Face-To-Face Funding Requests Trump E-Pleas At Budget Hearing
Even though communicating with Colorado Springs city council was as easy as typing a message on your phone, close to one hundred people felt a personal plea was in order Thursday night.
The final public comment hearing on the 2012 budget was billed as an electronic town hall. Citizens were encouraged to follow along with a live web stream and contribute thoughts and questions via Facebook and Twitter.
“We’ve had several comments to please approve the budget presented,” said Mary Scott, a spokeswoman for the city. Scott said the comments they received were split equally between phone calls, email, message boards and texts.
The city council also got a lot of feedback from those who came to meeting to make personal pleas for financial help through the budget. The group ACT said it needs at least $36,000 to continue providing specialized transportation for disabled adults and seniors in Colorado Springs.
“We can do it for one third the cost it takes [Mountain Metro Transit,]” said Joe Vaccaro of ACT and a Community Intersections director. “These people have no other way of getting to their place of work or work training and that’s where all of them are going. They’re not just going to the park, this is what their lives depend on.”
Last year ACT was awarded $100,000 out of the general reserve fund to continue providing 10,000 rides per year. Some spoke against making a similar move again this year. Among those was a spokesman for a group called Taxpayers for Budget Reform.
“Great things can and will happen with Transit for our citizens, if we are willing to change our overall methods of operations (smaller more efficient cost effective buses, etc,)” wrote Paul Kleinschmidt on the city’s Facebook page.
Another group preferring a personal plea for funds rather than an electronic request was Friends of Cheyenne Canyon. At least four members of the group spoke and asked for an additional $25,000 to pay for a volunteer coordinator that they said would improve public safety at one of Colorado Springs most popular tourism spots.
Decisions on these requests for funding must be made by next week when the city council anticipates finalizing the 2012 budget.
Mayor Steve Bach’s proposed budget is larger than last year’s but he said that’s due to increased costs. Bach said his budget is a reflection of long term goals. He said an internal audit of services in government offices resulted in $3 million in savings. In the coming months, Bach said he will utilize a consultant to do a total compensation study of the city’s finances. He anticipates this will include a “more sustainable” pension plan for the city.
