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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.
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Colorado Springs City Council officially reprimanded Councilman Dave Donelson. This occurred because Councilman Donelson asked other council members to consider recusing themselves from a vote on a new apartment development. The council members he made these comments about have taken campaign donations from the developer of this apartment complex. Mr. Donelson has been stripped of committee assignments as part of this reprimand.
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Councilman Donelson spoke publicly before the reprimand, and we recorded the video for you. Do you think the city council reprimand was appropriate?
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Your humble servants at Springs Taxpayers United assisted a citizen’s group in Westminster, Colorado. This group of neighbors fought the government to keep their beloved dog park. We are proud of these citizens, and we are also proud to contribute to their efforts!
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If you like what we at Springs Taxpayers United do to help citizens across the state keep government nannyism in check, please feel free to throw us a few dollars, and be sure to tell all your friends about us.
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The Colorado Legislature has been attacking oil and gas production in our state. The latest attacks will plunder oil and gas company profits to pay for transportation methods the nannyists in the legislature prefer for us. Who do you think will end up paying for this? Here’s a hint: any business must pass costs, including punitive costs of government mandates, onto customers, or they will go out of business.
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It’s that time of year again. Mountain Metro is advertising “free” public transportation, that really isn’t free. Nothing is free. Taxpayers will, as always, foot the bill for the services government provides.
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Also in housing news, the La Plata Amara annexation southeast of Colorado Springs may bring 9,500 new homes into Colorado Springs. Do you think this is sustainable?
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Has Colorado Springs overbuilt apartment complexes? We found the following quote from the linked article interesting: “The other major problem, which is the bigger challenge, is that much of the new product is for high-end renters. What we have is a shortage of affordable apartments.” Wait, we thought “affordable housing” was the entire point of this latest crisis.
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As expected, the Colorado Springs City Council has approved the controversial apartment complex at the intersection of Garden of the Gods and 30th Street. This location is just a few hundred feet from the hotly-contested 2424 Garden of the Gods apartment complex proposal that was defeated by neighbors. The same wildfire and evacuation risks are present in this new development, but the city council isn’t really bothered by that, stating that the risks can be managed. Some on the Colorado Springs City Council will never NOT bend the knee to developers who support them financially.
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This new, risk-laden apartment complex is sure to draw lawsuits, but there’s a catch. The Colorado legislature passed a law that functions as a protection racket for developers. The law intentionally makes it more difficult and more expensive for citizens to sue to stop any new developments. Local citizen advocates Westside Watch have filed suit to get this law nullified.
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El Paso County is also getting in on the development spree. County Commissioners will hear a proposal for a 62-home development northwest of Peyton.
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Mayor Mobolade has announced a new mental health resource, named Pikes Peak Rising.
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Should taxpayers be forced to pay for food and rent for people on Medicaid? What limits or controls, if any, should be put on this funding? Taxpayer resources are not inexhaustible. For your information, the U.S. national debt is now 122% of GDP and climbing rapidly.
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Denver police have determined that illegal aliens washing windshields at intersections is illegal. Now, if someone would only determine that entering the country illegally is against the law, we’d be moving in the right direction.
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The Pikes Peak Library District is threatening to shutter 2 locations unless taxpayers give them more money.
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One local developer is offering a land donation in order to build a road to help with traffic congestion around the Manitou Incline.
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Denver Mayor Mike Johnston wants Denver to be more affordable. We want governments across the country to stop coddling illegal aliens, vagrants, and criminals. Let’s see who gets lucky first.
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Also in Toilet City news this week, city officials are proposing two large tax increases. If passed, these two increases would boost the city tax rate to 10%. Affordability indeed. Voters in Denver are beginning to notice that their taxes are out of control.
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Numerous proposals will be on your November ballot this year. Some are good, some are not.
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You may have noticed that the delivery fee you pay for any retail deliveries increased to $0.29. This is called a “fee”, but, as we all know, it’s really a tax. This tax will generate billions for state bureaucrats over ten years.
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The CEO of Springs Rescue Mission is stepping down after several years in the position.
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If you would like to help support us in our mission as government watchdogs by becoming a Newsletter Sponsor, we offer 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.
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, July 22, 10:00 a.m.
Colorado Springs City Council Work Session
107 N. Nevada, 3rd floor
Live stream link here
Agenda not yet posted
Tuesday, July 23, 10:00 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 Commissioner Meetings
Tuesday, July 23, 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, July 30, 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
Tuesday, July 17, 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
Miscellaneous Meetings of Interest
Wednesday, July 17, 5:30 p.m.
El Paso County District 2 Townhall with Commissioner Carrie Geitner
Swink Hall, El Paso County Fairgrounds
366 10th Street, Calhan, Colorado
Information and Agenda
Monday, August 5, 5:00 p.m.
Law Enforcement Transparency and Advisory Committee
City Hall
107 S. Nevada Avenue, Suite 200
Also, online via Microsoft Teams
Information and Agenda
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 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 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 Mayors 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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