On May 6, Coloradans across the state can play a very important role in their community by casting a vote in their special district elections. From water districts to hospital districts to library districts and metro districts, the people seeking these board seats will be vital players in developing our neighborhoods across the state. As the fiduciary agents for these districts, the decisions these men and women will make will have a very practical and long-lasting effect on the communities that each of us live in.

I’m proud of the individuals who step up to serve on these boards and applaud their desire to do what is best for their neighbors. I’m also pleased to have worked with a group of men and women who serve on a local metro district board to help create greater transparency and access to materials for residents in metro districts across the state. Through House Bill 25-1219, my colleagues and I have built on several important transparency measures passed in previous legislative sessions. For example, House Bill 25-1219 requires metro districts are mandated to have websites must include an explanation of what a metropolitan district is, an explanation of the metro district’s services, debt and public infrastructure, and an explanation of how a resident can serve on the metro district board. Metro districts must also provide a way for residents to contact the district should any questions or concerns need addressing, including after-hours emergencies like a water-line break.

Metro districts will now be required to post when and where the annual town hall meeting will be held on their website or through a link on the homepage, and they must mail or email the notification of that meeting. Additionally, if the meeting is in-person and in the year following a special-district election, the district must provide a hard copy of the call for nomination. This measure ensures a few things: Residents will get to know their metro district board members and better understand the district’s finances and operations. Equally important, residents will be reminded elections for these districts are important and residents can self-nominate themselves to run for board seats in the next election.

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House Bill 25-1219 also takes real estate disclosures a step further by requiring: home sellers to provide access to the annually required notice to electors and the metropolitan district’s service plan; information on the authority the metro district has to issue debt, levy property taxes and impose fees, rates, tolls, penalties, or other charges; an estimate of property taxes levied by the metropolitan district for collection during the year the sale occurs; and a copy of the most current certificate of taxes due or tax statement to provide an estimate of the sum of additional mill levies levied by other taxing entities that overlap the property. In writing, the seller must also provide a statement indicating the metro district can take certain actions that may increase costs to residents living in the metropolitan district, and the total property tax estimate in dollars.

Finally, HB25-1219 requires cities and counties set a number of years for which the metro district can assess a mill levy for debt imposition. This is an important protection for residents so they know in addition to mill levy caps and total debt limits on the metro district, there is also a date certain that property taxes paying off the bonds that finance the roads, sewers and parks will end. This measure is currently a best practice utilized by most cities and counties, but it is now also mandated by state law.

Transparency and accountability in government are important. Equally as important is ease of understanding and access to resources. And I’m pleased to have played an important role alongside my colleagues in the House and Senate to ensure residents, young and old alike, technologically capable and technologically challenged, will all have a better understanding of the role their metro district is playing in their backyard and more easily able to access materials to ultimately help them be better informed residents.

So, get out there and vote in your special-district election. Your voice is critical and will ensure good people sit on these boards.

Jacque Phillips represents District 31 in the Colorado House of Representatives.