County bosses: Private plows too pricey

El Paso county officials have concluded that it might be cheaper for taxpayers if the county continues to use its own equipment and employees to plow streets during snowy weather.

As part of a pilot project, the county solicited bids from contractors to plow Cimarron Hills, an unincorporated community located east of Powers Boulevard and north of Highway 24.

The lowest bidder was Rocky Mountain Materials & Asphalt, which offered to do the job for $86 an hour.  That’s  $20 an hour more than the $66 that it costs the county to do the work, county engineer André Brackin told county commissioners this week.

Paul Kleinschmidt, a member of a group called Taxpayers for Budget Reform, lambasted the county’s analysis, saying the $66 an hour is “not a real number.” It doesn’t include all costs associated with the vehicles, such as storage and maintenance, as well as other employee costs, he said.

“Our contention is this: If the county and city are going to bid against the private sector in managed competition bids, the bids must be on an apples-to-apples basis,” he said.

Kleinschmidt emphasized that his 500-member organization is not an anti-tax group and is not against tax increases.

“We want accountability and transparency in government,” he said. “That has to happen in Colorado Springs and in the county before there can be tax increases.”

Brackin said it would cost the lowest bidder $61 an hour to run its trucks and $25 an hour for operators. By comparison, it costs the county $44 per hour for a truck and $22 an hour for the operator.

Tim Wolken, director of the county’s Public Services Department, said the $44 includes $20 for costs associated with repairs, $12 for fuel, and $12 for the cost of the vehicle. The Federal Emergency Management Agency reimburses local governments $43 an hour when trucks are used in emergencies, he said.

“We’ve always felt fairly comfortable with the $44 rate.”

The $22 hourly rate for an operator also builds in roughly 25 percent for employee benefits, he said.

El Paso County has 43 snow plows. Some of them date to the 1960s and eventually will have to be replaced. El Paso Commissioner Wayne Williams has said that the county could save money if it could privatize a portion of its snow-plow operations and defer or eliminate the purchase of new equipment.

The county’s snow-removal crews are nimble and well trained, Brackin said. In large snowstorms, the crews are dispatched to the portion of the county in greatest need.

“We keep going until all the roads are cleared,” he said.

Kleinschmidt said it would take years for a private operator to ramp up to where it could clear the entire county.
“It will take some gearing up,” he said. “But there’s no reason why we can’t mow parks or plow streets.”

Asked if a private contractor would take advantage of the county once it was a captive customer, Kleinschmidt acknowledged there would be price increases, but they would be reasonable.

“The public sector would like you to believe we’re a bunch of greedy people.”

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