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Mayor neutral on sheriff’s proposed sales tax hike

October 25th, 2012, 10:26 am by

Mayor Steve Bach previously expressed concerns that El Paso County was placing a proposed sales tax increase for the Sheriff’s Office on the same ballot as the proposed PPRTA sales tax extension in November.

But now, he’s not taking a position.

At Wednesday night’s town hall meeting, Bach encouraged voters to support Issue 5A, the PPRTA extension.

But he didn’t say a peep about Issue 1A.

In a brief interview after the town hall, Bach said it was a “county issue” and that he trusted voters to make a good decision.

He said the same thing Thursday when he appeared on the Richard Randall radio show and a caller asked his position.

“With respect to the sheriff’s tax increase, that’s a proposal by the county commissioners that’s on the ballot right now. You know, that’s a county issue,” he said.

“That is not a city issue in terms of my having any involvement or standing in that. I’m just not taking a position on that. I don’t think that’s appropriate. I don’t manage the sheriff’s department. I’m not familiar with the county’s budget, frankly, or the details of the sheriff’s operation. So, you know, in the end, I trust the voters to make a good decision.”

Posted in: City Administration • Elections • Politics • Public Safety • • • • | 11 Comments »

Meeting between council, commissioners postponed

July 25th, 2012, 12:17 pm by

A joint meeting between the Colorado Springs City Council and the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners has been postponed until September or October.

The meeting had been scheduled for Friday.

Why was the meeting postponed?

“There wasn’t enough material for the two legislative bodies to work on and produce joint output at this point,” Tim Burke, the city’s intergovernmental affairs liaison, said in an email.

“Even though state law gives county commissioners operational authority, the City Charter now gives nearly all operational responsibility to the Mayor, not the council,” he added.

A new meeting date will be announced “as soon as calendars have been coordinated,” Burke said in the initial email announcing the postponement.

 

Posted in: City Council • Meetings • • • • | 6 Comments »

Lathen calls Bach’s comments ‘ridiculous’

July 18th, 2012, 3:09 pm by

Amy Lathen

Mayor Steve Bach said Wednesday that El Paso County Commission Chair Amy Lathen asked him to subordinate his authority to the county during the Waldo Canyon fire.

“At one point I was asked by the county commissioners if I would sign a document that would basically subordinate the city’s authority if the fire came into the city. I declined to do that,” he said during the Mayor’s Counsel meeting.

In an interview afterward, Bach said he brought up the issue because city officials were talking about “lessons learned” from the fire.

“I’m not sure why that question was asked” by the county, he said.

“The reason I brought that up today … is we need to have a, frankly, a playbook. We need to have a game plan for matters like that,” he said.

Lathen said it was “categorically untrue” that she asked Bach to subordinate his authority to the county.

“In no way, shape or form was it ever asking the city to hand over authority to the county. Ever,” she said.

“That’s ridiculous. That’s ridiculous,” she added. “We were trying to coordinate everything through unified command, and we were learning as we were going along.”

Lathen said she called the mayor the night the fire started and invited him to go to the emergency operations center, where they were signing a “delegation of authority.”

That delegation of authority assigns authority to a unified command and “enables” emergency fire funds, she said.

“The city, they had a choice to do whatever they wanted to do, but it was in their best interest to sign that delegation so that the cost of the fire goes through that federal process. It had nothing whatsoever to do with county taking control. I’m kind of surprised because he understood that the next day” and signed the document, Lathen said.

Here’s video of an interview with the mayor:

YouTube Preview Image

Posted in: Boards and Commissions • City Administration • Fire • Meetings • Politics • • • • | 33 Comments »

Oops! Law firm names county in Velasquez lawsuit

July 12th, 2012, 8:42 am by

County commissioners

The law firm representing fired city employee Terri Velasquez made a glaring error in a federal civil rights lawsuit filed Monday against the city.

The firm included the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners in its complaint.

The complaint states that Velasquez, by and through her attorneys, “allege and assert claims against the City of Colorado Springs, by and through its governing entity, the Board of County Commissioners.”

The Gazette asked the law firm, Evergreen-based Frank and Finger, PC, about the error on Wednesday.

Attorney William Finger was out of the office, and no one from the law firm replied Wednesday.

Paralegal Elaine Gosnell responded via email Thursday morning.

“We are filing a corrected complaint today.  Any error should not effect the lawsuit,” she wrote.

Um, Ms. Gosnell, actually, any error should not “affect” the lawsuit.

 

Posted in: Etc. • Lawsuit • • • | 6 Comments »

Bach: County’s decision to move health and human services affecting city’s police and fire services

June 20th, 2012, 12:46 pm by

Mayor Steve Bach says El Paso County’s decision to move its health and human services departments to Garden of the Gods Road is affecting the city’s police and fire services.

The mayor made his remarks during Wednesday’s Mayor’s Counsel Meeting.

“The county moving the Health Department and social services up to the interior of Garden of the Gods is having a real impact, and I saw it yesterday,” said Bach, who spent part of his day at a firehouse Tuesday.

“I think we need to talk with the county, at least ask them to consider a satellite location in southeast Colorado Springs for both the health and social services departments,” he said.

“It is an impact on our police and fire departments that because those two functions are so far away now from so many people needing that help, it appears that folks are not getting up there in some cases to get help,” he said.

“That is exasperating our police and fire responsibilities.”

He added: “It’s the county’s function. It’s not ours. But we are a big part of the county both in population, obviously, and in paying taxes. Maybe they’re working on this, but I think at the very least El Paso County must look at satellite health care and social services in southeast Colorado Springs.”

Posted in: Budget • City Administration • City Council • Meetings • People • • • • • • | 9 Comments »

Bach: ‘This is a new day for the Pikes Peak area’

March 5th, 2012, 1:56 pm by

Mayor Steve Bach formally announced the creation of the Pikes Peak Region Mayors Caucus, which includes the mayors of surrounding communities and the chairs of the El Paso and Teller county commissioners.

The group plans to meet to address, among other things, transportation issues.

“This group will be traveling to Denver in the near future. We’ve asked to meet with Gov. Hickenlooper,” Bach said.

“(It will be) the first time, I think, in history that will have happened, that all the mayors and county chairs from our region will be together … to meet with Gov. (John) Hickenlooper to ask him to provide the support we need in the Pikes Peak region for our state highways,” he said.

“I’m very excited about the prospects of what we can accomplish together.”

YouTube Preview Image

Posted in: City Administration • Parks • Politics • • • • • • | 4 Comments »

Then and Now: Sallie Clark

February 21st, 2012, 5:00 pm by

 

 

 

Posted in: People • • • | Post a Comment »

Former mayoral candidate runs against Lathen for county commissioner

November 10th, 2011, 10:19 am by

Former mayoral candidate Phil McDonald is setting his sights on El Paso County.

McDonald, a small business owner and married father of three, is running for county commissioner against Amy Lathen.

“I decided to run for County Commissioner because the voters of District 2 deserve better,” McDonald said in a statement.

“They deserve a commissioner who will be truthful and respectful, who will work cooperatively with other county officials, and who will be as frugal with taxpayer money as the voters are with their personal budgets,” he said. “As a small business owner, I see first hand how government can stifle business growth. I will remove those obstacles, so we can grow jobs.”

During the crowded race for mayor, McDonald dropped out and endorsed Mayor Steve Bach.

Will Bach return the favor?

Stay tuned.

McDonald filed a candidate affidavit to run for county commissioner Nov. 8.

“I am committed to being part of the solution to the problems in El Paso County, protecting our water rights and getting government out of the way of our citizens. I love El Paso County and look forward to serving as your District 2 County Commissioner,” he said in the statement.

According to McDonald’s press release:

McDonald is a Colorado Springs native, attending Mitchell High School and Adams State College. He has previously worked in the medical field and in El Paso County law enforcement. He has been active in coaching youth sports for the Police Athletic League, the City’s Park and Recreation system, and District 11 schools. McDonald and his wife Pamela currently own and operate The Uniform Shop, providing school and team uniforms, scrubs, and hospitality wear. He has also started the brand Lightning Athletics, which has grown since its inception. The McDonalds have three boys and live in the Rustic Hills neighborhood that Phil grew up in.

 

Posted in: Elections • Politics • • • • • | Post a Comment »

County commissioners mull city efforts to tack stormwater fees on tax bills

November 9th, 2011, 2:49 pm by

The city’s ongoing efforts to collect past-due stormwater fees will be the subject of a closed executive session Thursday among the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners.

The five commissioners will discuss “legal issues associated with the collection of the stormwater fee,” County Attorney Bill Louis told The Gazette on Wednesday.

Earlier this year, the City Council decided that delinquent stormwater fees would be certified to the El Paso County Treasurer’s Office for collection on the 2012 property tax bills.

In 2009, the previous council tried the collect delinquent stormwater bills through the county and then retreated.

After the city said it wanted to turn over past-due accounts to the county treasurer for collection, Louis sent a letter to then-County Treasurer Sandra Damron warning that the city-owned Stormwater Enterprise might not be entitled to use the treasurer’s office to collect the fees.

“Although hospitals and golf courses are operated by the private sector as well as by the public sector, there is no private sector hospital or golf course that can avail itself of this coercive power,” the letter stated.

The city delivered hundreds of past-due stormwater accounts and a certification letter signed by council President Scott Hente in recent days, city spokeswoman Mary Scott said.

“We do not have an official response from the county regarding them,” Scott said.

Not all past-due stormwater accounts have been certified to the county for collection. Read more about those accounts here.

 

Posted in: Boards and Commissions • Budget • City Council • Meetings • Politics • • • • | Post a Comment »

Council, commission meeting agenda leaves out crucial details

October 14th, 2011, 11:00 am by
Photo by Debbie Kelley

Photo by Debbie Kelley

The Colorado Springs City Council and the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners are holding a joint meeting Monday.

Perhaps they’re meeting alongside the protesters in Acacia Park because, just by looking at the agenda, it’s anybody’s guess where they’re meeting.

Or even what time the meeting starts.

Maybe council members and county commissioners need to jointly collaborate on getting the word out about what is supposed to be a public meeting.

Earlier this week, The Gazette asked Aimee Cox, council liaison, to provide an agenda of the meeting.

Today, the newspaper received what the city is calling an agenda.

Here’s the full text of the city’s email:

Daniel –

Here are the topics that are scheduled for Monday’s joint meeting between Councilmembers and Commissioners.

Tim Burke

Sub-committee reports (perhaps animal control, perhaps the two bodies’ shared vision, perhaps economic development)

Planning for Oil & Gas Collaboration

Discussion of what barriers there may be to mutual success of collaboration

Posted in: City Council • Meetings • • • • | 5 Comments »

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