an email on 4/10/2024. I would like to receive a reply from you that you have received this information and read it. Taxpayers need your help and that of AG Weiser. Metro Districts need to be reformed now. I am living in a home we purchased in 2014. To be clear, we moved from a home in Aurora to a home in Aurora and used a realtor. It was never disclosed by our realtor that we were in a Metro taxing district or about the taxing structure. There is also SARIA which resides under the City of Aurora. It takes MILS from communities such as Blackstone, directs them back to the City who then uses that money to build roads and new communities outside of our Metro district. It only benefits home builders and the city. In addition, our Metro district attorney (Waldron) sits on the board of SARIA which I believe to be a conflict of interest. I am not totally sure, but believe he was on the board with the builders at the time of opting in. The builder, Lennar, opted Blackstone into SARIA in 2017. We were never informed of this information neither verbally or in writing. Neither did the City of Aurora ever disclose this information to us. It's called failure to disclose, is illegal and may require legal action. This community started construction in 2004, entered into SARIA in 2017 at which time it paid a small 1 MIL plus levy which I believe was offset by use tax returned to Blackstone. We are now in year 20 of buildout and the levy has ballooned to 6.245. I discovered this when our taxes surged by 31% this year. I looked at the district budget and was shocked. There is also an inflation factor that can/will be applied for another 20 years on those 6 mills used to build out roadways and new neighborhoods, not benefitting Blackstone. Interestingly, on the budget there was a shift from the general ops budget down, so SARIA MLS could be increased. We already pay 3.75% to the City, 10% on our house. My house payment went of 31% or $221/month. Most of this is being directed to SARIA. We feel like this is a very bitter pill to swallow. We are not moving. This is a lifestyle choice. I would appreciate a meeting with you, Rep. Hamrick and AG Weiser. This reform needs to take place now as it's going to mushroom out of control with no benefit to the taxpayers, only builders and attorneys. There is now one year ahead of us and we need to take action now. Who is looking out for the taxpayers of our State? I appreciate your time and look forward to hearing from you. Best, Kathy Ryan Morgan 720 391-9220