“I’m open to having greater special district participation on the commission, but I also think the Council needs to be the driving force of that board, to maintain the majority…”
Author: Bill Hudson
Bill Hudson began sharing his opinions in the Pagosa Daily Post in 2004 and can't seem to break the habit. He claims that, in Pagosa Springs, opinions are like pickup trucks: everybody has one.
EDITORIAL: The Growth ‘Ponzi Scheme’, Part Three
“What they really want, is to have a meeting with the town, with the districts and have the districts and the town together to put together the format of the board, likely leading to more taxing entities on that board…”
EDITORIAL: The Growth ‘Ponzi Scheme’, Part Two
Ten years ago, the Town of Pagosa Springs was struggling with declining tax revenue, thanks to the Great Recession… after almost two decades of steady revenue growth…
EDITORIAL: The Growth ‘Ponzi Scheme’, Part One
“Bolstered by state and federal funding, municipal bond debt financing as well as tax incentives and deferrals, cities and towns that want to induce new development have many means of doing so…”
EDITORIAL: The Hidden Cost of Jails, Part Three
“Our goal is reducing recidivism, which leads to reductions in the incarceration rate, (and) phasing out private prisons,” Polis said…
EDITORIAL: The Hidden Cost of Jails, Part Two
We do know, however, that it cost the Sheriff’s Office about $400,000 last year to house all of our inmates at the La Plata County Jail, an hour’s drive away….
EDITORIAL: The Hidden Cost of Jails, Part One
“You want to know what this was really all about?” he asked with the bluntness of a man who, after public disgrace and a stretch in federal prison, had little left to protect…
EDITORIAL: Renewing the Town’s ‘Urban Renewal’ Plans? Part Six
Facing the American flag, the audience recited, “…and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all…”
EDITORIAL: Renewing the Town’s ‘Urban Renewal’ Plans? Part Five
“In order to change the representation on the Board, there will need to be some legislative changes made by the Town Council. The process for that is unclear at this time…”
EDITORIAL: Renewing the Town’s ‘Urban Renewal’ Plans? Part Four
We watched that ‘economic development’ process flounder rather dramatically over the past three years, after the Town Council decided to hand out half a million dollars in tax incentives…
EDITORIAL: Renewing the Town’s ‘Urban Renewal’ Plans? Part Three
The meeting was unique, in the sense that I had never seen — in my 15 years of political reporting on public meetings — all of Pagosa’s tax-funded special districts, all sitting around the same table…
EDITORIAL: Renewing the Town’s ‘Urban Renewal’ Plans? Part Two
When the Pagosa Springs Town Council approved Resolution 2019-18 on November 5, they appointed themselves as 7 members of an 11-member Urban Renewal Authority board, essentially giving the Town Council political control…
EDITORIAL: Renewing the Town’s ‘Urban Renewal’ Plans? Part One
Is this “representative democracy”? Perhaps not…
EDITORIAL: The Education Pendulum, Part Seven
“As public workers, the idea has basically been you’re going to make less pay wise, but you’re going to make a better retirement package…”
EDITORIAL: The Education Pendulum, Part Six
Many of us in Colorado are uncomfortable with corporate welfare in general — tax incentives and direct grants of taxpayer revenues given to big corporations, in the name of ‘economic development’…
EDITORIAL: The Education Pendulum, Part Five
“In highlighting a willingness to walk off the job, Baca-Oehlert said the union is not making a threat, but trying to make it clear how strongly educators feel about this issue….”
EDITORIAL: The Education Pendulum, Part Four
“During the 2016-2017 school year, CU’s Counseling and Psychiatric Services center provided more than 48,000 student mental health services, including group therapy sessions, psychiatry and walk-in sessions…”
EDITORIAL: The Education Pendulum, Part Three
One might think — if one were thinking about such things — that an effective public education system would produce caring citizens who are able to listen to, and look out for, one another…
EDITORIAL: The Education Pendulum, Part Two
We humans experience a certain sense of satisfaction when our expectations are met, especially if we’ve been waiting for a good while…