Saturday, August 04, 2007

City of Pueblo, Where is Your Money Going?

The people of Pueblo need to know where their tax money is going.

Do you know where your tax money is going and to whom it is benefiting?  It can safely be said that 99.9% of the people can’t answer that question.  It’s not that all people are apathetic and don’t care but it’s the system and politicians that do not allow the public to be informed about monetary issues in a timely and open fashion.

Most people understand that the functioning of the City government is the primary responsibility of the City Manager and the City Council and that dozens of decisions must be made on weekly, if not, on a daily basis.  Under the circumstances, most people recognize that not every decision concerning operations or monetary issues can or should be under close public scrutiny.  Little if anything would ever get accomplished.  But when there are issues that set precedent,  when money is to be spent that was not included in the budget, and when major projects are to be considered the public should be made of aware of these prior to the City Council voting on them.  There needs to be some form of checks and balances and transparency in the City government.  Dollar limits need to be set and if the City wants to spend money not budgeted above that limit it should go on the ballot.

The City Council meets in what is termed the executive session behind closed doors to discuss new ordinances(laws) and resolutions and decide which ones will go before City Council to be voted upon.  Under the Colorado Sunshine Law the City Council is not obligated to make public anything that was discussed during an executive session.  Though the City Council has the discretionary power to make public anything they desire.  They negotiate deals to give our money away in secret.  An example of this is the deal between the City and the YMCA which is setting a precedent for paying capitol funds to go towards the construction of the YMCA campus.  Where is the two million dollars coming from?  Another example is the purchase of property from the Catholic Church for over a million dollars while the City hasn’t sufficiently funded the Parks and Recreation Department to maintain existing City properties.

No one knows where our money is going, except for maybe the City Manager and the City Council.  If they know,  they should make the public aware of who been awarded large contracts and why they awarded to them, as an example.  The City claims that because of the lack of money, when a position is vacated it is not being filled.  That position existed for a reason, what going to happen to the service it provided.

The City needs more policeman, better fire protection, improved infrastructure on a planned short and long term basis, and many other things which will improve the quality of life of the citizens of Pueblo.  We need to know where our money is going.

Ted Freeman      

Next entry: OHNO Board of Directors' Meeting Minutes — May 29, 2007 Previous entry: A Busy Night for the City Fathers/Mothers

1. Good article. I hope to read more from you.

   .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)  on  08/18  at  11:10 AM

2. How often does Air Force Fire Protection school begin?
   Fire science degree online

   Fire science degree online  on  10/30  at  02:40 AM

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