Letters - Saturday

SUPPORT THE TROOPS
Many soldiers missing out on Bush's stimulus checks

In August 2006 the 10th Mountain Division, 2nd BCT, 1-89 Cavalry was sent to Iraq for 12 months. In April 2007, the troops were told the Army was adding three additional months to their time in country.

In November 2007 the troopers of 1-89 arrived back in New York from their tour. They are now being told by the IRS, via the IRS Web site, that they haven't earned enough money to qualify for the economic stimulus check.

One would think, after the Walter Reed Hospital scandal and other abuses of our military, that the conservatives would have learned that our troops have earned more than the country can ever pay them and that military members should be included automatically in every stimulus event.

Where is the support for the troops?

Jeff Stephan, Peyton

KA-CHING!
City obviously using police to add to revenue stream

I would like to respond to the letter from David Buckley in the April 27 Gazette ("Complainers out in force to whine about tickets"). In his letter, Buckley referred to the "absurd" charge that traffic enforcement is performed to increase revenues. I would like to accept his challenge to provide evidence to support this charge. Actually, this will be easy.

When there are six motorcycle cops lined up in a half-mile stretch along Academy Boulevard or on the freeway, that has nothing to do with safety. If Buckley believes that, he is incredibly naive.

Perhaps he has noticed that more than half of these speed traps occur during the final third of the month.

As to his comment about officers "hiding," I don't know if that is a big issue here. I believe, however, that nowhere in this country is it legal for an officer to set up out of sight of the direction of traffic he/she is targeting. Officers must be in sight.

Jerry Butenhoff, Colorado Springs

BAD IDEA
Selling county park land will cheat our children

Selling park land to raise operating revenue for county government is a horrible idea ("Sale of park land considered," The Gazette, May 9). This park land is a treasure set aside for our use and the use of our descendents.

I have a better idea; since Colorado Springs has 65 percent of the county population and runs smoothly with a mayor and City Council, maybe it is time for citizens to consider a merger into a city/county form of government. This would save money, reduce duplication, and most likely save parks.

Once our park lands are sold or traded they can never be reclaimed and most likely will become expensive developments that will use our limited resources.

Neil Talbott, Colorado Spring

IN RESPONSE
County commissioners do more than attend board meetings

I don't know if elected officials could, or for that matter should respond to every criticism or praise levied upon them on a daily basis. The fact is that I can just wake up in the morning and someone is mad about a decision or statement I haven't even made yet. In this case, I decided to respond to Addy Hansen's letter in Sunday's Gazette, "Why are we surprised by commissioners' failures?" because her portrayal is so terrifically distorted.

I'd like to put this myth to bed regarding how much a county commissioner works. I'll speak for myself when I say that I have never worked more and dealt with a broader range of issues than in these past three months since being sworn into office. Have some commissioners worked "part time" at this job? No question about it. Have I? Absolutely not.

I am not sure to whom Hansen was referring when she described AWOL commissioners, but I believe the only constituents who would describe me as AWOL would be my family members. Working at least six days a week (I try hard to preserve my Sundays for family), I am in the office, in peoples' living rooms, out on site visits, in countless meetings, town halls, meeting with property owner associations and working at home morning, noon and late into the night. The sheer volume of work and study in this district is huge and whether these issues have been properly addressed in the past has nothing to do with what is being done right now. I am deeply committed to this district and to working as hard as possible to serve effectively. That means working constantly to keep up with the volume and I would welcome Hansen and others who question my work ethic to spend a day with me on the job.

As to her assertion of commissioners being AWOL on April 21, I was serving in my capacity on the 4th Judicial Nominating Commission. Appointed in 2003 by Gov. Bill Owens for a six-year term, I serve with six other members of the nominating commission in researching, assessing and interviewing candidates to recommend to the governor to fill vacant district or county court judge seats in our district. This is a vital function within our judicial district and one that I chose to maintain after becoming a county commissioner. The nominating commission meets approximately one time per year (only when there is a judicial vacancy). My colleagues were fully aware of the reason for my absence on April 21. It is unfortunate Hansen chose to write such an inflammatory letter before checking on the facts.

Finally, I believe this board was heavily criticized last year for not addressing the budget shortfalls of 2007 until very late in the year. This year, we are working right now to address the shortfalls which are already present in the first quarter. There are serious financial issues facing this county and while some have asked us to take a wait-and-see approach, we will not. Instead, we are making difficult decisions now, knowing full well what the problems are and addressing them before they become impossible to deal with. The greatest disservice which could be done right now to this budget situation would be to relegate its seriousness to the world of political sound bites and to play fast and loose with the facts. I ask folks to seek the facts without assumptions, looking at the real numbers, the mandates and the services the county is legally required to provide.

The last thing on my "cut list" is our Sheriff's Office, which is already operating at such a reduced level of resources and personnel that it would be extremely unwise to begin there. No one, to my knowledge, has even implied that the first level of cuts will be made in the Sheriff's Office and so I am puzzled as to why Hansen argued this point in her letter.

My first cut, if I have any legal chance of getting there, will be to eliminate the county's participation in the Social Security program, which I view as redundant given that the county has a qualifying alternate retirement plan. Unfortunately, the law will likely prevent this from happening, but if there is any glimmer of hope, I will pursue it. This would only begin to address the complex budget issues we are facing, but it is worth considering.

This is one commissioner who is working full time and knows what the issues are. When you're angry about something, call me. We'll figure it out together.

For those county residents interested in county government or with question, I invite you to attend my town hall meeting this morning at 10 at the Stetson Hills Police Station, 4110 Tutt Blvd., across from Security Service Field.

Amy Lathen
El Paso County commissioner
District 2