Glossary of Terms
PROPERTY TAX
Taxes paid annually based on the assessed value of your property. Multiple jurisdictions may tax the same property including school district, fire district, library district, metropolitan district and other governmental entities.
MILL RATE
Mill Rate (mill levy): Mill rate is a tax rate—the amount of tax payable per thousand dollars of the assessed value of a property. Property tax is based on the property's assessed value. Weld County assesses property values at least every two years.
The Town of Mead's mill levy is 11.52, and the average total mill levy for a non-metro district property in Mead is 104.74 total mills. The school district, fire district, library district, and other overlapping governmental entities each have mill levies that make up the rest of the total mill levy rate.
SALES & USE TAX
Sales tax is paid for the sales of certain goods and services. Sales tax is paid by both residents and non-residents. Example: John buys a hammer in Mead, he pays sales tax on that hammer to the Town.
Use tax is similar to sales tax, but it is taxed where the purchased items are used (not bought) and only when sales tax was not already collected. Example: John, a contractor, buys lumber in Texas for the purpose of building houses in Mead. He does not pay sales tax, instead John has to pay a use tax in Mead.
IMPACT FEE
A one-time fee imposed by the Town of Mead on new or proposed development projects to pay for all or a portion of the costs of providing public services to the new development. These fees are implemented to help reduce the economic burden on Mead when dealing with area growth.
MUNICIPAL BONDS
Municipal bonds are loans that investors make to local governments. Bonds are issued by cities, counties, or other local governments and investors buy them. The issuer must repay the buyers overtime for the price they paid plus interest. The proceeds from the sale of municipal bonds are usually used to pay for large, expensive, and long-lived capital projects, such as roads, bridges, water treatment facilities, and other public buildings. The Town of Mead currently has no outstanding municipal bonds.
LODGING TAX
A tax (either percentage or flat fee) charged on the cost of staying in lodging facilities such as hotels, motels, and vacation rentals.
METRO DISTRICT
Metropolitan Districts, also known as metro districts are a limited form of government that are managed privately, with their own Board. Metro Districts have the right to tax residents to fund public infrastructure...think streets and sewer lines. Metro districts are similar to a school or fire district and are established, typically by developers, to finance the infrastructure needed to support a new subdivision or development. A metropolitan district has various limited financial powers including the power to tax and/or assess fees for the services it provides. This cost is then passed on to homeowners on their annual property tax bill. If these public infrastructure costs were included in the price of each home, many residents would be priced out of the market. Instead, metro districts spread these costs out over time, and the residents of the metro district repay the incurred development costs through long-term property tax payments. Metro districts are separate from the local Town government and the taxes generated do not come to the Town.
RESERVES
A fund that acts similarly to a savings account. Towns keeps money in reserves to access in case of emergencies.
DEDICATED FUNDS
Money that can ONLY be used for a specific purpose.
PAVEMENT CONDITION INDEX (PCI)
A method to rate the quality of roads on a scale of 1-100
COMMUNITY POLICING
A philosophy where police officers become a part of the community so that they are familiar with the local residents and issues and can proactively address factors that contribute to public safety.
