After all the controversy and wrangling for years over the Stormwater Enterprise, it looks like the end may be in sight. Or is it? There is another chapter to this whole story and in this chapter, the city of Colorado Springs could drag El Paso County into the debate.

If you have not paid your Stormwater Enterprise invoices, the outstanding balance is considered delinquent by the city. Estimates from the city are that just 5% of all Stormwater charges are delinquent and they are going after those dollars.

The city could go through their own collection process or seek to certify these delinquencies to the County Treasurer to be placed on your property tax statements citing Colorado Revised Statute 31-20-105 which states that a municipality may certify delinquent charges, assessments or taxes to the property tax statement for collection. The question is, is an enterprise a municipality? Based on much research and discussion, I believe the answer is no.

Such a process would compel the county, on behalf of an enterprise, to use its power to collect these ‘fees’. Your non-payment could result in liens through county power that the city has previously not had available.

Imagine for example, that you receive a property tax statement for $1,000 of which $100 are Stormwater delinquencies. You have made the choice not to pay this ‘fee’ and so you remit to the Treasurer’s Office, $900. The Treasurer will return your check because, by statute, she cannot accept a partial payment of your property tax statement. Now you are delinquent on the entire bill.

Now imagine that you have an escrowed account on your property. This means that you do not pay your property tax bill directly, but your mortgage company does so. Your mortgage company will pay the entire bill and you will no longer have the ability to say no to a ‘fee’, which has now been placed on your property tax bill and was never voted on by the people.

Imagine one more time, that the city is allowed to do this because they believe that an enterprise may use the power of the property tax collection process to collect its fees. What is to stop any other enterprise from using the same coercive power? What is to prevent delinquent golf fees from ending up on your property tax statement? How about delinquent hospital charges, airport parking fees? You see, according to the interpretation of the statute seriously considered by the city to force the collection of Stormwater delinquencies, the use of the county’s property tax collection powers could be forever vulnerable to this decision if the city chooses to certify these fees.

The Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) has no authority in this decision to certify these fees to the property tax statements. That power lies in the hands of the elected County Treasurer. The BoCC has made it clear to the Treasurer that we do not believe this is an appropriate use of the property tax collection process and I am one Commissioner who has asked the Treasurer to say NO to the city, should they seek certification. The power and resources of El Paso County must be used judiciously and should not ever be used in any way to collect what is called a fee by an enterprise.

There is constant talk about city/county collaboration, much of which I agree. This however, is a very complex legal issue which stands to set a very dangerous precedent. There are only 5 percent of all Stormwater invoices delinquent. Why then would the city even consider going to such lengths to collect them? Standing between your property tax statement and a flurry of future fees must be staunch opposition to this and any future request.

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Email Lathen at AmyLathen@elpasoco.com