City paving the way for in-house road work
The city of Colorado Springs will seek approval today to hire its own employees to do work on Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority road projects now being done by consultants and temporary workers.
The city could save $1.7 million a year by doing more in-house work on PPRTA projects, said City Engineer Cam McNair.
The catch? When voters approved a one-cent sales tax in 2004 to fund capital and maintenance road work and for transit operations through the RTA, they were promised the funds would not be used by participating governments to hire permanent employees.
McNair said the city would like the RTA board to change that policy so it could use some of its current employees. McNair said he would also like the board to give the city the option of hiring “special” employees who would serve at the will of the city and could be dismissed if RTA funds became unavailable.
McNair said he realizes the proposal could be controversial because it would reduce the amount of money spent on the private sector, although all major capital and road maintenance work would still be done by private firms.
And, he admitted, the proposal is an admission that a severe revenue shortfall the past couple years has meant the city is now relying on the one-cent sales tax to pay for road maintenance work that was once funded by the general fund.
El Paso County Commissioner Wayne Williams, who helped put the RTA measure on the ballot and who sits on the authority’s board, said he expects some skepticism about the city’s plan, which he called a “significant change.”
The policy prohibiting hiring regular employees with RTA funds was meant to ensure transparency — voters would know their sales tax dollars were being used to build an intersection or pave a road, not fund a bureaucracy, he said. It also was never the intention of the RTA founders to have the sales tax fund what should be normal government functions, he said.
McNair acknowledged that but said severe budget shortfalls in city and RTA revenue has meant choosing between keeping fire and police on the streets or getting roads paved. City leaders don’t want to lay off fire or police, so they’re looking for savings elsewhere. And, he said, the proposal could mean real savings: The city pays outside consultants double and staffing agency workers 20 percent to 30 percent more for RTA work than it would cost to have city employees do the work.
He said the temp agencies have offered to cut their prices and will be at today’s meeting, so there might be some compromise worked out that meets the RTA’s current policy but allows the city some flexibility.
The RTA board is comprised of three members of the Colorado Springs City Council, three members of the El Paso County board of commissioners and one representative each from Manitou Springs, Green Mountain Falls and Ramah. It would take a simple majority to change the RTA’s policy on hiring permanent employees.
