When a public utility forgets the public

Garry Butcher’s letter (June 5, 2026) rightly names what many Colorado Springs residents feel: a $150,000 raise moving Colorado Springs Utilities CEO Travas Deal toward $700,000 a year lands badly when ratepayers are absorbing higher utility costs.

This is not personal. It is about what kind of institution CSU is. Colorado Springs Utilities is not a private corporation selling optional goods in a competitive market. It is a municipally owned, not-for-profit utility providing water, electricity, gas and wastewater, services residents cannot simply shop away from when prices rise. That public character requires a higher standard than “the market demands it.”

No one should want CSU led by amateurs. The utility is complex, essential and consequential. Competent leadership matters. But public compensation must be judged by mission, moral proportion and trust, not compensation surveys alone. If this raise is truly necessary, the public deserves a plain explanation: what benchmarks were used, what performance measures applied, what alternatives considered, and why the increase could not be delayed or tied to affordability, reliability and customer assistance.

The deeper issue is governance. City Council also serves as the Utilities Board. That blurs accountability and asks one body to manage both ordinary city government and a multibillion-dollar utility requiring specialized oversight. Colorado Springs should consider a separate public Utilities Board with expertise in finance, engineering, water, energy, consumer protection and ratepayer interests.

Public ownership is a trust. CSU belongs to the people who pay the bills. Trust is not automatic. It must be earned.

Douglas R. Sharp

Colorado Springs

Post office incompetence

On May 4, 2026, I went to the Post Office on 8th Street in Colorado Springs and sent a legal document to a recipient in Colorado Springs.  I sent it certified with a return receipt request, for which I paid the post office a total of $10.48.  I was given a receipt with two tracking numbers.  I was told that if the letter could not be delivered to the recipient, it would be returned to me , the original sender, by May 19th.

On May 16th, I returned to the post office because I had not received any confirmation that the letter had been delivered to the recipient, nor could I trace it through the U.S. Post Office tracking system.   I was told that a notice had been sent to the recipient, but the letter had not been picked up, and I was assured that my letter, if not picked up, would be returned to me by May 19th.

Within days, I was finally able to track the letter via the Post Office tracking system, and to my surprise, I discovered that instead of returning it to me directly, it had been sent to the Phoenix post office for eventual return to me, where it has been sitting since May 25! Given  that situation, I went back to the 8th Street post office on June 4th, only to be told by a supervisor and his manager the following:

1) They had no idea why my certified letter was in Phoenix, even though they obviously sent it there.
2) They could not tell me when my original letter would be returned to me, and I was told they could not contact the Phoenix post office to inquire why my letter was still at their facility after 11 days.
3)  I was refused my refund of $10.48 when asked for it, for the unfulfilled service, and was told that the post office “does not do refunds”.
4) I was also told that the local post office could not help me any further.  

So, I paid for a service that was not fulfilled. As of June 8, I still haven’t received the undelivered letter. It’s still sitting at the Phoenix USPS facility.

Would this not fall in the category of fraud? Are they advertising a service that cannot be done or guaranteed?  Citizens of Colorado Springs:  beware of this terrible service and incompetence when dealing with our local post office.

Anna M.  Kappler

Colorado Springs

Fair and honest elections

If anybody out there still believes that this country holds fair, free, and honest elections . . . you are not watching California! Just like New York and Illinois (where I myself experienced election theft and fraud back in 1996), the Democrats are stealing two elections: the California governor and the Los Angeles mayor. Why should it take weeks to count the vote? However, the people of California, New York and Illinois won’t do anything about it. Indeed, the people of this country won’t do anything about it! When will “WE THE PEOPLE” do something?

Charles M. Prignano

Colorado Springs

Unprofessional interview

I have been watching Meet the Press for over 70 years. Kristen Welker’s interview with President Donald Trump has to be rated the worst program ever aired by Meet the Press. Welker was arrogant, amateurish, unprofessional, condescending and disrespectful toward the Commander-in-Chief.  She hinted that he was an untruthful person who was deceiving the American people. She repeatedly talked over and interrupted the President, and would not let him answer her loaded questions.

 I strongly recommend that Welker be suspended for her aberrant and unprofessional behavior.  The late and great Tim Russert would approve of this action.

Sam Taylor

Colorado Springs