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Quote of the Day

October 31st, 2011, 11:52 am by

Is Teller County more conservative than El Paso County?

Apparently so.

Janet Brown says the first-ever Teller County Regional Animal Shelter calendar, which features fully clothed emergency responders posing with animals, wasn’t “too risqué” on purpose.

She said Teller County is “pretty conservative.”

But next year’s calendar may include more skin, she said.

That’s the subject of today’s Quote of the Day.

“I wanted to use the firefighters because everybody loves firefighters. It would have been nice to kind of get something more sexy. We may do a little bit of that next year because I know a lot of the women are wanting some of the shirts off and stuff, you know?”

 

Posted in: City employees • • • | Post a Comment »

Firefighters flash abs, flaunt animals to sell calendars

October 31st, 2011, 11:12 am by

Christy Gaber Martinez, the only woman in 2012 calendar of Colorado Springs firefighters/Local 5 Facebook page

UPDATE: This blog post has been updated to include comments from a representative from the Colorado Springs Professional Firefighters Local 5 union.

While Colorado Springs firefighters are taking their shirts off to sell calendars, the firefighters of Teller County are using their animal instincts.

The Teller County calendar features emergency responders posing with animals, including donkeys.

Sales of the calendar benefit the Teller County Regional Animal Shelter, a nonprofit, no-kill shelter.

“Every month features a local firefighter and either their dog or a rescue dog from the shelter, or, in the case of Cripple Creek firefighters, the city’s donkey herd,” Janet Brown said in a news release.

“That photo will run in June because of Donkey Derby Days,” she said.

Emergency responders from the Northeast Teller County Fire Protection District, Divide Fire, Cripple Creek Fire Department, Green Mountain Falls-Chipita Park Fire Protection District and Florissant Fire Protection District are featured in the calendar.

The calendars, which cost $15 each,  are tax deductible.

They’re available at the animal shelter in Divide as well as the Edge Salon in Woodland Park, McQinty’s Wood Oven Pub, Animal Medical Center, Nuts N Bolts Needle Works and Treasures for All Seasons.

In Colorado Springs, past calendars have featured shirtless firefighters flexing their muscles.

The Colorado Springs Professional Firefighters Local 5 will be releasing their 2012 calendar on Wednesday.

“The release party will be kicking off at the Ritz downtown in the Elbow Room from 7-9pm.  $20 gets you in and includes the newest calendar, a free drink and access to having the models sign your 2012 calendar!!  Cash and credit cards will be accepted and don’t forget that they make great gifts for the holidays!” according to the firefighters’ website.

The calendar includes a woman, Christy Gaber Martinez.

Eric Ruettinger, who is on the executive board of the Colorado Springs Professional Firefighters, said local firefighters use the proceeds from the sale of the calendar to support the organization as well as to put on other fundraisers or donate money to other organizations throughout the year.

The calendar, now in its fourth year, generates about $15,000, he said.

Ruettinger, who called the photos in the calendar “classy,” said firefighters don’t have to show skin to be included.

“It’s one of those things where obviously we’re trying to promote that physical fitness feature. Is it a requirement? No.  Have we done it that way since it started? Yes,” he said.

Ruettinger was almost speechless when told that emergency responders in Teller County posed with animals, including donkeys.

“Wow. I hadn’t heard about that. I guess it’ll be interesting to see,” he said. “I hope they make some money on it. I never thought about posing with animals or a herd of donkeys.”

If they’re able to make money on the calendar, “more power to them,” he said.

Brown said the Teller County calendar has brought in about $2,300 so far.

 

 

Posted in: City employees • • | 4 Comments »

Fire Department offers orientation sessions on how to become a firefighter

October 12th, 2011, 9:28 am by

Are you interested in becoming a Colorado Springs firefighter?

The Colorado Springs Fire Department is holding a series of firefighter orientations to give people who are interested in the fire service information about firefighter duties and specialties, minimum qualifications, preparatory classes and the hiring process.

The next orientation is tomorrow night.

Attending an orientation session is not required to apply to become a firefighter, but it can’t hurt.

All orientations will be at  the Fire Department Complex, 375 Printers Parkway.

Here are the dates and times of all the orientations:

Thursday, October 13th           6 – 7 pm

Tuesday, October 25th            6 – 7 pm

Sunday, November 6th            1 - 2 pm

Monday, December 5th           6 – 7 pm

Saturday, December 10th       9 – 10 am

According to the Fire Department:

Space is limited so reserve your seat and email cbeckey@springsgov.com to RSVP. We are now ready to start accepting interest cards at http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22D53PSHW7U/  Candidates can start developing a profile at http://www.governmentjobs.com anytime and apply for our process as soon as it is posted. The posting will open on December 5, 2011 and run through December 16, 2011. All of our hiring information can be found at http://www.springsgov.com/fire.

Posted in: Civic Participation • Meetings • | 2 Comments »

City employee who contributed $10K to PERA has received $200K in benefits

October 10th, 2011, 9:51 am by

The pension plans for Colorado Springs police and firefighters have been described as a ticking timebomb.

Today, the City Council may find out how short the fuse is when they get an update on the city’s defined benefit pension plans. The council requested the information.

Among the speakers will be Kara Skinner, interim finance director, Dan Slack, CEO of the Fire & Police Pension Association of Colorado, and Greg Smith, chief operating officer and general counsel of the Public Employees’ Retirement Association of Colorado.

The Gazette recently obtained an annual statement that a short-time city employee received from PERA.

According to the statement, the employee put in more than $10,000 into PERA.

“This includes your member contributions, interest and payments to purchase service credit. Contributions from your employer are not included,” according to the statement.

“As of Dec. 31, 2010, PERA has paid (more than $200,000) in monthly benefits to you,” according to the statement.

The Gazette wasn’t more specific with the contribution and benefit numbers to protect the identity of the employee.

 

 

Posted in: Budget • City Council • City employees • • • • • • | 14 Comments »

Fire Department offers course on how to become a firefighter

September 20th, 2011, 9:25 am by

As a kid, did you ever dream of becoming a firefighter?

Well, here’s an opportunity to learn how to make that dream a reality.

The Colorado Springs Fire Department is offering a one-hour orientation session in December to give people information about what it takes to become a firefighter.

The orientation will be from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Dec. 10 at 375 Printers Parkway.

Space is limited so e-mail cbeckey@springsgov.com to reserve a seat.

“Discover an exciting career as a Colorado Springs Firefighter!” the invitation states.

“Come to orientation and learn about firefighter duties and specialties, minimum qualifications to apply, preparatory courses available and the hiring process.”

The Fire Department is an equal opportunity employer.

Posted in: City employees • Etc. • Meetings • | Post a Comment »

Photos of Springs firefighters collecting money for charity

September 2nd, 2011, 9:41 am by

Interim Colorado Springs Fire Chief Rich Brown initially barred firefighters from participating in the Fill the Boot fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association this year on duty, ending a decades-long tradition.

But then Brown reversed his decision, saying he would allow it for a couple of hours for a couple of days.

Yesterday, a small group of firefighters pulled out their boots and stood outside a busy shopping center near Powers and Carefree collecting money for Jerry’s Kids.

Even Brown and Tommy Smith, deputy chief of support services, showed up to encourage firefighters as they raised money for an organization adopted informally by the fire service. Brown said he had taken vacation hours to do it, so it’s safe to assume Smith did, too.

“People are very, very generous,” firefighter Eric Ruettinger said.

“People are like, ‘On duty, off duty, we’re just glad you’re out there doing it,’” he said.

Since last weekend, Ruettinger said firefighters have collected more than $17,000 as part of the Fill the Boot campaign, a fraction of what they have collected in the past.

But, he said, firefighters have done other MDA-related fundraising throughout the year, and with the money raised yesterday and today, they will probably raise about $60,000 total.

“Every dime, every dollar is going to count,” he said.

CLICK ON THE PHOTOS TO GET A BETTER VIEW.

Posted in: City employees • • • • | Post a Comment »

Book smolders with confessions of a Colorado Springs firefighter

August 26th, 2011, 6:37 am by

A retired firefighter who spent three decades with the Colorado Springs Fire Department is offering an uncensored, laugh-out-loud look at life inside a fire house.

Springs native Tim Casey, 53, who fell into the profession at age 19 when he got fired from a car dealership, wrote a book last year that chronicles his adventures – and those of his buddies – in the fire service.

Casey will be signing his book — Dangers, Toils and Snares: Confessions of a Firefighter –  from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Colorado Coffee Merchants, 302 E. Fillmore St. The book costs $15 and is in its second printing, he said.

“The basic premise of the book is that firefighters are just people doing an extraordinary job,” Casey said in an email.

“The most frequent question I was asked over the years was. What do firemen do when they aren’t running calls? Well, the answer to that question is we turn into 10-year-old boys without adult supervision,” he said.

“The book looks back over my career and I describe what life inside a fire station is like. I don’t talk about the blood and guts or the big fires, just the fun of it and the culture.”

Casey teaches screenwriting at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. He said he switched to screenwriting after penning two novels in his 20s.

In the book, Casey said he used the real names of some firefighters but not others.

That was probably a good idea.

“There will be some upset by this book, for I have taken you somewhere they won’t feel you belong,” he wrote in his last chapter.

“This world I’ve shown you is theirs and no longer mine and most hold it very closely to their hearts.”

Posted in: City employees • Etc. • | 1 Comment »

Bach: ‘Our expenses will soon exceed our revenue’

August 15th, 2011, 9:12 am by

Mayor Steve Bach says Colorado Springs will be in a world of trouble in a few years if sales and use taxes don’t increase substantially or the city doesn’t rein in expenses.

“Our expenses will exceed revenue, our reserves will be depleted or worse, we’ll have substantial negative cash flow, and we’ll be faced with further reductions in services and/or painful HR decisions,” Bach said in an email sent from his personal account.

The subject line of the Aug. 10 email was: “Update to Steve Bach’s Friends.”

Here is the full text of the email:

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This is to share with you an early personal observation of great importance to our City.

If over the next few years our sales and use tax collections do not grow substantially based on a resurging economy and/or we do not reign (sic) in our expenses for general City government (police, fire, planning, engineering, city attorney, city clerk, finance, budget, human resources, other general staff), our expenses will exceed revenue,  our reserves will be depleted or worse we’ll have substantial negative cash flow, and we’ll be faced with further reductions in services and/or painful HR decisions.

The City budgeting process focuses on a plan for one year. Using this very near term horizon means that the City usually arrives at a solution for next year, one year at a time.  What we must do going forward is to look at the longer term – the risks and opportunities before us – and shape our operating plan to be fiscally sustainable while delivering consistent, quality core functions and retaining valued employees.  In other words, we must change the culture of City government, transform it to be smarter and leaner, all with a proactive, customer-focused orientation.

Below is a link to three current forecasts for our general City government revenue and expenses (excluding enterprises such as CSU, MHS, the Airport) over the next eight years if our current revenue and expense trends continue.   The first forecast  is by City staff, the second by Kurt Kofford, CPA, and the third by The City Committee.   The forecasts are similar with this message:  Our expenses will soon exceed our revenue.

Link to forecasts

These forecasts assume no increase in personnel or additional services in the future, do not take into account the $50+/- million per year we must spend over the next 20 years on deferred infrastructure replacements,  increased cost of defined benefit (guaranteed) pensions if the retirement plans’ projection of 8% annual growth in their assets proves wrong or a range of external downside influences impact our finances (e.g., the Federal government downsizing of military budgets here or a next recession in perhaps 2014 or sooner).

We all want our City to be successful.  That depends greatly on responsible fiscal leadership by our elected leaders.  Now is the time for us to move to priorities-based budgeting and over the horizon planning to help achieve our full potential as a community.   Please pass along this email to your colleagues and friends, and invite them to send me their email addresses for a direct copy of future emails.  I’ll be in touch with you again soon.

Posted in: Budget • City Administration • • • • • • | 3 Comments »

Velasquez alleges ‘cover up of facts’ in statement about firing

July 29th, 2011, 4:53 pm by

Terri Velasquez, who was fired Thursday as the city’s director of finance and administrative services, issued the following statement today:

“I am providing this statement to help clarify the situation concerning my termination of employment with the City of Colorado Springs, which occurred on July 28, 2011.  I was terminated from my position as Director of Finance and Administrative Services, and offered no new employment.

On June 27, 2011, after nearly 24 years of proud and faithful service to the community of Colorado Springs, I was presented with a four month severance package to resign from the City.  The package contained a provision that would prevent me from communicating anything negative about the City.  When I asked Steve Cox, the Mayor’s Chief of Staff and my supervisor, why he wanted to end my employment, he stated that he had given me a year to get on board and I had not gotten on board.

During my performance review with Steve Cox in April 2011, he never mentioned that I was not on board.  The rating Steve Cox gave me exceeded expectations.

If what Steve Cox was referring to was a cover up of facts relating to financial problems or mismanagement, I was not on board.  One of these instances included an overpayment of $4,913 to Mr. Cox, which occurred in May 2010, and while he was Chief of the Fire Department.  Mr. Cox never voluntarily brought this overpayment to the City’s attention.

Six months after this overpayment occurred, Finance staff discovered the problem.  This overpayment could have caused taxpayers to pay Mr. Cox an additional $160 per month in pension benefits for the rest of his life.  I took the initiative for the public good and reported the overpayment to Denny Nester, Internal Auditor.  Within days of reporting the concerns to the Auditor, however, I was requested by the Administration to consider a voluntary severance from employment.  I refused the implied or expressed request to resign.  Mr. Cox ultimately repaid the City.  There were other fiscal improprieties that were discovered and reported.

I also have not been on board in regard to the El Pomar Foundation’s donation to the City for the USOC project and the alleged mishandling of those funds.  In April 2011, I was asked by a City official to prepare a statement to the El Pomar Foundation regarding their donation to the City for the USOC project.  That statement was to certify to El Pomar that the donated funds had been used appropriately.  I declined to provide that statement given that the funds were used by LandCo in a manner inconsistent with the required usage terms.  The District Attorney’s office met with me in June 2011 regarding its investigation into the alleged improper use of El Pomar funds.  I was cooperative in this investigation and reported the meeting to the Administration before it actually occurred.  I was not told that I could not meet with the District Attorney.  Soon after cooperating with the DA’s investigation I was presented with a new severance package for a voluntary resignation.  I understood that I was being threatened with termination of employment if I did not sign a voluntary resignation.

On June 28, 2011, I met with Mayor Steve Bach.  I told him I was upset at what was occurring and asked the Mayor if he had reviewed the severance package.  The Mayor said that he had not seen the package.  I asked the Mayor if I could continue with my employment and suggested that I report to him directly or someone else.  The Mayor said that I could not.  I asked the Mayor if he knew why I was being forced out of employment and terminated, and explained to him my perception that I was being terminated for reporting financial mismanagement.  The Mayor refused to act and said that he would support Mr. Cox in his decision.

I have now been terminated from employment.

I intend to fight this wrongful termination.  I have done nothing wrong, and the citizens of Colorado Springs have a right to know how their officials are functioning and also have a right to demand honesty and transparency in government.  It behooves the City Council to conduct an investigation into whether there have been any improprieties and wrongdoing by high ranking City officials.”

Any additional questions about the situation should be referred to my attorneys at the law office of Frank and Finger, P.C.

Posted in: City Administration • City Council • City employees • Politics • • • • • • • • • | 9 Comments »

Use of fire truck to campaign for Skorman fuels concerns

May 11th, 2011, 10:53 am by

On Saturday afternoon, Memorial Park was teeming with people, including hundreds of parents watching their children play football.

All of a sudden, there was a commotion on Hancock Avenue.

It was an old fire truck cruising by with loud and repetitive honking.

“Firefighters were on the truck waving,” a witness said via email.

“The truck was covered with (Richard) Skorman campaign signs,” he said. “The truck drew the attention of the crowd, stopping on occasion, and then turned west on Pikes Peak (Avenue).”

The truck, a 1976 American LaFrance, is owned, operated and insured by the Colorado Springs Professional Firefighters Association, a union whose members were off-duty while campaigning for Skorman.

The association endorsed Skorman over opponent Steve Bach in the hotly contested mayor’s race.

Despite being off the clock, the firefighters’ campaigning “came across as a clear endorsement of Skorman by the city’s Fire Department,” the witness said.

“A lot of people in the crowd were chattering about it, wondering whether the Fire Department should endorse a candidate for mayor,” he said.

Jeremy Kroto, association president, said his group rolls out the fire truck at various events.

“We’ve used it in previous campaigns as well … in the Amendment 47, 49 and 54 a few years ago,” he said.

“It’s not surprising but a little bit funny that this is coming up now. We’ve used that pumper at parades and we’ve used it at various fundraisers and all over the place and never heard any calls from it, but this one grabbed the attention,” he said.

The truck doesn’t have the Colorado Springs Fire Department’s logo on it, he said.

“It specifically has ‘IAFF’ logos on it,” he said, referring to the International Association of Fire Fighters.

Kroto said Saturday’s campaigning generated a couple of calls.

“It’s obviously a defensible story,” he said. “There’s nothing below the table going on. It’s our truck that we own and it’s all off-duty guys doing it.”

Kroto said it’s “reasonable” for people to ask why a fire truck is being used for campaigning.

“I’m in agreement that a taxpayer-funded shouldn’t be out doing campaigning,” he said. “I agree with those citizens who have those concerns, but like I said, it’s a fully defensible story.”

Posted in: City employees • Elections • • • • • | 31 Comments »

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