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Donations prolong deputy departure
Pat Hill
While El Paso County voters said “bah humbug” to a tax increase for public health and law enforcement, citizens in Green Mountain Falls took the Santa Claus approach.
At issue is the failure of the ballot measure 1A, which effectively eliminated the position of the town’s part-time deputy Dave Soyka. Marshal Randy Ford made the announcement the day after the November election.
Hearing the news, Eric West, president of the ChildrensARK, wrote a check to the marshal’s department for $5,000. Summer residents John Harwood and his brother, Phil Snow, also contributed $2,500 apiece. The donations will keep Soyka on the job at least through the end of the year.
News travels fast in Green Mountain Falls. As a kind of consolation, a reflection of concern, several women from Church in the Wildwood contributed homemade pies to the Soyka household.
Money continues to be an issue in the town with 588 tax-paying properties.
At the board meeting on Dec. 2 the trustees broached the subject of seeking a mill-levy increase.
“It’s amazing how little we pay in property taxes,” said trustee Mac Pitrone. “We don’t know how good we have it here.”
Of the estimated budget of $432, 070 in 2009, the town collects $121,111 for homes in El Paso County and $7,610 for homes in the Teller-County boundary.
“If we find we should be doing more, offering more services, we may want to look at asking for a mill-levy increase,” said Mayor Tyler Stevens.
At some point, Stevens added, the board, along with the citizens, must identify additional needs as well as the revenue required to fulfill those needs.
Trustee Robert King added, “It seems to me we have to make a case that we are maintaining services in a fiscally-responsible way. If our revenue is not keeping up with real costs, then we have to raise the revenue.”
Howard Price, a regular in the audience during board meetings, asked about allowing residents to contribute to road maintenance, like an adopt-a-highway program.
Stevens said it’s a good idea, but it won’t work. The donation could spawn preferential treatment for one road and not another, he said.
Rob McArthur, public works director, agreed. “We have been consistent in the service we provide; each taxpayer gets 1/588th worth of service and that contributes largely to why we receive less than 10 complaints a year,” he said. “Adopting all the roads is something we can discuss; there are definitely possibilities of opening up the door.”
Stevens considered Price’s suggestion a leaping-off point. “As a small town we are reliant upon our citizens to come forward to give us ideas,” he said.
King offered to be the town’s liaison for a citizens’ advisory committee to tie specific needs to a mill-levy increase.
In the marshal’s report, Ford said the department is still looking for the two suspects who fled the town after attempting to break into three homes in Green Mountain Falls. The pair, a man with a goatee and a woman in her 30s, with long curly blonde hair, fled in an older SUV. For information, call the department at 719-684-9415.
The next meeting of the board is at 7 p.m. Jan. 6.
While El Paso County voters said “bah humbug” to a tax increase for public health and law enforcement, citizens in Green Mountain Falls took the Santa Claus approach.
At issue is the failure of the ballot measure 1A, which effectively eliminated the position of the town’s part-time deputy Dave Soyka. Marshal Randy Ford made the announcement the day after the November election.
Hearing the news, Eric West, president of the ChildrensARK, wrote a check to the marshal’s department for $5,000. Summer residents John Harwood and his brother, Phil Snow, also contributed $2,500 apiece. The donations will keep Soyka on the job at least through the end of the year.
News travels fast in Green Mountain Falls. As a kind of consolation, a reflection of concern, several women from Church in the Wildwood contributed homemade pies to the Soyka household.
Money continues to be an issue in the town with 588 tax-paying properties.
At the board meeting on Dec. 2 the trustees broached the subject of seeking a mill-levy increase.
“It’s amazing how little we pay in property taxes,” said trustee Mac Pitrone. “We don’t know how good we have it here.”
Of the estimated budget of $432, 070 in 2009, the town collects $121,111 for homes in El Paso County and $7,610 for homes in the Teller-County boundary.
“If we find we should be doing more, offering more services, we may want to look at asking for a mill-levy increase,” said Mayor Tyler Stevens.
At some point, Stevens added, the board, along with the citizens, must identify additional needs as well as the revenue required to fulfill those needs.
Trustee Robert King added, “It seems to me we have to make a case that we are maintaining services in a fiscally-responsible way. If our revenue is not keeping up with real costs, then we have to raise the revenue.”
Howard Price, a regular in the audience during board meetings, asked about allowing residents to contribute to road maintenance, like an adopt-a-highway program.
Stevens said it’s a good idea, but it won’t work. The donation could spawn preferential treatment for one road and not another, he said.
Rob McArthur, public works director, agreed. “We have been consistent in the service we provide; each taxpayer gets 1/588th worth of service and that contributes largely to why we receive less than 10 complaints a year,” he said. “Adopting all the roads is something we can discuss; there are definitely possibilities of opening up the door.”
Stevens considered Price’s suggestion a leaping-off point. “As a small town we are reliant upon our citizens to come forward to give us ideas,” he said.
King offered to be the town’s liaison for a citizens’ advisory committee to tie specific needs to a mill-levy increase.
In the marshal’s report, Ford said the department is still looking for the two suspects who fled the town after attempting to break into three homes in Green Mountain Falls. The pair, a man with a goatee and a woman in her 30s, with long curly blonde hair, fled in an older SUV. For information, call the department at 719-684-9415.
The next meeting of the board is at 7 p.m. Jan. 6.
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