(1) Special taxing districts may be
established pursuant to the provisions of this section.
(2) (a) The governing body of a home rule county may by resolution propose
the formation of such district which resolution shall designate the proposed
boundaries thereof, specify the proposed service or services, and set forth the
methods of financing proposed for such district.
(b) The governing body shall present the proposal at a public hearing to be
held within sixty days after introduction of such resolution, with notice thereof to be
published not less than fifteen days before the date set for hearing.
(c) At such hearing any registered elector of the county may be heard on the
proposal, including questions of inclusion in or exclusion from the district, and all
such objections shall be determined by the governing body on the basis of the
public interest, taking into consideration the needs of the people and the
availability of the service to the territory which is the subject of any such objection.
(d) The governing body may continue the hearing as necessary and may,
after the conclusion thereof, enact the proposed resolution, with or without
amendments, or may reject the proposed resolution.
(e) Decisions of the governing body concerning the formation of a special
taxing district are not subject to review unless action is instituted by a registered
elector to review such proceedings within forty-five days after passage of the
resolution. Any such review shall extend only to the question of whether the
governing body exceeded its jurisdiction or abused its discretion. If the court so
finds, it shall remand the matter to the governing body for further proceedings,
consistent with such findings.
(3) (a) A petition, signed by at least eight percent of the registered electors
in the proposed district, shall be sufficient to require the governing body of a home
rule county to pass a resolution creating the proposed special taxing district.
(b) At the top of each page of the petition must be printed, in plain red
letters no smaller than the impression of ten-point, bold-faced type, the following:
WARNING:
IT IS AGAINST THE LAW:
For anyone to sign this petition with any name other than his own, or to knowingly
sign his name more than once for the same measure, or to sign such petition when
not a registered elector.
DO NOT SIGN THIS PETITION UNLESS
YOU ARE A REGISTERED ELECTOR
TO BE A REGISTERED ELECTOR, YOU MUST BE:
1. At least eighteen years of age.
2. A citizen of the United States.
3. A resident of the state of Colorado for at least twenty-two days.
4. A resident of the precinct in which you live.
5. Registered to vote in the county.
Do not sign this petition unless you have read or had read to you the proposal in its
entirety and understand its meaning.
(c) The petition shall only be signed by registered electors of the proposed
district with their own signatures, after which shall be written their residence
addresses, including street and number, if any, city or town, and the date of signing.
(d) To each petition there shall be attached an affidavit of the person who
circulated the petition, which shall state the person's address, that he or she is a
resident of the state, a citizen of the United States, and at least eighteen years of
age, that each signature thereon was affixed in his or her presence, that each
signature thereon is the signature of the person whose name it purports to be, that
to the best of his or her knowledge and belief each of the persons signing the
petition was at the time of signing a registered elector of the proposed district, and
that he or she has not or will not in the future pay any money or thing of value to
any signer for the purpose of inducing the signer to affix his or her signature to the
petition.
(e) The petition shall contain all the information required by subsection (2)(a)
of this section.
(f) The petition shall be on pages eight and one-half inches wide by fourteen
inches long with a margin of two inches at the top for binding. The signature sheets
shall have ruled lines and be numbered consecutively.
(4) No restraining order or temporary injunction pending final judgment of
the district court and enjoining the formation of, the inclusion or exclusion of
territory in, or the operation of the special taxing district may be issued. Any final
judgment which has the effect of enjoining the formation of, the inclusion or
exclusion of territory in, or the operation of a special taxing district shall
automatically be stayed upon the filing of any appeal of such decision, and no
application for supersedeas shall be necessary. Such stay shall continue in full
force and effect pending final disposition of the proceedings.
(5) Changes in the boundaries or major changes in the basic or essential
nature of services or financing of a special taxing district may be initiated by
resolution of the governing body or by petition signed by five percent of the
registered electors of the district, and such proposals shall be considered in the
same manner as provided in this section for proposals for the original formation of a
district.
(6) Upon adoption of a resolution forming a district, the governing body of
the home rule county shall function as the governing board of such district.