The Reunion Metropolitan District held a town hall earlier this month to present a proposal to settle its nearly four-year lawsuit with North Range Metropolitan Districts 1, 2 and 3. The town hall was scheduled after RMD sent a letter in September to all Reunion residents outlining a plan to refinance the districts' debt and settle the lawsuit.
Watch the full town hall by clicking here.
RMD Board President Randy Bauer and Board member Jeff Powles attended the meeting, along with Bill Kyriagis, an attorney who represents RMD, and Laci Knowles of D.A. Davidson, who presented the refinancing plan. The meeting opened with an overview of metro districts from Kristi Pollard, executive director of the Metro District Education Coalition. Pollard explained how metro districts use tax-exempt bonds to pay for public infrastructure such as streets, water lines and parks in new communities, with homeowners repaying that debt through property taxes over time.
The districts were formed in the early 2000s to finance infrastructure, including roads, water, sewer and parks, in the 3,100-acre Reunion community. RMD financed and now owns and maintains that infrastructure, while the North Range districts collect property taxes to pay for it. RMD sued in 2022 after North Range Metro Districts 1 and 2 adopted budgets that cut off funding to pay RMD's debt and operating expenses.
Under the proposed plan, the four districts would form a new finance authority, with representation from each, and refinance about $126 million in the districts’ combined debt into a single bond. About $16.9 million in reserve funds would go toward the debt, lowering it to about $109 million. District management would also be consolidated, and the lawsuit would be dropped.
RMD representatives noted that combined administrative and legal costs to taxpayers have grown from under $500,000 a year before the dispute to about $2.5 million in 2026, mostly because of the lawsuit and separate district management.
While presenting the refinance proposal, Knowles said the plan would lower the debt portion of residents' tax rate from about 71 mills to 39.9 and cut the average Reunion homeowner's property taxes by about $1,378 a year. If refinancing closes in 2027, property tax savings would start in 2028.
RMD's attorney noted the plan is purely a refinancing, and no new debt would be issued that North Range taxpayers would have to repay. In addition, as part of the refinancing, the lawsuit between RMD and the North Range districts would be settled, providing additional taxpayer savings.
Several residents spoke during the question-and-answer period. The most common concerns were:
Several speakers objected that a 30-year refinancing would push payoff to around 2060, including for homeowners in older parts of the community whose debt is closer to being paid off. Residents also asked for a comparison of the total interest cost over the life of the new bonds compared with the current debt. Presenters said a shorter term was possible, with higher annual taxes, and offered to provide interest figures later.
Residents noted that no homeowners sit on the RMD board and said they have no vote over the taxes that pay RMD's debt. RMD's attorney said the original service plan set up the board that way, but that a future transition could be discussed as part of a settlement.
Speakers asked how residents can be sure tax money goes to infrastructure rather than to the developer, and questioned possible conflicts of interest between RMD board members and the development company. RMD representatives said construction costs are reviewed by an independent engineer and that district records are public.
Residents asked about promised facilities that were never built, such as a planned sports and entertainment area, and to uneven upkeep of parks and landscaping.
Since the town hall was informational, there was no vote or action taken on the proposal. The plan requires agreement among all four districts in order to move forward. The North Range districts have not formally responded to the proposal, though several of their board members criticized it at the meeting. Without a settlement, the case is expected to go to trial in the coming months.
Watch the full town hall by clicking here. RMD litigation updates are available here.