The City Council Shell Game

Just when I thought I had seen everything, The Walsenburg City Council showed me a new trick on Tuesday. August 2.  The agenda item that caught my eye was the one about contracting police service out and closing down the city police department.

I support law enforcement and the police officers in our city, state and nation which is more than anyone can say for our current president.  My argument is that there is money spent on duplication of services that our city can not afford.  Another thing that has bothered me is that the majority of WPD officers receive a pay check from Walsenburg and spend it where they reside in Pueblo.

We need all the revenue we can get.  The discussion and resolution of the question about contracting police service through the Huerfano Sheriff's department was of interest to all those who went to the council meeting.  Imagine the surprise we got when we were escorted out of the room so the council could discuss this question in executive session after it was listed as an agenda item.

Because we were not allowed to attend the discussion of this important question, we do not know all that was said.  The best information I could garner was that the city attorney had announced earlier that there was not a conflict of interest for the council members to vote on the issue.  Suddenly on the night of the meeting, the source of legal advice said that it would be highly unethical for the law enforcement officers on the council to vote.  How this important revelation came to the attorney was not revealed.

I believe it was highly unethical for city council men to refrain from representing their constituencies on important questions such as this.  By shaming the city council members into abstaining from voting, the battle was over for those of us who wanted to contract services.  It was a great example of how to manipulate a council and win the vote. The vote was 2-2 after  three councilmen abstained.

City Budget Woes

Walsenburg sent a news letter out with the utility bills outlining a number of large expenses facing the city.  Most of us have heard of most of these before.  In the past years I have raised many questions about the amount of money and energy spent on the land speculation Northlands Sewer project.  It is a prime example of how easy it is to lose focus on important city issues while in pursuit of a project which primarily benefits a small number of residents.

The costs of upgrades to the gas line to Trinidad, the water storage tank, and the water supply dam were there all along, but they took a subordinate priority to the other project mentioned.  The news about the need to refurbish the sewer system sounds more recent. In the past the sewer system was considered state of the art with excess capacity because of the lack of prisoners at the prison facility.

It is shocking to see the amount of of money it takes to do a study for the gas line and the dam improvements.  Why is the sewer system inadequate?  Whose responsibility is it to check quality on infrastructure repairs and replacements?

The past mistakes keep repeating.  It seems that projects are approved for political reasons and when they fail new money is sought to compensate for lack of judgement.  The favored method of raising money is new taxes or seeking government loans and grants. These are valid sources, but our finances and credit are being stretched past their means.

A city government should provide service and protection to its citizens within its ability to pay.  It would seem that the cost of government here outweighs its reason for existence.  A county government without an additional city expense would seem to be logical in this case.

A recent event shows the inability of the municipal government to function effectively.  A suggestion to contract with the Huerfano Sheriff's Department for police service to promote savings by eliminating duplication of services was considered at a city council meeting.  Instead of resolving the problem, the council decided that all law officers must abstain from voting.  This resulted in a defeat of the contract idea.  If our council is not qualified to make decisions, they should not be on the council. Persons who are in a position to evoke conflict of interest problems should not be on the council.

It appears that to address the duplication of services issue, citizen are to do a petition and place a referendum on the ballot. So much for city service.

Walsenburg Budget Challenges

I have been opposed to the Northland Sewer Project from the first time I heard of it.  This week the news comes from Trinidad that they are concerned about their decaying water and sewer infrastructures.  They are concerned about the citizens of Trinidad having adequate services..

Walsenburg chose to ignore these problems and expend money, energy, and time to secure an expensive new sewer and water infrastructure for a small sparsely populated area north of the city proper.  The primary beneficiaries of this expansion are landholders who are anticipating big profits from land sales in the Northlands area.

While Walsenburg citizens are making do with the decaying infrastructure, Trinidad is taking action to correct this problem.

This fall when the ballots come, there will be another question of raising sales taxes.  There should be a question for removing the Walsenburg Police Department from the taxpayer load.

The duplication of services between the Police department and the Sheriff''s department is too obvious to ignore. A large part of our city's budget is consumed by the police department.

In my experience no bureaucrat has never been in favor of cutting his position, so no one in office is likely to be in favor of this cut, but it would be a step toward restoring the budget to a balanced one.

Huerfano County Emergency Preparedness

As a citizen of Walsenburg I am interested in the safety of our community and the plans to respond to various emergency situations.  There are questions about what plans are for an extended power outage.  Is there a means for delivering water and sewer?  If there are backup generators, is there enough fuel storage for an extended power loss?

I haven't discovered an answer to these questions.  There are plenty more issues to explore.  While the Federal government is in denial about terrorism and its link to immigration, it is an issue when people are released into our country with little or no vetting.  What if there is an influx of people with little or no food or provisions?  Will there be law enforcement to help prevent crime and protect our citizens?

Some individuals are showing up here to get legal drugs.  Some of them are going on welfare because they made the trip with little money or forethought.

One resource that we have is Huerfano Emergency Services.  Don Mercier is the director.  His office is at the Huerfano Sheriff's office.  The number is 719-738-1180.

Some online resources are www.facebook.com/huerfano911, www.facebook.com/huerfanooem, and twitter.com/huerfano_911.

Your comments and questions are welcome. When you have an opportunity, talk with your city councilman or county commissioner about preparedness.

Federal Tyranny

For the last seven years the freedoms we have taken for granted for more than 50 years are disappearing at a fast rate.  The central government is insatiable in its quest for control.  All forms of safe guards put in place to protect citizens from dictators and power hungry politicians are being trampled by the federal government.  This is bad enough, but when our elected representatives refuse to protect their constituents from this abuse, there are few peaceful alternatives left.

Many youngsters have been left to an inadequate and corrupt educational system for re-education for the pc world that  exists today.  In the future our children are going to need a better education of what it means to be an American.  In spite of what progressives say, America is a beacon to the world.  It didn't get to be that way by opening borders to terrorists and illegals and promoting racism as the current government is doing.

Our veterans didn't become living sacrifices to be disrespected and mistreated by the government they defended.  How most of these proud men have contained their anger and disappointment this long is beyond my comprehension.  The basic freedoms of our democracy are being attacked from within our government. Good is attacked and perversion is held to be the new standard.  It is simply perversion as it has always been.

We are tolerating a spoiled, childlike group of criminals in Washington D.C. to tarnish any resemblance of good that is left in our laws.  The U.S. Attorney Generals' office is used to subvert justice instead of administering it.  Illegal immigrants are herded into the country to drain welfare coffers and promote violence and evil.  This is done in the name of compassion, while veterans are allowed to die without treatment and live on the streets.

It is a sad subject to discuss, but abortion in a bloody stain on our country.  The kinds of atrocities committed by Planned Parenthood and others in the industry are like scenes from a brutal slasher movie.  We must take every action necessary to get our country back.  My children and grandchildren are being jeopardized daily by the placeholders in D.C. who are refusing to stand for our nation.

We must make it our commitment going into to the new year to fight harder than we have ever fought to save our nation from the anti-American forces who are working daily to destroy us.