The Haunting of Colorado Springs
Seems things aren’t so great in Colorado Springs these days:
This tax-averse city is about to learn what it looks and feels like when budget cuts slash services most Americans consider part of the urban fabric.
More than a third of the streetlights in Colorado Springs will go dark Monday. The police helicopters are for sale on the Internet. The city is dumping firefighting jobs, a vice team, burglary investigators, beat cops — dozens of police and fire positions will go unfilled.
The parks department removed trash cans last week, replacing them with signs urging users to pack out their own litter.
Neighbors are encouraged to bring their own lawn mowers to local green spaces, because parks workers will mow them only once every two weeks. If that.
Water cutbacks mean most parks will be dead, brown turf by July; the flower and fertilizer budget is zero.
City recreation centers, indoor and outdoor pools, and a handful of museums will close for good March 31 unless they find private funding to stay open. Buses no longer run on evenings and weekends. The city won’t pay for any street paving, relying instead on a regional authority that can meet only about 10 percent of the need.
“I guess we’re going to find out what the tolerance level is for people,” said businessman Chuck Fowler, who is helping lead a private task force brainstorming for city budget fixes. “It’s a new day.”
Uh, yeah. A new day with the social fabric being ripped apart. Like this:
Though officials and citizens put public safety above all in the budget, police and firefighting still lost more than $5.5 million this year. Positions that will go empty range from a domestic violence specialist to a deputy chief to juvenile offender officers. Fire squad 108 loses three firefighters. Putting the helicopters up for sale and eliminating the officers and a mechanic banked $877,000.
But you want some fixes? How about raising taxes? You know, because you have to pay for social services somehow, right?
Or not.
Because, you see, there’s a truly moronic little thing called the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR), and, as Bill Egnor explains at FDL, “[o]ne of the provisions of TABOR is that tax revenue cannot be increased except by the popular vote of the people, beyond the rate of inflation plus the rate of population growth.” And things are worse when things are bad, as they have been of late, because “TABOR is based on the previous year, so if we have a recession like the one we are in, and revenues fall, then the next year the City or the State has to start from that lower limit. They can’t stay where they were the previous year and to raise anymore revenue requires a popular vote.”
Which is to say, TABOR effectively handcuffs elected officials from doing what they need to do, especially in a time of economic crisis, to raise revenue through taxation.
Which is why, in Colorado Springs, as elsewhere, they have to resort to selling police helicopters and cutting the fire department and shutting museums and doing away with health inspections at day-care facilities.
And if elected officials — democratically elected officials — seek to raise taxes, the anti-tax fanatics come out and destroy them.
Good times. Unless you live there, in which case, while your taxes might be low, your city is a nightmare.
(Oh, and did you know that James Dobson’s far-right Christian fundamentalist Focus on the Family is based in Colorado Springs. I’m not sure if there’s a connection. I’m just sayin’.)
(Cross-posted from The Reaction.)
24 Responses to “The Haunting of Colorado Springs”
FOcus on the family and the other groups that surround it, definitely eclipse Colorado Springs, having built huge campuses, huge broadcast towers, and buildings, mansions, and churches …I'd say Colorado Springs is owned by FOTF, attempting to influence politics, city council, state legislature, all they can. The city used to be a tourist destination for Garden of the Gods which is right there on the western edge of the Springs. If you look into it more, you'll see your hunch is way far more true than you might have first thought. I recently was in a coffee shop there and had, I think, honest, Tuna Loaves and Fishes sandwhich, and I think well, you see.
“Since FOTF and its many subsidiaries have set up in Co Spgs, most of our State's voting referendums to deny or limit others rights have come from Co Spgs large group petitions.”
The true righty stuff happening in that city has been well known for a number of years, and gives a certain “flavor” (or is that “smell”) to the Front Range and its reputation.
I was at the Springs a couple of weeks ago on a day trip (1000+ miles), and visited Garden of the Gods and was going to to go Pike's Peak, but the road wasn't open all the way to the top, so I didn't bother. I also went by Focus on the Family — there were statues of a family fishing next to the visitor center there. (It was closed. I had gone there to get a surprise gag gift for my very liberal friend in DC.)
It won't be soon until one of these cities are run like a corporation/congregation, and the town sign respectfully but clearly states that only heterosexual couples/families need apply for a house there. I think such a town will be reality before 2030.
It would be good to follow up on this a year from now. Glad I don't live there.
Ironically, most of the anti-government activists behind this mess are older Americans. Many are on Social Security, Medicare, or some other government retirement pension.
I actually went to high school in Colo. Spgs. and my mother still lives there, so I do have some background there. I don't see the heavy FOTF influence suggested here and they're about the last thing I think of when I visit. The Springs is still home to Fort Carson and Peterson AFB and there is plenty of “non-family” activity around.
I think TABOR is great and it's certainly no surprise FDL doesn't like it.
Since the point of the article is to imply that conservative cities are worse off than liberal ones it would be good to see more comparisons. It seems to me many cities are having deep financial problems regardless of their politics, and solving a crisis by cutting spending instead of raising taxes or running deficits isn't something to be scorned.
I think it may be worthy of scorn if spending cuts are carried out like they appear to be in Colorado Springs. Is it really worth saving money at such cost to the social fabric?
They have to “carry it out”. The people voted for it. The “social fabric” brought it upon themselves!
Yeah, and, the Air Force academy. Which has had several right wing Christian problems of late. Not to mention organized rape of female cadets. More examples of right wing values?
Surprising that you left all this pertinent information out. Or maybe not.
I imagine it is so somewhere else in the world too, but Focus on the Family has its own huge green Interstate Exit signs announcing itself on I-25, and those are funded and maintained by Colo taxpayers, possibly some Fed money too. Not sure why.
“Focus on the Family has its own huge green Interstate Exit signs announcing itself on I-25″
I've seen those signs. They're similar to signs elsewhere that advise motorists of especially notable places of interest, and usually specify which (the next, imminent) exit to take off the freeway. In this case, it's no different than Garden of the Gods, Pike's Peak, or in some city, the airport (“Airport — next right”) or some special facility (“Stadium — Next Right”; “Metro Arts Center — Exit 27″; or “Disneyland — Exit 336″). If it's large enough, public or private, it logically qualifies for a road sign. Focus on the Family struck me as unusual when I saw it — it actually has its own sign? — but it's so large and important to the area (evolving that way, you could say) and gets so much traffic that it's natural for it to have a sign there. I thought it was remarkable, like the giant-size, 100-foot-tall massive Starbucks sign I saw once outside Waco, Texas, but it's not surprising if you think about it.
TABOR does allow for increasing taxes but it requires a vote during a general eleciton. I wonder if Colorado Springs benefitted from windfall during a real estate boom and are now paying the price with a downturn. Most counties in Colorado have voted to waive any rebates. The question is whether Boulder, Fort Collins, or Denver have raised taxes or also made cuts.
“Since the point of the article is to imply that conservative cities are worse off than liberal ones it would be good to see more comparisons.”
The most famous and worst example of failure is the crown jewel of liberalism — and it bankrupted itself by the mid-1970s by saying “More, More, More” endlessly.
More(!) can be read about this here — refreshing compared to Mikey's high-temperature emotionalism.
http://www.manhattan-institute.org/pdf/PI158McMahonSie...
P.S. Don't be surprised if “Massachusetts Lite” California seeks federal assistance this year.
your thought about corporate/congregation Axel. I think it has arrived. Not sure it's a good idea if it goes against freedom of movement et al. I do know many landowner folks in the Springs and not far away, also Colo City where the Mormons who practice polygamy have spread out (on welfare and foodstamps for so so many children), are enraged about supporting church lifestyles that do not pay into the system to support the vast churchs' own huge uptake of services.
I think in the main, what many are up in arms about no matter the religion, is the breaking of the 501.c.3 exemption of churches which doesnt allow them to influence or take on political campaigning etc and still keep their tax exempt status. Also has been a strange strange thing to watch groups in the last 9 years that were social justice/politically oriented, suddenly call themselves 'faith-based' in order to take money from the Feds, some of which not sure actually went to services for the poor. Sigh.
Yeah, and, the Air Force academy. Which has had several right wing Christian problems of late. Not to mention organized rape of female cadets. More examples of right wing values?
The AF Cadets are pretty insulated from Colorado Springs. What are you trying to blame their problems on exactly?
It's really humorous the stereotypical view a lot of you have of Colorado Springs.
“It's really humorous the stereotypical view a lot of you have of Colorado Springs.”
For the record, DaGoat, I don't view all of Colorado Springs or the Front Range as monolithically Religious Right. Nor do the many people there who aren't part of that community, obviously. But its presence on the Front Range and especially in Colorado Springs (no, not everywhere, not infiltrating the USAF Academy, not holding all the staff positions at Garden of the Gods, etc.) is noticeable.
Not all of Oklahoma City or Tulsa is Religious Right, either, but the presence still is there.
Archangel, I'm no Dobson fan. I've seen him drift into questionable areas with his organization, including the promotion of a 6 day, 24 hour view of creationism as somehow pertinent to the family. However, at least for FOTF – I can't speak for other groups in the Springs, as you call it – they've been careful to abide by the 501.c.3 rules. (Hey, they have lawyers, after all). An example of this is the political action group, Focus on the Family Action which they spun off a few years ago, and of which Dobson became the head. This was specifically to firewall any partisan political activity off from their “bread and butter,” which has always been selling books on raising families, getting along as married couples, etc. So, if you really believe that FOTF or others have broken the 501.c.3 laws, then you should submit evidence to the IRS.
Since so many other civic entities, from states to cities and towns, are hovering on the brink of fiscal oblivion, I'm not sure why FOTM is the… er… focus of so much of this commentary.
I work in a small office and one of my co-workers is from Col. Springs and from what he has told me it was a conservative haven but otherwise pretty normal place until 9-10 years ago and then the “Haggard's took over” to use his phrasing and he left and currently refuses to go back for longer than a few days at a time. That's pretty much all I know of the place though.
thanks redbus for your perspective on the 'walling off.'
There's a movement among some in the Springs to do a, not sure what to call it, but a sort of asset/ debit sheet for all the many arms of the outfit FOTF to see what exactly they take of city services and what they put into the city pot. I think this occurs because some feel the group has more than just existing in and of itself in mind; and also, as you know, everywhere, since cities are so over budget all these years and states as well… well, you know how the pain spreads to everyone; early childhood ed, road workers, etc., lots of the people at the bottom and middle seem to take the hits while the fat cats still seem to be taking the cream and living high without cutting back for themselves. We'll see re the Springs; they've always been tourist heavy re AFAcademy, and that too has been way down for various reasons. If the Feds pull the bases from there as they did at Lowry, and other places, and there is talk always of closing Carson and consolidating Peterson, the Springs for certain would fold in half, I'm afraid.
I think any group that wants tax-funded services should pay taxes. Why should hard working citizens pay for fire and police protection of groups that not only don't contribute to those services, but aggressively lobby for the very tax cuts that endanger all citizens by cutting essential services? Why should citizens pay millions per created job to get some company to locate there?
Of course, FOTF is not solely responsible for TABOR, but the right-wing demonization of taxes certainly is a big part of it.
Oh, and BTW Boulder citizens do indeed regularly vote to raise our own taxes to pay for things we want, including innovative energy and grid upgrades, arts, open space, mass transit and lots more. We've been doing that for over 40 years, which is why our spectacular mountain backdrop is city owned and controlled, and our entire town circled by green open space rather than sprawl.
http://www.colorado.edu/mcdb/Lykke_Andersen/Ima…
what you said GreenDreams is so true about Boulder. I think the housing prices are way up there in the stratosphere, though. Did they ever put in anything equiv to pub housing? Or is it still Lyons round trip or what's that other one, oh yes, Gold Hill maybe?
Hi Dr. E. As a homeowner in Boulder I can't complain about our real estate prices not having crashed. But in fact, the city has been proactive in granting several developments to Habitat for Humanity and insisting that a portion of new developments have affordable housing (uh, relatively). One particularly nice idea is developments in which houses can only be sold for what was paid + inflation, to avoid speculation on affordable housing. http://www.examiner.com/x-25029-Boulder-Real-Es…
Nonetheless, Boulder is of course expensive in more than just housing, so yes, many lower income people (as the linked article notes, they'd be solidly middle class elsewhere) live outside Boulder.
And because of the greenbelt, these communities can't just grow into Boulder proper, which I like just fine. The “L” cities, Longmont, Louisville, Lafayette and Lyons are thriving.
thanks GreenDreams, I see when I go to Louisville to work over all these years, wow, what changes, starting with the tech park east of the RR tracks there. I like Longmont and Lyons too; they still have small town feel. Thanks for update on H for H, I am glad to hear that. If youre ever down in big D, give a holler
dr.e