A $900,000 home in Flying Horse Metropolitan District No. 2 pays the district about $2,810 a year, according to the district's own 2026 estimate. About $2,300 of that goes to debt, and roughly $507 goes to everything else the district does.
That split matters for any buyer comparing north Colorado Springs neighborhoods. The metro district is a separate line on the tax bill, and most of it goes to bonds issued years before today's owners bought in. The amount owed for those bonds is set by a formula in the district's service plan, which reacts to decisions made at the State Capitol. For the 2027 bills, that formula is pushing Flying Horse's two resident-run districts in opposite directions.
Where a Flying Horse levy dollar goes
Flying Horse sits in six taxing entities, according to the districts' property tax page: Academy School District 20, the metro district, El Paso County, the City of Colorado Springs, Pikes Peak Library District and the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District. On the 2025 bills, the combined rate was 110.235 mills, and the metro district's three parts made up 49.850 of them, or about 45% of the total.
Within the district's share, here is how District No. 2's levy on the 2026 bills breaks down, according to the boards' 2026 budget message:
| District No. 2 levy, 2026 bills | Mills | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Bonds owed to investors | 37.929 | 75.9% |
| 3-mill pledge to developer-controlled District No. 1 | 3.000 | 6.0% |
| Operations and maintenance | 8.795 | 17.6% |
| New emergency reserve | 0.225 | 0.5% |
| Total | 49.949 | 100% |
District No. 3's total is 46.204 mills, and 74.5% of it goes to bonds. The county's mill levy table lists each district's debt-service levy on its own row, separate from the 49.949 and 46.204 totals. The debt row is already counted inside the total, so adding the two rows would roughly double the real figure.
The district put the same split into dollars for three home values. These are the district's printed estimates, which differ by a cent here and there from rounding:
| Market value, District No. 2 | Total to district per year | Operations | Bonds and developer pledge |
|---|---|---|---|
| $500,000 | $1,560.91 | $281.88 | $1,279.03 |
| $700,000 | $2,185.27 | $394.63 | $1,790.64 |
| $900,000 | $2,809.63 | $507.38 | $2,302.26 |
The debt grew each time it was refinanced
District Nos. 2 and 3 cover 1,968 home lots, along with the Flying Horse resort and golf course and some commercial property on the districts' eastern and southern edges. Their general information page lays out how the debt grew.
- 2005: District No. 2 issued $13.2 million in bonds to help pay the developer's costs before homebuilding began. District No. 3 issued $5.9 million for neighborhood infrastructure such as streets, curbs, sidewalks, sewer lines and storm drainage.
- 2013: District No. 2 refinanced and issued new debt totaling $24.2 million.
- 2019: District No. 3 refinanced and issued $17.8 million.
- 2020: District No. 2 refinanced again, issuing $52.0 million.
The same page says that, with a few exceptions, the streets and utilities are owned and maintained by Colorado Springs or utility companies. So most of the debt paid for things the district doesn't run. At the end of 2024, District No. 2 owed $34.77 million in Series 2020A principal and $15.405 million in Series 2020B.
District No. 3's bonds work differently. Its 2025 audit describes the $17.8 million Series 2019 issue as 6% "cash flow bonds." They have no scheduled payments, unpaid interest compounds every year, and anything still owed on December 2, 2059 is discharged. In 2025, $1,167,409 of interest accrued and $1,129,335 was paid. Principal stayed at $17.8 million, and the accrued interest balance grew.
The audit notes two dates that matter going forward. The bonds can be redeemed with no premium starting September 1, 2027. And the district's unused 2004 voter authorization to borrow expired on November 4, 2024, so any new debt now needs voter approval.
The formula that responds to state tax changes
Colorado lowered residential assessment rates for 2026. According to the state Division of Property Taxation, local governments now assess homes at 6.8% of actual value, and school districts at 7.05%. A lower assessment rate means a lower assessed value on the same house, and less tax at any given mill levy.
District No. 3's debt levy has a built-in adjustment. Under its service plan, the maximum debt levy is 30 mills, adjusted for every change in the state's assessment ratio since January 1, 2005, when the residential ratio was 7.96%. With the residential ratio at 6.70%, that formula allowed up to 39.984 mills for the 2025 collection year.
When the ratio drops, the mills go up to make up the difference. District No. 3's September 2026 budget materials say directly that the change in assessment ratios from 2004 to 2026 caused its required debt levy for the 2027 collection year to be adjusted to 35.839 mills.
District No. 2 is moving the other way, for a different reason. Its proposed budget shows commercial assessed value rising from $971,880 to $8,888,620. With more commercial property sharing the debt, the proposed debt levy falls slightly.
| Proposed for 2027 bills | District No. 2 | District No. 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Operations | 9.020 | 8.795 |
| Developer pledge | 3.000 | 3.000 |
| Debt service | 37.628, down from 37.929 | 35.839, up from 34.409 |
| Total | 49.648, down from 49.949 | 47.634, up from 46.204 |
In both districts, the operations levy stays flat or close to it. Nearly all of the change comes from the debt line. These 2027 figures are still proposals. The districts' meeting schedule lists public hearings on the 2027 budgets at the regular board meetings on Thursday, November 19, 2026, along with the annual town hall that same day.
What resident control has changed
Residents won a majority on the District No. 2 and No. 3 boards in May 2023. According to The Gazette's September 2024 report, the residents still didn't control the tax money at that point. Under an intergovernmental agreement, District No. 1, which is controlled by developer Classic Homes, could spend on the other two districts' behalf.
The settlement that followed traded old claims for a fixed payment. District No. 1 dropped $12.1 million in construction-cost and interest claims and $5.85 million in operations-subsidy claims. In return, Districts No. 2 and No. 3 agreed to pass along the revenue from a 3-mill levy for 15 years, starting in 2024. On November 5, 2024, voters approved the deal, with 78.8% in District No. 2 and 83.4% in District No. 3. The capital pledge page estimates total payments of $5.6 million from District No. 2 and $1.8 million from District No. 3.
That leaves the boards in control of the operations side, which is about a fifth of the levy. For 2026, the two districts plan to spend $1.22 million together on upkeep. That includes $845,400 for landscape maintenance and $191,700 for capital improvements: a North Gate median conversion to rock, a $75,000 walking path at the Saratoga Retention Pond, a fence at the Ridgeline/Clay House detention pond, and xeriscape projects.
The boards have set a goal of keeping the total levy at or below 50 mills. They also started an emergency reserve, which the district estimates costs a $900,000 home $12.66 in 2026. Other plans include an offer to the HOA that would put the districts fully in charge of landscaping and utilities in the Syrah, Solera and Saratoga villages starting in 2027. They're also studying whether to merge the two boards, which would need voter approval.
Reading a Flying Horse listing with the levy in mind
The asking price and HOA dues won't tell you which district a home is in, and the two districts are heading in different directions for 2027. Flying Horse North is a separate group of metro districts. On the 2026 bills, its District No. 1 levied 5 mills and Districts No. 2 through 5 levied 30 mills each. El Paso County lists the taxing entities for each parcel on that parcel's Property Record Page, and its tax entity maps show the district boundaries. This post is general information, not tax or legal advice. Before you write an offer, confirm a specific property's tax picture with a qualified tax professional.
Quick answers
Is the metro district the same as the HOA? No. The Gazette noted that the two are often confused. The metro district collects property tax, while the HOA charges dues. According to the boards' budget message, both use Sunflower Landscapes for landscaping and snow removal.
When does the bond debt end? District No. 3's Series 2019 bonds are discharged on December 2, 2059. A 2020 City of Colorado Springs resolution set the same no-later-than-2059 limit for District No. 2's debt, unless City Council approves otherwise.
Where can I see the boards' decisions? Agendas, budget packets and meeting recordings are posted at flyinghorsemetro.org.
If you own in Flying Horse and want to know how your district's levy figures into what your home would sell for, or you're comparing a Flying Horse home with one in another part of north Colorado Springs, Behr and Behr Team will go through the numbers with you. Request a Free Home Valuation, and we'll include the parcel's tax picture in it.
