“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…”
Category: News/Politics
The Challenge of a New School Funding Formula
“I still see us rearranging the deck chairs and not increasing the money,” she said. “That concerns me…”
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…”
Colorado Legislators Looking at ‘Organic Burials’
For most Coloradans, there are two main choices after death: burial or cremation. Representative Brianna Titone and Senator Robert Rodriguez plan to bring a bill READ MORE
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 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….”
OPINION: Shake Hands or Twist Arms?
The Town can choose to respect the decision of the boards providing the funding by refusing to drag its partners in this URA into binding arbitration…
EDITORIAL: History and Excess, Part Four
So at least part of the historical problem seems under control, thanks to a total investment of state and local tax revenues of about $579,000…
EDITORIAL: History and Excess, Part Three
The landscaping around the house consisted of patches of weedy lawn when we bought the place in 1993. It now features numerous maturing trees…
Colorado Woman Wins $50,000 Settlement After Appearing Topless in Public
After receiving the summons, she filed a formal complaint with the City… and hired an lawyer: civil rights attorney David Lane…