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In response to a number of questions that have arisen about the Subdivision Paving Local Improvement District (LID) that we approved at a public meeting on Nov. 21, we would like to clarify a few points of concern and misinformation, and explain how we came to take this action for the rehabilitation of unincorporated subdivision roads.

One of the concerns we’ve heard is that a lien has been placed on properties in the new improvement district and how that lien will affect future sale of properties in the LID.

The process of collecting assessments is well-established by state law and has been in place for decades. As with all special assessments, state law requires that a lien be placed on the property for the full amount of assessment, which can be removed at any time upon the full payment of the assessment. Property owners can opt to pay the assessment in annual installments as itemized on their property tax bill mailed out by the County Treasurer in mid-January, or pay it off in full at any time over the duration of the LID.

We understand and appreciate that with any new assessment there is a period of adjustment while homeowners and the real estate community account for the creation of the new improvement district. Since 1995, seven other local improvement districts have been established in Boulder County, and the issue of working out the payment or transfer of the lien at closing has always been an item of negotiation between the buyer, seller and mortgage company.

We’ve been asked repeatedly how we got to this place. The fact is: Boulder County does not receive sufficient revenue to pay for the rehabilitation of unincorporated subdivision roads. While Boulder County has accepted these roads for “maintenance,” which includes basic services such as snow removal, pothole patching and crack filling, this routine annual maintenance does not include significant capital repair projects such as reconstruction or repaving of roads.

On average, each household — city or unincorporated county — pays only about $100 per year from all sources towards the upkeep of all county roads, which means we must set priorities. Our priorities are to focus available transportation funds on roads that serve the most people and connect communities.

It has also been a longstanding county policy that those who benefit from improvements should help pay for those improvements. The principal reason these subdivision roads were built was to provide access to subdivision residents. Therefore it is only fair that those who benefit from the improvements should help pay for them, similar to the way city and town residents pay for the repair and reconstruction of their municipal subdivision roads. In recognition that some of the unincorporated subdivision roads are used by the general public to access places of worship, schools, trails and open space, or connections between other county roads, the county is paying 20 percent of the total rehabilitation costs.

We have been working for the past several years with subdivision residents and property owners to identify and evaluate ways for property owners to pay their share of the cost to reconstruct the 150 miles of paved roads in the 118 unincorporated subdivisions in a timely, cost-effective, affordable, efficient and fair manner. Based on the guidance from these groups, as well as what we heard from the public, we placed creation of a Public Improvement District, with bonding, on the ballot as our preferred option, since it would provide the greatest benefit at the least cost, with the understanding that should it not be supported, we would move forward with creation of a local improvement district.

This approach was communicated to all property owners in several direct mailings to their homes and in a series of public meetings and hearings over the course of the past nine months. We explained in our outreach that we would move forward with two options to fund road rehabilitation work to begin in 2014: 1) a Public Improvement District, which requires voter approval, or 2) a Local Improvement District, should the PID not be approved by voters. The PID failed to pass in the Nov. 5 election, and, consistent with our commitment, we proceeded with the LID to pay for the rehabilitation of subdivision roads.

We know there are members of the community who disagree with these policies, but we are also hearing from residents who agree that we need to move forward in fixing deteriorating roads in their neighborhoods and who are familiar with and accept the creation of a local improvement district as a viable and effective means to fund necessary public improvements.

Cindy Domenico, Deb Gardner and Elise Jones are the Boulder County Board of Commissioners.