Niwot Revenue Bonds for Streets and Roads

Issue 306 authorizes up to $15 million in debt, with a maximum repayment cost of up to $28 million, to repair, reconstruct, improve and maintain streets, roads, bridges, drainage, sidewalks and related transportation infrastructure inside the proposed City of Niwot. It takes the form of revenue bonds or other financial obligations payable from sales and use tax revenues. The municipality's governing body decides when to issue them, at what price and on what terms consistent with the question. The proceeds and their investment earnings count as a voter-approved revenue change under Article X, Section 20 of the state constitution, the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights.

The petition for incorporation submits this question to the voters of the proposed municipality. If Question 300 fails, the Boulder County District Court enters no order of incorporation and no municipality is created, according to the Niwot Election Commission. The ballot pledges those revenues only "if such taxes are approved by separate ballot measure," and the Commission's summary names that measure: the 2.5% sales and use tax, county Issue 302. Piper Sandler, which published a bond FAQ as a prospective underwriter, says the bonds carry no pledge of property tax or marijuana tax revenues.

The incorporation committee's projected budget, version 1.8 of September 21, 2026, describes the bond program as repair and reconstruction of the inherited road network in a single coordinated program. It assumes the city borrows the full amount over about 20 years, nets about $16 million after the premium investors pay above face value, and spends $15.725 million of it in 2029 as a one-time outlay on deferred road repairs. It models repayments of about $1.23 million a year after a partial first year of about $820,000, calls 2029 a planning assumption and leaves the timing to a future elected council. Piper Sandler reports rates of about 4.75% to 5.75% on bonds issued for a similar municipality after the Federal Reserve's September 16 rate hike; the final rate depends on the city's credit rating and market conditions at sale.

The committee's budget pays for road maintenance each year from recurring revenue. It models crack sealing and patching on about 20% of the roads each year and chip or slurry seal on about 15%, at a cost that includes a set-aside for future road projects: about $1.25 million in 2029 and about $1.73 million by 2040.

Piper Sandler says bonds let the city fund road projects as soon as possible instead of waiting more than a decade to accumulate the cash, while the roads degrade and grow costlier to fix. It cites the committee's estimate that the project cost will more than double, to $33 million, by 2040. If the city cannot pay, investors have a claim only on the pledged sales and use tax, and the city cannot raise that tax rate without voter approval, Piper Sandler says.