Two buyers tour Monument on the same Saturday. Both look at $750,000 homes. Similar size, similar finish, four miles apart.
One of those homes carries a metro district mill levy of zero. The other carries 69.261 mills.
Same price. Same town. A difference of roughly $3,200 a year, about $267 a month, that has nothing to do with the house and never appears in a listing photo.
This is the least-explained and most expensive thing about buying in Monument. Here is how it actually works.
What a metro district is, and why Monument has so many
A metropolitan district is a unit of local government, not a homeowners association. Developers form them to borrow money for the infrastructure that makes a subdivision possible — water lines, sewer, roads, drainage, parks — and the district repays that debt through a property tax mill levy on the homes inside it.
The key consequences for you as a buyer:
- It is a tax, collected on your county property tax bill, not an HOA invoice. Most buyers never break it out of their escrow.
- It is on top of any HOA dues, not instead of them.
- The levy is largely a function of how much debt the district is still carrying. Newer communities that borrowed heavily and are early in repayment carry the highest levies.
Monument has grown roughly 33% in five years. That growth was financed, and the financing shows up here.
The actual numbers
These are the Tax Year 2025 mill levies (billed in 2026) from the El Paso County Treasurer.
Metro districts:
| District | Mills |
|---|---|
| Triview Metropolitan District (base) | 20.500 |
| Triview Metro District #2 | 8.500 |
| Triview Metro District #3 (Home Place Ranch) | 69.261 |
| Triview Metro District #4 | 6.500 |
| Monument Junction Metro District #1 | 64.443 |
| Monument Junction Metro District #2 | 54.311 |
Water and sanitation districts — note the zeros:
| Entity | Mills |
|---|---|
| Woodmoor Water & Sanitation District | 0 |
| Monument Sanitation District | 0 |
| Donala Water & Sanitation — Area A | 21.296 |
| Donala Water & Sanitation — Area B | 10.648 |
Everything else you pay regardless:
| Entity | Mills |
|---|---|
| El Paso County | 6.857 |
| Pikes Peak Library District | 2.938 |
| Lewis-Palmer School District 38 | 36.000 |
| Academy School District 20 | 45.459 |
| Town of Monument | 5.560 |
| Town of Palmer Lake | 21.000 |
| Tri-Lakes Monument Fire Protection District | 18.400 |
How to turn mills into dollars
Colorado's assessment math changed and most online explanations are out of date. Under HB24B-1001, for tax years 2024 through 2027 the state applies two different residential assessment rates:
- 7.05% for school district levies
- 6.8% for local government levies, after reducing actual value by 10%, capped at the first $700,000
These rates are set by state statute and apply in El Paso County exactly as they do in Douglas County. A metro district is a local government levy, so the 6.8% rate applies.
Worked example, a $750,000 Monument home:
Local government assessed value = ($750,000 − $70,000) × 6.8% = $46,240
| Where the home sits | Metro district cost |
|---|---|
| Woodmoor (no metro district) | $0/year |
| Triview base | ~$948/year ($79/mo) |
| Monument Junction #2 | ~$2,511/year ($209/mo) |
| Monument Junction #1 | ~$2,980/year ($248/mo) |
| Triview #3 (Home Place Ranch) | ~$3,203/year ($267/mo) |
On a $1,000,000 home, the Triview #3 figure rises to roughly $4,380 a year, about $365 a month.
Now the essential caveat, because this number is easy to misread. Those figures are the metro district line item only. They are not your total property tax bill. Every Monument homeowner also pays El Paso County, the school district, the fire district, the library district, and the town. The metro district is simply the piece that varies most dramatically between one neighborhood and the next — which is exactly why it deserves your attention before you write an offer.
The school district is a second, separate swing
Most people treat school district as a schools question. In Monument it is also a tax question.
School assessed value on a $750,000 home = $750,000 × 7.05% = $52,875
- Lewis-Palmer D38 at 36.000 mills: about $1,903/year
- Academy D20 at 45.459 mills: about $2,404/year
That is roughly $500 a year more in D20, rising to about $667 on a $1,000,000 home. Gleneagle is in D20. Most of Monument and Palmer Lake are in D38. Verify by parcel address — the boundary does not follow subdivision names cleanly.
Which Monument neighborhoods carry what
No metro district: Woodmoor is the headline. Woodmoor Water & Sanitation levies zero mills, and the Woodmoor Improvement Association charges $308 per year in HOA dues. For that, residents get 125 acres of common space, Lake Woodmoor, and Woodmoor Public Safety, a 24/7 patrol that logged 61,000 miles and more than 11,000 vacation checks in 2025. It is, on paper, the best value proposition in the Tri-Lakes.
Triview base (20.5 mills): Jackson Creek, Sanctuary Pointe, Promontory Pointe and the established east-of-I-25 subdivisions. Triview's 20.5 mills break down as 13.5 for historical debt, 4.5 for Higby Road bonds, and 2.5 for operations and maintenance. In exchange the district handles water, wastewater, stormwater, road maintenance and plowing, parks, and open space.
The high-levy new communities: Home Place Ranch sits in Triview #3 at 69.261 mills. Monument Junction carries 64.443 and 54.311 mills across its two districts. Both are genuinely appealing communities with real amenities — someone had to pay to build them. But if you are comparing a new build there against a Woodmoor resale at the same price, the monthly numbers are not comparable until you add this in.
One El Paso County quirk sellers should know
El Paso County reappraises in odd-numbered years, and values hold flat in even years absent a change to the property. The 2025–2026 valuation used a sales data window of January 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024.
That is an 18-month window ending more than a year before the tax year. If your assessed value looks disconnected from what your neighbor's house just sold for, this lag is usually why.
Three questions to ask before you write an offer
- Which metro district, if any, is this parcel in, and what is its current mill levy? Not the subdivision's reputation — the actual parcel.
- What is the district's debt schedule? A district early in a thirty-year repayment is a very different proposition from one nearly paid off.
- What is the total monthly cost of ownership? Principal, interest, taxes including every district levy, insurance, and HOA dues.
You can look all of this up yourself on the El Paso County Assessor's property search, which lists the exact taxing authorities for any address, and the Treasurer's mill levy tables. I do this for clients before they write an offer, and I am happy to do it for you whether or not we work together.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Triview Metropolitan District?
A metropolitan district covering much of Monument east of I-25, including Jackson Creek, Sanctuary Pointe and Promontory Pointe. Its base levy is 20.5 mills, and it provides water, wastewater, stormwater, road maintenance and plowing, parks and open space.
Does Woodmoor have a metro district?
No. Woodmoor Water & Sanitation District levies zero mills, and Woodmoor Improvement Association dues were $308 per year in 2026. It is the most tax-efficient established neighborhood in the Tri-Lakes.
Why are property taxes higher in Home Place Ranch and Monument Junction?
Both are newer communities whose districts are early in repaying the debt that funded their infrastructure. Triview #3 (Home Place Ranch) is levied at 69.261 mills and Monument Junction's districts at 64.443 and 54.311 mills.
Do metro district taxes ever go down?
They can, as bonds are repaid or as a district grows enough to spread the burden. Triview has stated its total levy stays at 20.5 unless growth allows a reduction. But repayment schedules often run decades, and districts can issue new debt. Ask for the current schedule rather than assuming.
Know your real monthly number first
The difference between two Monument homes at the same price can be several hundred dollars a month, every month, for as long as you own it. That is worth ten minutes before you fall in love with a floor plan.
Contact me and I will pull the actual taxing authorities for any Monument home you are considering. New to the area? Start with our guide to living in Monument and the Monument neighborhoods breakdown. Selling? Get a free home value report.
About the author: Max Ferguson is the founder of Max Realty Co., a licensed Colorado real estate brokerage serving Monument and the Tri-Lakes, Colorado Springs, Castle Rock and Castle Pines. More about Max.
Published 2026. General information for prospective buyers and sellers, not tax, legal or financial advice. Mill levies are reset annually and vary by parcel; assessment rates are set by state statute and subject to change. Figures here reflect Tax Year 2025 levies billed in 2026 as published by the El Paso County Treasurer. Verify any specific property with the El Paso County Assessor and a qualified tax professional before relying on these numbers.