Author: Pam Zubeck
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Windmills hold no windfall for El Paso County
A plan to erect an array of windmills in eastern El Paso County won’t be blowing a yearly windfall the county’s way. That’s because wind energy facilities are considered business personal property, and the county ditched its personal property tax about a decade ago. El Paso, the only county in the state to abolish its…
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County clerk relying on volunteers after layoffs
Radical staff reductions have prompted El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Bob Balink to turn to the public for help. Balink has launched a program in which he hopes volunteers will pick up the slack in elections, recording, motor vehicles, information systems and clerk to the board. It’s the latest volunteer program in county government,…
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Utility woes delay detox center’s debut
Construction of a detox center to serve the region has hit a second snag, pushing the facility at least a month behind schedule, El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa said Tuesday. After finally rounding up commitments from local hospitals last month to fund part of the new detox center, Maketa is now waiting for the…
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Emergency Services Area kicks out Security Fire
Security Fire Protection District was booted from the Emergency Services Agency last week after it hired a private ambulance company. It’s the first time a member agency has been expelled since the ESA was established more than a decade ago to oversee an exclusive contract with emergency ambulance provider American Medical Response. Security Fire officials…
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Surprisingly few property owners protest reappraisals
John Franklin doesn’t think his home’s value increased by $20,000. That’s why he went to the El Paso County Assessor’s Office on Monday, the final day to appeal property values determined in the 2008 reappraisal. “It was a little more than I expected,” said the retired assistant county attorney who was filing his first appeal.…
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Today’s the last day to appeal property values set by assessor
Today is the last day to appeal your property value resulting from the 2008 reappraisal. The El Paso County Assessor’s Office reports fewer appeals have been filed than expected, which is surprising because the reappraisal resulted in a good number of homes being valued higher than the previous reappraisal despite a plunge in values during…
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Reappraisal protests trickling in as deadline looms
Nearly two weeks into the reappraisal appeal period, the El Paso County Assessor’s Office isn’t the loneliest place in town, but almost. Only 1,922 appeals had been received as of Thursday, 46 percent of them online. The front counter was deserted, with workers reporting only three or four walk-ins per hour. Most appeals are from…
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Homeland security czar tours her Colorado Springs domain
The nation’s czar of defense against terrorist attacks and responses to natural disasters had her first peek Thursday at the nation’s nerve center for homeland security. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano visited Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base. She and NORAD/NorthCom commander Gen. Gene…
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Homeland security czar tours her Colorado Springs domain
The nation’s czar over defense against terrorist attacks and responses to natural disasters had her first peek Thursday at the nation’s nerve center for homeland defense. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano visited Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base. She and NORAD/NorthCom commander Gen. Gene…
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Cripple Creek in danger of losing its sinful past
CRIPPLE CREEK – Treasures that graced Pearl DeVere’s house in Cripple Creek’s red light district in the 1890s made it the most elegant dwelling on Meyers Avenue. Persian rugs. Handcarved European furniture. A Knabe piano. A Turkish cigarette dispenser. A Tiffany lamp. They created an exotic atmosphere where only the richest men were admitted, and…