Letters - Friday

UTILITIES GONE WILD
Management should have seen problems coming

When is someone going to wake up and take a leadership role in the nonsense being perpetrated upon ratepayers by Colorado Springs Utilities? Most consumers, construction and other industries saw many months ago the slowdown in housing, construction, etc. It appears Utilities' management has been enjoying their $100,000-plus salaries more than paying attention to running a large business.

However, when the Utilities Board is nothing more than a patsy for the smoke and mirrors provided, why worry, because if there isn't enough money Utilities will just do a song and dance for higher rates.

Someone should be looking for a new planning and finance officer as Ed Easterlin apparently doesn't have a clue about budgets, reducing expenses to meet revenues and overseeing expenditures.

Best of all is the spin put on by Easterlin as the solution to the problem of a budget shortfall - a hiring freeze. That should have been done months ago. Utilities doesn't like the word "layoff."

Ratepayers should help put some spine into our City Council members. They are elected to manage the affairs of Colorado Springs. They are not there to be intimidated by Utilities. Is it time for a move to privatize some of the city's functions? Better yet, let's give the new city manager a shot at cleaning house at Utilities. Let's put that bloated organization back under a real manager.

Duane C. Slocum, Colorado Springs

Will city impose new fee to pay for updating pipes?

Our City Council needs to act fast to solve Colorado Springs Utilities' problems of not selling enough water and aging pipes ("System's problems run deep," The Gazette, May 25). Members need to create the Colorado Springs Water Pipe Enterprise. This way they can institute a fee and bypass TABOR, just like the stormwater tax - I mean stormwater fee.

They can base the new tax on water usage; the less water you use the higher the tax, the more water you use the lower the tax. This would force more people to buy more water and increase revenue. It would also punish those who took the time to conserve water or switched to xeriscaping and require them to pay higher taxes and their fair share for aging pipes.

Problem solved.

David Riese, Colorado Springs

ISLAM'S BELIEFS
Belief in God central part of Muslim path to paradise

Larry Gabbard's letter, "No surprises for Christian believers on Judgment Day, " in the May 18 Gazette reflects a grave misunderstanding by Christians that the "righteousness" of Jews and Muslims comes from keeping the law, and not from believing in God.

In Islam, righteousness and works are meaningless without faith in the one true God of Abraham. We believe in the God of Abraham as Abraham believed, so righteousness should also be credited to Muslims, and the greater one's love, efforts and sacrifice are for God, the higher one's level in paradise, with Abraham being at the highest level.

And on a matter of such huge, Earthshattering importance, whether God is one, or has a "begotten son" and is "three persons," it would not be unreasonable to expect that the great prophets Abraham, Moses and Jesus would have explicitly declared the trinity, rather than leaving it to a vote by the bishops at the Council of Nicea in 325.

Arshad Yousufi, Spokesman, Islamic Society of Colorado Springs

UNEQUAL DEATHS?
We must not minimize sacrifices in Afghanistan

Have we forgotten about the conflict in Afghanistan? Are soldiers from units other than local less important? The May 27 Gazette ran two reports on soldiers killed in action. The front page noted, "Blast kills Fort Carson 10th Group soldier. The second story was a brief on page A16, "American dies in Afghanistan."

Why was the Afghanistan report stuck on the last page? Does The Gazette consider this man's death less important because he was not local? Sgt. Frank Gasper and Spc. David L. Leimbach gave their lives for this country. Both reports should be together on the front page.

Ryan Parker, Colorado Springs

IN RESPONSE
Toll-road bill necessary to protect property owners' rights

It appears as if some individuals have resorted to personal attacks since they are unable to honestly debate one of the most important issues facing Eastern El Paso County, private toll roads and our private property rights ("Looper's bill let down voters, land owners," Letters, May 24).

I believe it is important to state the current law, the intent of HB1007 and how it clears the property titles of the damaging toll road documents, and provides relief to more than 1,400 families in Eastern El Paso County.

Currently, private toll road companies are required by state law to map, specify and basically claim a three-mile wide corridor for the exclusive right to develop a toll road corridor. They must file these maps, property descriptions, disclaimer of interest and "Intent to Construct a Toll Road" with the county clerk and recorders of all counties affected. The county clerks and recorders are then required by state law to record these documents to the titles of the affected property owners.

Here's the problem: the claiming of the property and recording of the toll road documents are damaging the property titles and values of the properties in the toll road corridor. These damages have occurred without the approval for the construction of the toll road from CDOT, county commissioners or any local governmental agency. Assessors, mortgage companies and others are viewing these recorded documents as liens on the titles. Many property owners are unable to refinance, sell or build on their private property due to these encumbrances and our poorly constructed state laws.

HB1007 requires the county clerks to void the existing toll road documents currently recorded to property titles; prohibits any future toll road company from specifying, mapping and claiming someone else's private property; clearly states that a toll road company has no property right or exclusive development right to any other property owners' property; holds harmless the county clerks, title companies and toll road companies from the properly prepared, filed or recorded documents. This provision is necessary since the clerks, title companies and toll road companies followed the state law when these documents where recorded. There is no blanket immunity for illegal behavior; the immunity is only for the filing and recording of the documents as legally required under existing laws.

There is broad-based support for HB1007 and property owners and elected officials from El Paso and Elbert counties testified in support of the bill.

Many property titles have been damaged since August 2006. Families affected by these documents and state laws need relief now! As Edmund Burke once said, " The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." I was not elected to stand by and do nothing and allow the property rights of 1,400 hard working families in Eastern El Paso County to be held hostage by a private toll road company or the state of Colorado. I was elected to protect their property rights and ensure this type of damage never happens to anyone else in Colorado again. That is what HB1007 does.

Rep. Marsha Looper, State House District 19, Calhan