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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 help us to continue our mission.
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Driving in Colorado Springs can be like combat. Between the potholes, drivers who believe traffic laws do not apply to them, and people paying more attention to their phones than driving, commuting can be a nightmare. But relax, citizens. The City of Colorado Springs is here to help. They have developed a Transportation Safety Action Plan, which is aimed at reducing traffic fatalities by 35% over the next 10 years. But what are the details of this effort? You can read our assessment of this plan in our latest original article.
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Mayor Mobolade has selected Wayne Williams as his Interim Chief of Staff this week. Williams is the candidate Mobolade defeated in the 2023 race to be mayor. The mayor states that this move represents the coming together we need to see in city government. We have a hunch this new dynamic duo has teamed up to sell voters on a new tax or tax increase for the November ballot.
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We at Springs Taxpayers United are always appreciative of our subscribers and the support that they give us. To show our appreciation and generate support for us in return, we have created an opportunity just for you. If you register your King Soopers Card and designate Springs Taxpayers United (organization number SW470) to receive Community Rewards, and send us a screenshot, you will be entered to win a $100 gift card to Skirted Heifer/Bambinos Pizza! This will cost you nothing, and it won’t impact your King Soopers fuel points. Just email your screenshot to us here, and you will be entered to win. Entries will be accepted through April 15th. We’ll announce the lucky winner on April 16th!
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Colorado Springs Mayor Mobolade is responding to a City Auditor report that indicates potential misuse of city vehicles and personnel by an unnamed elected official. As it turns out, there really isn’t a clear policy regarding vehicle use by elected officials.
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Mayor Mobolade also officially kicked off his re-election campaign this week. The election will be held in April 2027.
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Colorado Springs City Council District 2 will now be represented by Ken Casey. Casey serves as Chair of the Colorado Springs Planning Commission. He will be formally sworn in on April 13. Will he work for the people in his district, or work for developers?
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Law enforcement agencies around the Pikes Peak Region will aggressively crack down on unregistered vehicles this month. Scofflaws have grown accustomed to consequence-free living, so the problem has gotten out of hand.
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But wait, there’s more! The “Click It or Ticket” seatbelt enforcement season also kicks off this week. If they see you driving without a seatbelt on, you could be fined.
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A proposal is being considered in Colorado Springs that would create an AI data center at the former chip-manufacturing plant on West Garden of the Gods Road. Neighbors are not happy about this. A community meeting for this was held this week, where residents near this site voiced their concerns to the COO of the company proposing this project. So many people wanted to attend that not all of them could get into the facility due to capacity limits. The organizers immediately conducted a second meeting as a reaction to the attendance numbers.
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We did attend and record this proposed data center community meeting for you, if you would like to see it for yourself.
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The rising cost of materials, as well as the cost of EPA regulations, is making replacing aging fire apparatus more and more difficult for the Colorado Springs Fire Department. Fire trucks that cost $500,000 just 5 years ago can now cost almost $1 million.
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The Colorado Springs Police Department is now using drones to help fight crime. Oftentimes, the drones are deployed to locate and apprehend fleeing criminals. Do you support CSPD using drones?
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The new revenue-generating speed cameras being installed throughout Colorado make live traffic applications like Waze, which is designed to warn you of potential speed cameras, completely moot. They have all the money in the world to spend on taking all of your money.
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For the first time in 20 years, Denver has implemented drought water pricing. This could cost residents around $45 more per year if they do not reduce their water consumption by 20%.
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The Colorado Department of Transportation has decided to cut out the middleman and build a revenue-generating traffic camera network that is owned and managed by them. Previously, third-party contractors were hired. But why pay contractors when taxpayers can just pay for CDOT to build their own?
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Colorado attorneys are now unable to do their jobs unless they certify that they will not assist federal immigration authorities. The state document filing system, used to file cases and related documents, now demands that attorneys swear to not uphold immigration law, or they are blocked from using the system. Remember when Jared Polis said that Colorado is not a sanctuary state?
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El Paso County is very diligent about cleaning voter rolls and ensuring that the all-mail ballot system here is as clean and correct as possible. Do other counties do the same?
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People who receive taxpayer-funded SNAP food assistance in Colorado will still be able to use their benefits to buy sugary soda and candy. Colorado applied for, and received, a waiver from the USDA to allow for the continued purchase of junk food with tax money.
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Colorado legislators make $40,000 plus per diem for just 4 months of work. Some think they are underpaid and want to be paid more. These same legislators have created a one-billion-dollar deficit in the state. They also lie to us and call taxes “fees” to skirt the law. They also constantly attack our right to have a say in how much we pay in taxes. We don’t think they are underpaid at all. In fact, the opposite is true.
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Amendment 64, which legalized marijuana in Colorado, dictated that the first $40 million in tax revenue from marijuana sales go toward building and maintaining school buildings. The state has collected over $3 billion in tax revenue from marijuana sales. Where does the rest of the money go?
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A former staffer who worked with Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold has gone public with details of just how corrupt and abusive Griswold is. Her malevolence is nothing new, so why the full-court press now? We suspect the folks who control politics in the state want her damaged beyond repair because she could hurt their prospects.
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Because it is a day ending in “y”, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser has proudly filed another lawsuit against the Trump administration. This time, Weiser is suing Trump to keep vote-by-mail going in Colorado.
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The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission has been captured by out-of-state animal rights activists who don’t like hunters. The commissioners are appointed by Governor Polis, so this radical takeover is clearly intentional. Politicians like Polis don’t seek elected office to represent you. They seek it to impose their will on you.
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To refresh your memory, the Governor’s spouse, Marlon Reise, is a radical animal rights activist who played a part in crafting wolf reintroduction policy in Colorado, even though nobody elected him. He has also been openly contemptuous of ranchers in Colorado. Do you think he’s helping Polis fill the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission with radical activists?
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The Colorado legislature passed a law in 2024 that greatly expanded the number of families who were eligible for taxpayer-funded childcare assistance. Now, almost 14,000 families are on the waitlist to receive these subsidies, but the state doesn’t have the money. Expect legislators to leverage the disaster they intentionally caused to attack TABOR.
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Meanwhile, Governor Polis is focused on the important things, like selecting a clever, fun name for his choo-choo train that he expects taxpayers to pay for.
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Colorado is now the sixth most regulated state in the nation for business, according to the Colorado Chamber of Commerce. This represents a direct cost to businesses in the state. Do you think we’ll see more companies leave Colorado as Palantir did?
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Here’s something you don’t read every day: The entire Costilla County Sheriff’s Office command staff has been indicted. It appears the entire command staff was crooked.
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Radical activists from the Sierra Club delivered a petition to Colorado Springs Utilities in an effort to get CSU to close the Ray Nixon power plant by 2029. This is in keeping with the aggressive “green energy” schedule laid out by Governor Polis.
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
Tuesday, April 14, 9:00 a.m.
Colorado Springs City Council
107 N. Nevada, 3rd floor
Live stream link here
Agenda
El Paso County Board of County Commissioners Meetings
Tuesday, April 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, April 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, 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
Monday, April 6, 6:00 p.m.
Law Enforcement Transparency and Advisory Committee
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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