Author: Eileen Welsome
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Public Trustee’s efficiency adds up for El Paso County
Tom Mowle, the El Paso County Public Trustee, has become a money-making machine for the county. By working more efficiently, the trustee’s office has squirreled away more than $500,000 that will be transferred to the county’s general fund. That figure could top $800,000 by year’s end, Mowle said. The $500,000, Mowle stated, represents “more net…
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Wealthy Pueblo family supporting ballot initiatives
Members of a wealthy Pueblo family have given $10,000 of the roughly $12,000 in campaign contributions received by CO Tax Reforms, a political-issue committee that supports three ballot issues that would reduce taxes and limit government borrowing. Ali Hasan, a fiscal conservative who lost his bid this spring to become the Republican nominee for state…
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Dire predictions of ballot initiatives’ impact draws millions
If Colorado voters approve three controversial ballot issues aimed at lowering taxes and curbing government borrowing, 99 percent of the state’s general fund would have to be used for K-12 education, a draft analysis by the Colorado Legislative Council shows. The remaining one percent, or about $38 million, would be left for all other departments,…
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Ballot measures’ sponsors appeal order to divulge financial backers
The sponsors of three controversial measures that opponents say could cripple Colorado’s economy have appealed a judge’s order that they disclose who contributed money and services to get the issues on the ballot. In a filing with the state Court of Appeals, the sponsors allege that the administrative law judge who presided over the case,…
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Bruce probably won’t face jail time in contempt case
A Denver district judge said today that he probably will not sentence Douglas Bruce to jail time in connection with a contempt-of-court citation issued against him last month. “I don’t plan to impose incarceration,” said District Judge Brian Whitney in a court hearing in Denver this morning. If Bruce is found guilty of contempt of…
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Developer pleads for relief from county fees
When Brian Schumann, managing member for Bradley Crossroads, an 11.2 acre development in Security, appeared before the El Paso County commissioners this week, he had an all-to-familiar story to tell. In 2006, his development, located at the corner of Bradley Road and Hancock Expressway, was being touted as a new retail destination for Security’s growing…
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Springs Utilities’ board hears details of pipeline negotiations
Colorado Springs Utilities and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation are drawing closer to an agreement on the cost of long-term contracts that will allow the utility to store and convey water through Pueblo Reservoir for the Southern Delivery System. “We’re seeing movement and I’m encouraged by that,” John Fredell, SDS project manager, said during a…
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County negotiating cost of dismantling Intel’s electrical systems
With a closing date only a month or two away, El Paso county officials have been in intense negotiations with the Los Angeles-based group that sold it several buildings and a parking garage on the former Intel campus on Garden of the Gods Road for $25 million. One issue that has added a charge to…
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$200 million at stake in this week’s SDS talks; potential fees termed ‘appalling’
Colorado Springs Utilities heads back to the bargaining table with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation this week to negotiate water contracts that will be needed for the Southern Delivery System pipeline. At issue are $200 million in potential additional costs that the federal government wants to impose on Utilities and its partners for storage and…
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Bruce served with contempt citation after 30 attempts
After 30 failed attempts, process servers have finally caught up with Douglas Bruce. Mike Saccone, a spokesman for the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, said Bruce was served Tuesday morning in Colorado Springs with a contempt-of-court citation by a private process server. Bruce did not respond to a telephone call requesting comment. If Bruce is found…