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.