Orchard Gate

I'd like to see some discussion of the pros and cons related to the possible formation of the new city of Centennial. Unfortunately, I can't make the Arapahoe High meeting (scheduled, sadly, the same time as a nearby back-to-school night) and so would welcome some discussion here.

By Howard Rothman

I only see pros

If Greenwood Village should be allowed to get its way with annexation the Arap-ahoe County Sheriff''s Office gets cut in half. The only way to save the ACSO is to incorporate and contract to the sheriff to provide our policing needs. All districts we belong to: library, school, fire, park & rec., water would remain the same and we would still pay the mill levies paid currently for those services. The 1.5 percent sales tax should be sufficient to pay for the necessities of government.
Does anyone see cons?

By Andrea Suhaka

more questions

Thanks for your reply, Andrea. Having not been able to attend the recent meeting at AHS, and having received all of the info I have on this through the skimpy coverage in the newspapers, I did not understand the potential impa#t on the Sheriff's Dept that could be felt by all people living in unincorporated ArapCo.

Still, I can't help but wonder what the tax implications will be for those in the proposed area? Does anyone know how it will compare to, say, adding an additional mill levy on county residents to compensate for the Sheriff dept. budget cuts you say will result from these annexations?

And what is the timetable for incorporation?

Just curious.

By Howard Rothman

Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office

The Sheriff's Office gets it budget from a mill levy in the property taxes paid by the residents and business owners of the unincorporated county. Once commercial property is annexed that property no longer generates tax money for the unincorporated part of the county. Therefore, when Greenwood Village takes commercial property out of the county the Sheriff's Offices loses. Obviously pay more in taxes than do residential properties. If we become a city our current mill levy to pay for the Sheriff would continue to do so as we would contract for law enforcement from the Sheriff. TABOR limits how much our taxes can be raised at any one time so we could not make up the shortfall immediately by increasing our taxes. So we lose, and lose big. To protect the ACSO the only thing we can do is incorporate then all remains the same.

By Andrea Suhaka