I hope you like tar and feathers. When are you politicians going to learn that taxing the populace to death will hurt your organization more than helping it. May I make a suggestion Mr. Smalls? Cut the waste! I’m still astonished at the GoG street widening between Intel and Agilent. Those parking lots are almost empty. Why did you spend that money. It could have gone elsewhere.

If the Pro-Rodeo Hall of Fame threatens to move, let them. If the USOC threatens to move, let them. Colorado Springs had an identity before they arrived here, and will continue to have an identity after they move. Quit greasing their palms. Attract more primary industry to move here. People will have jobs, they’ll start spending again, and sales tax revenues will increase. I like Jon’s idea of setting up a rainy day fund. Just don’t attack it for a pet project. Use it for times when revenues are down.

As Mr. Dierdorff says, you need to be a good steward with the money. I understand the need for taxes to pay for necessary services. Just cut the pork! Don’t penalize the producers.

Do what the population has to do when money becomes short. Cut back spending. That should be evident to you by virtue of the fact that sales tax revenues are down. If you push this proposal through, you can rest assured I’ll be organizing a recall.

Christopher Colvin

Well, if you want to get paid like the private sector, then you have to participate in BOTH the upswings and the downswings. If you get paid MORE than the private sector, then the declines will be more painful as the system absorbs the stunning over payments. Nepotism just makes it worse.

Most of the private sector here is experiencing 30-40% declines in business and income. Some businesses are faring far worse than that. If the City wants to get paid like the private sector, then they get to participate completely, up and down. It is distinctly unfair to assume that city employees are more “important” than the private sector citizens. And based on the paylevels at the top of the city and CS Utilities, an across the board pay cut of 40% would still leave them among the highest paid employers here.

Finally, people visiting Colorado Springs will get a sales tax break because the residents will have more of the burden.

In a recession, everyone suffers, but somehow the City Council doesn’t think it has to suffer – just the peons that voted for them should. Create a rainy day fund and fund it at a higher level to better weather ups and downs. And stop whining!

The city needs to be a better steward of our tax dollars, absolutely. For instance, how much duplicate efforts/spending are there between the city and El Paso County? Couldn’t some of the administration of local services be combined as a way to save money? The city just spent a ton of money on a new data center that could have been outsourced for less.

I am willing to pay more, but I’d better see a return this time.