A Letter From Our Village Neighbors

Castle Pines Preservation Association
312 Quito Pl Castle Rock, Co. 80108

September 30, 2008

Dear Fellow Residents:

It has come to our attention recently that the City of Castle Pines North is inappropriately charging residents of Castle Pines Village sales tax. As part of their incorporation Castle Pines North (CPN) passed a 2 ¾% sales tax that is applicable to purchases from the shops on Castle Pines Parkway and to purchases delivered to the residents of Castle Pines North. We recently discovered that CPN is inappropriately charging the tax for goods and services delivered to resident’s homes in Castle Pines Village.

Somehow CPN has included the addresses of the Village in their taxing jurisdiction. We have verified that the tax is appearing on bills from Verizon and other utilities for residents in various parts of the Village. This is apparent as the utilities tend to itemize the various sales taxes. Most retailers simply provide a single sales tax amount and it is the sum of state, county and city (if applicable) sales tax. This inappropriate tax rate may be appearing in the data bases used by retailers (not just the retailers at Castle Pines Parkway) for items delivered to your home such as carpet, draperies, and appliances or automobiles.

The City of Castle Pines North, Verizon and The Colorado Department of Revenue have all been made aware of the mistake and indicate they are taking steps to correct it. In the mean time you need to check the amount of sales tax on all your bills. Residents of Castle Pines Village should be charged 4% (3% state, 1% county) on all good and services delivered to their homes. Although you can apply for a refund it’s better to avoid paying the incorrect tax at the time of purchase as the refund process is burdensome.

We have requested the documents from CPN that directed the Department of Revenue to begin collecting this tax so that we can determine how this mistake was made, how long it has been going on and how widely it is occurring. Thus far CPN is not aware of what they filed and blames the department of Revenue for the mistake. It seems as though CPN has already achieved a high level of bureaucracy in less than a year of existence.


Bill Kingery, President
Castle Pines Preservation Association, Inc.
kingery2669@msn.com

City of Castle Pines North Ballot Issue 2D

SHALL THE CITY OF CASTLE PINES NORTH, WITHOUT INCREASING AD VALOREM PROPERTY TAXES AUTHORIZED BY BALLOT QUESTION 2E APPROVED IN 2007 BY THE ELECTORS OF THE CITY OF CASTLE PINES NORTH, BE AUTHORIZED TO INSTITUTE A NEW AD VALOREM PROPERTY TAX, ON ALL PROPERTY TAXABLE BY LAW, RESULTING IN AN INCREASE TO THE CITY OF CASTLE PINES NORTH OF@2,786,780 ANNUALLY (ESTIMATED FIRST FISCAL YEAR DOLLAR INCREASE), BEGINNING THE FIRST FISCAL YEAR OF 2009, AND BY WHATEVER ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS ARE PRODUCED EACH YEAR THEREAFTER, WITH SUCH REVENUES TO BE GENERATED FROM A PROPERTY TAX NOT TO EXCEED A RATE OF 19 MILLS, PROVIDED THAT THE CITY MAY IMPOSE SUCH TAX ONLY IN THE EVENT THAT THE CASTLE PINES NORTH METROPOLITAN DISTRICT REDUCES OR ELIMINATES ITS CURRENT MILL LEVY, THEN THE CITY MAY IMPOSE A MILL LEVY EQUAL TO THE AMOUNT OF REDUCTION OF ANY AND ALL GENERAL MUNICIPAL PURPOSES, PROVIDED HOWEVER, THAT THE CITY MAY NEVER CHARGE ON ITS RESIDENTS A NON-UNIFORM TAX, AND THE CITY WILL NOT LEVY MORE THAN A TOTAL OF 19 MILLS, AND SHALL SUCH INCREASED TAXES CONSIST OF PROPERTY TAXES IMPOSED BY THE CITY THROUGH ORDINANCES ADOPTED FROM TIME TO TIME, SUCH ORDINANCES SUBJECT ONLY TO THE LIMITATIONS CONTAINED I N THE COLORADO AND U.S. CONSTITUTIONS; AND SHALL THE PROCEEDS OF SUCH TAXES AND ANY INVESTMENT INCOME THEREON BE COLLECTED, RETAINED AND SPENT BY THE CITY IN THE FISCAL YEAR 2009 AND IN EACH FISCAL YEAR THEREAFTER AS A VOTER-APPROVED REVENUE CHANGE WITHOUT REGARD TO ANY SPENDING, REVENUE-RAISING, OR OTHER LIMITATION CONTAINED WITHIN ARTICLE X, SECTION 20 OF THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION, THE LIMITS IMPOSED ON INCREASES IN PROPERTY TAXATION BY SECTION 29-1-301, C.R.S. IN ANY YEAR, OR ANY OTHER LAW WHICH PURPORTS TO LIMIT THE CITY’S REVENUES OR EXPENDITURES AS IT CURRENTLY EXISTS OR AS IT MAY BE AMENDED IN THE FUTURE, ALL WITHOUT LIMITING IN ANY YEAR THE AMOUNT OF OTHER REVENUES THAT MAY BE COLLECTED, RETAINED AND SPENT BY THE CITY?

City of Castle Pines North Ballot Issue 2E

SHALL THE CITY OF CASTLE PINES NORTH BE AUTHORIZED TO COLLECT, RETAIN, AND SPEND THE FULL AMOUNT OF ALL AD VALOREM PROPERTY TAXES, ALL OTHER TAXES, TAX INCREMENT REVENUES, INVESTMENT INCOME, TAP FEES, PARK FEES, FACILITY FEES, SERVICES CHARGES, INSPECTION CHARGES, ADMINISTRATIVE CHARGES, GRANTS OR ANY OTHER FEE, RATE, TOLL, PENALTY, OR CHARGE AUTHORIZED BY LAW OR CONTRACT TO BE IMPOSED, COLLECTED OR RECEIVED BY THE CITY DURING 2009 AND EACH FISCAL YEAR THEREAFTER, SUCH AMOUNTS TO CONSTITUTE A VOTER-APPROVED REVENUE CHANGE AND BE COLLECTED, RETAINED, AND SPENT BY THE CITY WITHOUT REGARD TO ANY SPENDING, REVENUE-RAISING OR OTHER LIMITATION CONTAINED WITHIN ARTICLE X, SECTION 20 OF THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION, THE LIMITS IMPOSED ON INCREASES IN PROPERTY TAXATION BY SECTION 29-1-301, C.R.S. IN ANY YEAR, OR ANY OTHER LAW WHICH PURPORTS TO LIMIT THE CITY’S REVENUES OR EXPENDITURES AS IT CURRENTLY EXISTS OR AS IT MAY BE AMENDED IN THE FUTURE, AND WITHOUT LIMITING IN ANY YEAR THE AMOUNT OF OTHER REVENUES THAT MAY BE COLLECTED, RETAINED AND SPENT BY THE CITY?