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Here are some of the stories we are following this week. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for up-to-the-minute news.
- Our latest original article (just below) must have touched a nerve. We received a call from the City of Colorado Springs Media Relations Manager today. He wanted to let us know that Pikes Peak America's Mountain (PPAM) is an enterprise (we already knew this), and the event sponsorship money they gave away couldn't have been spent on park bathrooms. We replied that the money was still taxpayer money and PPAM is under the Parks Department. The spending is still irresponsible, given the massive cuts to park services. It makes no difference that it's a different pile of money – it’s all taxpayer money!
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The City of Colorado Springs has recently reduced services to taxpayers. For example, Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services has closed restroom facilities at several parks, and will even delay repairs and discontinue maintenance in many parks. Why then do they have taxpayer money to hand out for events like gumbo cook-offs and ice cream socials? Read all about it in our latest original article.
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This original, in-depth reporting would not be possible without your generosity. We at Springs Taxpayers United thank you for your support, and we are always grateful for any support.
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The statewide promotion of the Front Range Passenger Rail service is well underway. Public meetings were held in Denver to discuss how this Polis dream project would be funded. For this boondoggle to be extended south to Colorado Springs and Pueblo, voters would have to approve either a new sales or property tax to fund it.
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A new proposal has been introduced in the Colorado legislature that would create a government mandate eliminating the credit card swipe fee on only the sales tax portion of every sale. This would require costly modifications to existing point-of-sale systems, which are configured to charge this fee (including sales tax) on the final cost of the purchase. Large retailers would be better able to absorb the cost of these adjustments. Small businesses would suffer.
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The Colorado legislature passed a bill that allows counties to use property tax money, collected from property owners, for affordable housing projects. For being affordable, these housing projects sure do require a lot of other people’s money.
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The legislature is attempting to cut $1.5 billion from the state budget. It’s their fault that the budget is so out of control, so it should be fun to watch and see which pet projects get defunded.
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Because Colorado is not repellent enough for businesses, the legislature is now attempting to steal from larger employers to fund the exploding Medicaid budget problem they created. Maybe they should try to eliminate all the fraud in the Colorado Medicaid program and stop forcing taxpayers to pay for medical care for non-citizens before driving more business out of the state.
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Petition signatures are currently being collected for the greatest income tax increase in Colorado history. If this initiative makes it to the ballot and is approved by voters, it would do away with Colorado’s current flat income tax and create a progressive income tax that would punish “the rich.” In case you were wondering, if you have any income at all, you are likely “the rich” being targeted.
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Ranchers in Colorado are getting fed up with the damage from wolves introduced into the state. Claims for livestock lost to wolf predation could top $1 million by the end of this year.
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Xcel Energy was once totally on board with the Polis green energy fantasy. Now, they are begging for coal plants to remain open despite the legislative mandates to close them. They are now saying the aggressive mandates being forced on us all are simply not feasible. Raise your hand if you already knew that they were unworkable.
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Denver plans to hand taxpayers a $4 million loss on some property that will be sold to the Denver Broncos. This property will be used for the new football stadium. Denver paid $50 million for it and is selling it to the Broncos for $46 million.
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Denver City Council is postponing a decision on a potential new license plate reader service contract for the city. They are very concerned that this technology could lead to illegal immigrants being apprehended. Illegal immigrants are their priority, not citizens.
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Denver Water Commissioners declared a Stage 1 drought and have restricted residential water usage. Residents can only water lawns two days per week.
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Due to water supply issues, the town of Erie, Colorado, is warning people that water to their homes will be shut off if they water their lawns. Erie expects their water supply issues to be resolved in April.
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Douglas County residents are being asked to start conserving water. Many residents are rightly asking if potential drought conditions would impact any ongoing and future residential construction and growth. They were assured that there is plenty of water for new development, just not for them.
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Federal immigration authorities recently arrested a suspected criminal illegal alien near Palmer High School. Instead of being thankful that a criminal was apprehended, school officials offered counseling to students to help them heal from the trauma of law enforcement activities. This is pretty pathetic, honestly.
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A college student in Colorado Springs was attacked downtown and had to undergo several hours of facial reconstruction surgery due to the brutality of the attack. When can we see results from the Clean and Safe initiative?
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The Penrose Library in Downtown Colorado Springs has completed installation of a $700,000 security fence around the library property. Even the library is not safe from criminals in Colorado these days.
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Colorado Springs City Council has approved a rate decrease on your utility costs. This roughly $10 per month decrease kicks in on your April bill.
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What is raising the price of your utility bills in Colorado? Costly green energy mandates, of course. A continuous rise in energy costs is the result of a political choice.
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Colorado Springs saw less tourism in 2025, and that impacted tourism tax revenue. City officials say they are $300,000 short of their expected goal for 2025. This is raising concerns for many local businesses that rely on this tourism tax to encourage more visitors from other states.
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If you would like to help support us in our mission as government watchdogs by becoming a Newsletter Sponsor, we are offering two sponsorships for each weekly newsletter, at the nominal cost of $100 each. Funds raised from these sponsorship opportunities will help us to keep looking out for taxpayers.
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You can also support Springs Taxpayers United when you shop. Springs Taxpayers United is now enrolled with the King Soopers Community Rewards Program. You can link your SooperCard to us by logging into your account and designating Springs Taxpayers United (SW470) as the recipient of the community reward for your King Soopers card. Thanks for your support!
Here are some upcoming meetings in the area. We hope you can attend one or more!
If there are other public meetings you’d like to see announced here, please drop us a line. We are happy to include them in an upcoming newsletter. These might be government-related, candidate, or elected official meetings. Thanks!
Colorado Springs City Council Meetings
Monday, April 13, 9:00 a.m.
Colorado Springs City Council Work Session
107 N. Nevada, 3rd floor
Live stream link here
Agenda not yet posted
Tuesday, April 14, 9:00 a.m.
Colorado Springs City Council
107 N. Nevada, 3rd floor
Live stream link here
Agenda not yet posted
El Paso County Board of County Commissioners Meetings
Tuesday, March 31, 9:00 a.m.
El Paso County Board of County Commissioners
Centennial Hall
200 S. Cascade
Live stream link here
Agenda not yet posted
Tuesday, April 7, 9:00 a.m.
El Paso County Board of County Commissioners
Centennial Hall
200 S. Cascade
Live stream link here
Agenda not yet posted
Colorado Springs Utilities Board of Directors
Wednesday, April 22, 1:00 p.m.
Utilities Board of Directors
Blue River Board Room
Plaza of the Rockies, South Tower, 5th Floor
Live stream link here
Agenda not yet posted
Miscellaneous Meetings of Interest
No Meetings Currently Posted
View the full Colorado Springs City Council meeting schedule here to see upcoming meetings.
View the full Board of El Paso County Commissioners meeting schedule here to see upcoming meetings.
View the full Colorado Springs Utilities Board meeting schedule here to see upcoming meetings. Please also follow CSU on social media at their Facebook Page and on Twitter.
Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel. Since most of the City and County board and commission meetings are not televised or recorded, we are trying to remedy that. We now have a camera and a tripod for volunteers to check out for future meetings.
If you have a tip about a story in the Pikes Peak region that you aren’t seeing reported, let us know. We will see what we can find out.
How to Contact City and County Officials:
City Hall
107 N. Nevada Avenue
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
(719) 385-5986
Contact City Council
Mayor's Office
30 S Nevada Avenue, Suite 601
Colorado Springs, CO 80901
(719) 385-5900
Contact the Mayor's Office
County Commissioners
200 South Cascade Avenue, Suite 100
Colorado Springs, CO 80903-2202
Phone: (719) 520-7276
https://www.elpasoco.com/contact-us/
Thank you!
Rebecca
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