A look at property taxes supporting South Suburban

Increases, costs examined

BY NINA JOSS NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

On May 2, South Suburban Parks and Recreation district residents will elect two board members to the district’s ve-member board of directors.

As part of its responsibilities in governing the district, the board sets the annual budget, which includes setting mill levies.

South Suburban, which formed in 1959, is a regional provider of parks and recreation services.

irty-nine percent of the district’s funding comes from property taxes, communications manager Becky Grubb wrote in an email to Colorado Community Media.

Property taxes are used to fund capital projects, administration costs, operations and maintenance for parks, trails and open spaces and to subsidize non-fee-based programming, Grubb wrote.

How much do you pay South Suburban?

South Suburban residents currently pay about $8.43 in tax to the district per $1,000 of assessed property value, according to the district’s 2023 budget. is number has increased by a few cents over recent years, with taxpayers paying about $8.37 in 2020, $8.39 in 2021 and $8.40 in 2022.

In November 2019, voters approved Ballot Issue 7A, which authorized the district to adjust its mill levy rate up or down beginning in 2021 and annually thereafter without voter approval.

Visit ese adjustments can be made to help o set revenue losses resulting from state-mandated property tax assessment rate reductions, as previously reported by CCM.

Colorado’s residential property tax assessment rate fell to 6.95% from 7.15% in 2021 for property other than muti-family residential property, according to the Colorado General Assembly’s website. e Gallagher Amendment adjusts resi- dential property tax rates downward over time. e district’s mill levies are set through a process that begins in July each year and includes three to six public study sessions, as well as three public hearings at the district’s board meetings, Grubb wrote.

Grubb wrote that the higher mill levies do not mean the district is increasing its revenue – instead, the adjusted rates are to prevent a reduction in revenue from previous years. She said recent mill levy increases have been due to the increase in abatements from the counties.

Financial transparency

At an April 12 forum, candidate Elizabeth Watson said nancial transparency would be one of her main goals if elected.

“I am asking for your vote so that I can be transparent with our information, which includes putting nancial information on the back page of the catalogs,” she said. “ ere is absolutely no reason that South Suburban in-district people should be guessing at how much they paid in taxes. ey should absolutely know.” opportunity for our kids is over the top,” Turrell said. “It’s fantastic for us and it’s going to be fantastic for our kids and our sta alike.”

Recent annual tax rate information can be found at https:// go.boarddocs.com/co/ssprd/Board. nsf/vpublic?open and some older tax rate information is available at https://www.ssprd.org/ReportsAudits-Budgets.

Candidate John Priddy also mentioned nancial transparency in his Q&A for CCM.

“Without a doubt, there are improvements we can make to engage a broader electorate about the elections, taxes and the business of the SSPRD district,” Priddy wrote.

In their Q&As, other candidates, including Michael Edwards, Alexis Barrere and Pam Eller mentioned reponsible tax dollar investment and being good stewards of taxpayers’ money.

All ballots for the board of directors election must be cast by 7 p.m. on May 2, either through mail, a drop-o box or in-person.

Matthews, who has worked with the Arapahoe County Sheri ’s O ce for 13 years, spoke of the value Otis will bring to the schools.

“Being out in Byers and Deer Trail, they don’t have all the amenities some schools in town have, and I thought it was a great opportunity to have a dog out there for the kids,” he said.

“Just having the dog, it’s amazing how it just opens up kids. ey don’t really think they’re talking to a cop,” he added.

In addition to keeping students safe, he said a school resource o cer should be engaged in the school and connecting with students.

“I am there for the community and the school to serve them, and so is Otis,” Matthews said.

While Otis is the rst school therapy dog for Byers and Deer Trail, Bear is Cherry Creek Schools’ second therapy dog.

Jason Koenig, the chief information o cer for Cherry Creek Schools, said the school district appreciates the partnership with Arapahoe County Sheri ’s O ce.

“To watch the dogs go into schools — whether it’s sta or students that are struggling — it is amazing to see when they walk in, everything calms down,” Koenig said. “ ey really just help the sta and students.”

Gray wanted to become a K-9 handler because she got to see rsthand the impact it had on the community and schools. Her husband, Arapahoe County Sheri Deputy John Gray, is the K-9 handler for Rex, the agency’s rst-ever therapy dog.

“I knew I had to do it,” she said, highlighting the value of the program. “Not only will the dogs do therapy but eventually, down the road, they’ll be trained in some sort of scent work to provide safety and security to our schools as well.”

Gray, who has worked at the agency for 16 years, is the rst woman to be a K-9 handler in the history of the Arapahoe County Sheri ’s O ce, which she said is exciting and provides a good in uence for younger generations. e agency’s therapy dog program originated from deputies who wanted to expand their roles and how they provide service to students, Brown said.

“I just look forward to working with the community and in a positive way,” she said.

“ e world that we live in makes it di cult sometimes for them (students) to go to school. And then, having police o cers there brings up di erent anxieties,” Brown said. “And ways that we can bridge that gap are through therapy dogs.” e impact the therapy dogs have is immediate and long-lasting, he said.

“I think the biggest thing that our therapy dog program does is they’re trained therapy dogs that deal with mental health issues,” he added. “ ey lower anxiety inside the school building and around having law enforcement o cers present in a school.” e agency’s overall school resource o cer program is designed so that the o cers become members of their speci c school community, Brown said.

“And it really comes down to trust,” he said. “Trust is what makes communities thrive, and that’s what our goal is — is to make sure that we’ve instilled trust in the community.

“ at our deputies are there to deal with everything, whether it’s just a bad day of a student waking up and not wanting to go to school, to making sure that that school building is safe to conduct educational operations everyday.”

He wants the community to know that the sheri ’s o ce is not only an enforcement arm.

“We provide so much more to our community, whether it be mental health services with our co-responders, whether it be mental health with our therapy dogs, and whether it’s just somebody that you need to talk to,” Brown said.

“We’re here as a community resource, not just an enforcement of laws.”

Thu 5/04

Sat 5/06

Smithtonian Handbells @ 12am

May 6th - May 5th

Heather Gardens Clubhouse, 2888 S. Heather Gardens Way, Aurora

Fame on Fire: 107.9 KBPI

BIRTHDAY BASH

@ 3:30pm

Fiddlers Green Amphitheater, 6501 S Fiddlers Green Cir, Green‐wood Village

Rockies @ 6:10pm

Heather Gardens Clubhouse, 2888 S. Heather Gardens Way, Aurora

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo With Ginuwine - Frankie J & Baby Bash @ 8pm / $55-$2500

Stampede, 2430 South Havana, Aurora

Fri 5/05

ARTS: Mini Picasso @ Southwest @ 3pm

May 5th - May 26th

Southwest Recreation Center, 9200 W. Saratoga Pl., Denver. 720-913-0654

Holy Hammers Hustle for Habitat @ 8am / $25

8830 Apache Plume Drive, Parker

Improv FUNdamentals: 6 Week Class @ 9am / $195

PACE Center Drive, Parker. parkerplayer simprov@gmail.com, 970-222-2762

The Spirit of the Dragon: An Aerial Production Inspired by Raya and the Last Dragon @ 1:30pm / Free-$25

May 6th - May 7th

Lakewood Cultural Center, 470 South Alli‐son Parkway, Lakewood. iluminaraerial@ theapollocenter.com, 720-479-8438

Scott Fowler Music: Scott Fowler @ 2 Penguins Tap & Grill @ 5pm 2 Penguins Tap and Grill, 13065 E Briarwood Ave, Centennial

Sun 5/07

DJ Rockstar Aaron: Forbidden Bingo Wednesdays - 'Bout Time Pub & Grub @ 7pm Bout Time Pub & Grub, 3580 S Platte River Dr A, Sheridan

Thu 5/11

Teague Starbuck @ 5pm Modern Brew - Kitchen, Coffee, Bar, 8221 S Holly St, Centennial

The King Stan Band in Paradise

@ 6pm Paradise Tavern, 9239 Park Mead‐ows Dr, Lone Tree

Korey Foss: Rock Candy @ Fraco's @ 5pm

The Toad Tavern, 5302 S Federal Circle, Littleton

Sugar Britches at Grist Brewing! @ 5pm

Grist Brewing Company, 8155 Piney River Ave, Littleton

6 Million Dollar Band @ 6pm Pindustry, 7939 E Arapahoe Rd, Centen‐ nial

Taylor Rave @ 8pm Gothic Theatre, 3263 S Broadway, Englewood

Contragolpe @ 8pm Stampede, 2430 S Havana St, Aurora

The Highlands Ranch Concert Band presents: Natural Wonders Across America @ 2pm

Littleton High School, 199 East Lit‐tleton Boulevard, Littleton. media @hrconcertband.org, 303-8703662

Damn Yankees @ 5pm

Heather Gardens Clubhouse, 2888 S. Heather Gardens Way, Aurora

Cobra Man @ 7pm

Gothic Theatre, 3263 S Broadway, Engle‐wood

Mon 5/08

Crestone Peak Ages 13-14 - 2023

League Session #2 @ 3:30pm / $300

May 8th - Jun 24th

Elevation Volleyball Club, 12987 E Adam Aircraft Drive, Englewood. 720-524-4136

Modern Swing Mondays @ 5pm / $10

Stampede, 2430 South Havana, Aurora

Wed 5/10

Ladies Night @ 5pm / $10

Stampede, 2430 South Havana, Aurora bloodywood @ 6:30pm

Gothic Theatre, 3263 S Broadway, Engle‐wood

Etana @ 6pm Levitt Pavilion Denver, 1380 W Florida Ave, Denver

Steve Azar: Mockingbird Hitmakers Series @ 6pm Wide Open Saloon, 5607 US-85, Sedalia

Old Man Crunchy LIVE @ The Alley (Littleton) @ 6pm The Alley, 2420 W Main St, Littleton

The Douglas County School District recently settled a yearlong battle with former superintendent Corey Wise. e district agreed to pay more than $800,000 to settle the legal dispute Wise led shortly after being red without cause in early 2022.