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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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This week's newsletter is sponsored by Armi and Joni Hall. Thank you to the Halls for supporting our mission! If you would like to help us in our mission, we are offering Newsletter Sponsorship opportunities. We are offering two sponsorships for each weekly newsletter at the nominal cost of $100. Funds raised from these sponsorship opportunities will assist us in continuing our mission.
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One nonprofit in Brighton, Colorado, is unable to help as many citizens as it once did due to federal budget cuts. Should our taxpayer dollars be going to any nonprofit? It seems that the current system is ripe for corruption of various sorts.
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One Denver nonprofit that operates a tiny home community for people trying to get off the streets is struggling due to Denver’s budget cuts. Again, should taxpayer dollars be going to nonprofits?
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This week, in new and exciting government programs you can pay for, the State of Colorado is more than happy for you to keep the electric vehicle rebate program going, now that federal money has dried up. Additionally, the taxpayer-funded rebate amounts are going up by 50%. Were you consulted about this use of your taxpayer dollars?
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Pop quiz: 14 states in the US use taxpayer funds to pay for healthcare for illegal aliens. Is Colorado one of these 14? If you answered yes, you win the prize of paying for your healthcare as well as healthcare for folks who are not legally in this country.
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The Colorado Department of Transportation is failing again, and you may get to pick up the tab for their failure. CDOT lost an eminent domain challenge and must now pay $3 million.
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Colorado is now meddling in prescription drug prices in the state. This arbitrary price ceiling will lead to shortages and, eventually, certain medicines being unavailable in Colorado. Then, they will pass more laws to “fix” the problems they created with this law, because it’s all a make-work program for bureaucrats and politicians.
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A recent analysis ranks Colorado as the 44th safest state in the country. Remember Governor Polis’ goal of making Colorado one of the 10 safest states in the union? How would you rate his progress so far?
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Governor Polis is facing a class action lawsuit on behalf of prisoners in the state. Plaintiffs in this suit claim that prisoners are forced to work while they are incarcerated, and that makes them slaves.
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The Denver Board of Ethics is upset that the CEO of Denver International Airport took 8 of his executive staff along with him for a trip to a conference in Madrid, Spain. Some of the first-class tickets, purchased at taxpayer expense, cost as much as $19,000. Despite the Board of Ethics being shocked by this, they still cleared the CEO of any ethical violations.
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Manitou Springs wants voters to approve a whopping 14% tax on six local businesses. The Iron Springs Chateau, the Pikes Peak Cog Railway, Adventures Out West Ziplines, the Penny Arcade, Manitou E-Bike Company, and the Cliff Dwellings Museum would be the targets of this tax. Business owners are, rightly, speaking out against this incredibly targeted tax.
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Sales of the Colorado vanity license plate celebrating the wolf-reintroduction scheme in the state have surpassed $1 million. Maybe some of the government employees have these, because we’ve seldom seen any.
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A District Court has dismissed a lawsuit against the annexation effort to build a Buc-ee’s facility in Palmer Lake. Integrity Matters filed the lawsuit, stating Palmer Lake violated laws surrounding annexations and open meetings laws. The organization plans to re-file the suit.
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The City of Colorado Springs is moving forward with a plan to renovate Fountain Creek near America the Beautiful Park. This entire creek renovation project, which will also include other creeks around town, will cost around $1 billion.
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In Colorado Springs, Tuesday night's Net Metering meeting with Colorado Springs Utilities got rather rowdy. People who purchased solar panels to help offset high utility costs are displeased. If you weren't able to attend and would like more information about rising utility costs for solar panel owners, please watch. We recorded it for your review.
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The City of Colorado Springs is closing the Meadows Park Community Center to save money. This is supposed to save the city around $800,000 next year.
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Taxpayers will pay for fencing around the vagrant infested Penrose Library property downtown. It's part of a $300,000 makeover for this library.
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Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade spent 30 minutes with KKTV discussing his immigrant past, as well as running for a second term as mayor. Would you support a second term for Mayor Mobolade?
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Mayor Mobolade also took to the airwaves to discuss his 2026 budget proposal, which aims to fill the $31 million hole in the city’s budget. We predict that revenues from new speed cameras and a future expansion of both the public safety sales tax and the Lodgers and Automobile Rental tax will factor prominently in this budget shortfall solution.
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Leftists in the Colorado legislature are pushing for a progressive income tax in Colorado, rather than the current flat income tax. They are hoping that the “soak the rich” message will resonate with voters. Does the Colorado government deserve more money from taxpayers, regardless of their incomes?
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Congressional representative Jeff Crank is working to keep Space Command in Colorado Springs. Do you think Space Command will actually leave Colorado?
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School District 11 teachers will go on strike this week. Only union teachers will be on strike, and substitute teachers are already lined up to fill in for teachers who are striking.
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One Colorado Springs School District 11 school board candidate is explaining why he attended an armed, Antifa/BLM protest outside a CSPD officer’s home. The mob was trying to intimidate the officer, who was involved in the justified shooting of De'Von Bailey in 2019. Charles Johnson, who is running to serve on the District 11 board, was arrested and charged with several felonies.
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Academy School District 20 has three open seats for its school board. Check out their recent candidate forum video to learn about the candidates running to fill these seats.
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The League of Women Voters will be hosting several candidate forums for various school district board candidates. These meetings are listed here and are also included below in our miscellaneous meetings section of this newsletter.
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The Pueblo Urban Renewal Authority has paid over $124,000 in taxpayer funds to various companies. The interesting part is, there are no contracts in place for these payments to these companies. Seems suspicious.
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The Regional Transportation District in Denver is attempting to borrow $539 million to buy diesel buses. They were planning to expand their electric bus fleet to signal their virtue, but electric buses aren’t reliable, and are very expensive to maintain.
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The family of the illegal immigrant accused terrorist who set people on fire in Boulder has filed a motion to be released from ICE custody.
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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, October 27, 9:00 a.m.
Colorado Springs City Council Work Session
107 N. Nevada, 3rd floor
Live stream link here
Agenda not yet posted
Monday, October 27, 5:30 p.m.
Colorado Springs City Council Work Session - Town Hall for Public Comment on the Mayor's Proposed 2026 City Budget
107 N. Nevada, 3rd floor
Live stream link here
Agenda not yet posted
Tuesday, October 28, 9:00 a.m.
Colorado Springs City Council
107 N. Nevada, 3rd floor
Live stream link here
Agenda not yet posted
Wednesday, October 29, 1:00 p.m.
Colorado Springs City Council Work Session - City Council Markup Session for Mayor's Proposed 2026 City Budget
107 N. Nevada, 3rd floor
Live stream link here
Agenda not yet posted
El Paso County Board of County Commissioners Meetings
Tuesday, October 14, 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, October 21, 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, October 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
Tuesday, October 14, 6:00 P.M
League of Women Voters School Board Candidate Forum – Widefield School District 3
Widefield Recreation Center
705 Aspen Drive
Information and Agenda
Thursday, October 16, 6:00 P.M
League of Women Voters School Board Candidate Forum – Cheyenne Mountain School District 12
Cheyenne Mountain High School
1200 Cresta Road
Information and Agenda
Thursday, October 23, 6:00 P.M
League of Women Voters School Board Candidate Forum – Ellicott School District 22
LOCATION TBD
Information and Agenda
Friday, October 24, 9:00 a.m.
Front Range Passenger Rail Board of Directors Meeting
Online Meeting - Registration Required
Information and Agenda
Monday, November 3, 6:00 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 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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