Turnberry residents question board about potential tax raises
Around 30 Turnberry metro district residents packed into the Bison Ridge Recreation Center on Tuesday evening, questioning the resident-led board about the slew of conflicting information about property taxes.
“You already threw away $3.5 million,” one resident jested.
“That’s factually incorrect,” Board Director Adam Marston replied.
An anonymous letter had been sent to nearly 330 homes within the BNC2 Metropolitan District No. 2, claiming that property owners would have to repay approximately $3.5 million, or around $10,606 per property, following a lawsuit between the district and UMB Bank in its capacity as trustee.
Owners were irate, worried that a hefty tax increase was heading their way.
“You guys, as the council, need to do a better job to be transparent up front,” resident Reid Gibson said, underlining the murky information around what exactly residents were going to have to pay.
The number of residents who attended the meeting had been abnormally higher, all influenced by the anonymous letter.
“We’ve been begging these people to come to these meetings for three to four years,” Board Directory Heather Person said, adding now they were showing up — bringing arguments.
While the lawsuit did occur and BNC2 did lose, the board said the litigation fees were already built into the 2026 budget.
According to the board, residents will only see a court-ordered additional 10-mills that will be levied on taxpayers beginning in 2026. Those additional mills will continue until the nearly $135,000 is paid off.
“The 2026 10-mill levy will generate $134,400 in additional revenue (includes specific ownership tax revenue net of county treasurer fees) to fund the repayment of these amounts,” the board wrote in its 2026 budget.
On average, that would lead to around a 5% increase in property taxes per year.
Ultimately, the meeting cooled down, with residents adding that the board should have sent out a letter to combat the one making the rounds through the neighborhood.
Who sent the anonymous letter remained a mystery.