Highlands Ranch – One of the country’s largest unincorporated communities moved a giant step closer to a single government board – much like a city council – in a landmark meeting Tuesday night.
The community’s four independent metro district boards agreed to ask the courts to allow a vote in the Douglas County subdivision in May or November of next year. If voters approve consolidation, residents then would elect one board with seven members to run the entire 22,000-acre subdivision.
Moreover, growth experts have said consolidated leadership would put Highlands Ranch on par with some of the state’s largest cities, making it capable of cutting bigger deals and demanding more attention from lawmakers and metro decision-makers.
“I think it’s going to be a challenging task to explain to the public what this consolidation really means,” said District 1 chairman Gary Herbella.
Some residents worry that they will lose representation in their neighborhoods and see a rise in taxes, particularly if the board pushes for incorporation.
“I prefer small government as close to home as I can get it,” Highlands Ranch resident Tommy Shaw said before Tuesday night’s decision. “I don’t think a few thousand dollars is enough motivation to inspire this kind of change, so I feel like I don’t understand the motivation to do this.”
Consolidating the boards would save about $60,000 a year in staff work and directors’ salaries and insurance.
District 2 chairman Gil Butler suggested the board consider reducing property taxes so that residents would see the benefit of the savings. District 4 chairman Ryan Stuart quickly endorsed the idea, saying it would allay concerns about tax increases and potential incorporation.
“It sends a message that we’re not going to raise taxes, but, in fact, you’re going to get a tax cut,” Stuart said.
Some see this new form of government as a step toward Highlands Ranch becoming a city, usually the last step before communities petition to draft a city charter, levy their own taxes and provide police and fire protection.
With nearly 81,000 residents, Highlands Ranch would instantly become booming Douglas County’s largest city – about twice the size of both Castle Rock, the county seat, and Parker. It would become Colorado’s 13th-largest city, just behind Greeley and just ahead of Longmont, according to 2004 census estimates.
In an unrelated issue, board members gave a hot dismissal to a proposal that would cut the salaries of the subdivision’s top four managers.
District 2 board member Kevin Skruch has argued for almost a year that general manager Terry Nolan, finance director Bruce Lebsack, engineering director Jeff Case and parks director Tom Hoby earn too much.
Nolan earns $138,736 annually; Lebsack, $125,840; Case, $124,862; and Hoby, $106,870. This year, the four also received bonuses, pension contributions and car allowances ranging in total from $13,485 for Hoby to $17,301 for Nolan.
Skruch said raises in the past few years have been too generous, outpacing the consumer price index. He wanted to reduce their compensation by a total of $70,000 a year.
Other board members accused him of “fraud,” as Butler put it, saying he skewed numbers and made unfair comparisons.
“I’m embarrassed that District 2 constituents have been so mislead by one of its directors,” he said.
Skruch said he would not resign.
Staff writer Joey Bunch can be reached at 303-820-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com.
