“A tale of two cities,” The Colorado Springs Business Journal, May 4 – 10, 2012, 19.

A TALE OF TWO CITIES

Instead of Charles Dickens’ famous novel about Paris and London during the French Revolution, we are talking about Colorado Springs Utilities and the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department, representing two radically different “cities” or mindsets.

Dickens’ opening paragraph still resonates: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…” Is our city going through “the spring of hope” or “the winter of despair”?

When there is unanimity of public disregard, as is the case with the CEO of CSU (Forte) and its Chairman (Councilman Hente), then no oversight is expected and stonewalling is standard procedure. Perhaps they already concede that CSU will be sold like Memorial, so why bother?

But when there is a difference between the head of RBD (Yankpwski) and its Chair (Brown), when the former responds in person while the latter takes three months to respond by e-mail (after pressure from the other two Commissioners), we can hear quite a bit.

Having taunted RBD’s Commissioners, it’s only fair that a brief summary of their answers should be provided.

Many answers come from the Intergovernmental Agreement that set up RBD in 1966. Once RBD puts it on its website, anyone can read it. It specifies the role of the Commissioners, the composition of their board, and the relationships between the oversight body, the advisory boards, and employment conditions.

Likewise, the organizational charts are in place—they know who does what—but should find their way to the website for public scrutiny.

The budget of $9.5 million (2012) reflects a decrease from $9.8 million (2011) and $11.2 million (2006). Since the budget is entirely composed of fees, and since fees haven’t increased since 2008, staff has been cut from 114 (2008) to 72 (2012).

Other statistical data that may be of interest: in 2011 some 53,000 permits were issued, 63% of them on the website. Around 150,000 inspections were required for these permits with over 80% approved on the first visit; 99% of the inspections are performed the same day they are requested. Pretty impressive!

RBD instituted a call-ahead program where an inspector will call thirty minutes prior to arrival so that the contractor or homeowner can be present. RBD is trying to streamline its operations electronically, from submission to approval, while maintaining a process for appeal with various technical boards. So, why are there still complaints about RBD?

Perhaps the culprits are architects and designers who have been “grand-fathered” when new codes were adopted a few years ago. When developers and owners think they get reliable information about zoning or use-change, they might be mistaken. Better ask RBD officials than rely on some professionals.

It seems that of the three Commissioners, Sharon Brown (Chair), Bernie Herpin (CS Councilman), and Dennis Hisey (County Commissioner), only Hisey takes his oversight job seriously. He recounted in writing his political engagement with state agencies on behalf of RBD.

What is politically at stake here? Why is RBD the “other city” as compared to CSU? While at CSU everyone seems to be asleep, congratulating themselves on lower-than-expected rate hikes for water, for example, RBD is proactive and serious about its mission and responsibilities.

At stake is political leadership that should ensure a climate that is responsive to local needs without shirking public responsibilities, balancing public safety with entrepreneurial efficiency. Developers and remodelers can put pressure on politicians so they perform.

Unlike CSU which raises rates in order to cover an ever-increasing budget—new cars for executives lately?—RBD hasn’t increased fees in four years. Unlike CSU, RBD realizes the impact of the Great Recession and has adjusted its budget.

Unlike CSU, RBD realized that to hustle for new business means spreading its wings outside the region, specializing in school permits and inspections in other counties. Yes, it’s legal; other jurisdictions are puzzled by this competition. This mindset guards against the need to raise fees.

Likewise, some legislation that imposes state electrical and plumbing codes on local jurisdictions ties the hands of RBD’s inspectors. Even when the cases are ridiculous, like requiring a child-proof outlet on the ceiling of garages, the local agency isn’t permitted discretionary application. It has to administer the state code, however bizarre.

Here’s where politics comes into play, and no, it doesn’t require money. Instead, the political leadership of RBD can ask for political help from other local politicians and petition the pro-business Governor who appoints individuals to these state boards so as to allow for greater local maneuvering power.

As long as government agencies hold the power to dictate building codes, the best we can do is direct this power to the local level, where common sense may prevail.

Raphael Sassower is professor of philosophy at UCCS. He can be reached at rsassower@gmail.com See previous articles at sassower.blogspot.com

“CSU should follow Memorial’s fate,” The Colorado Springs Business Journal, March 9 - 15, 2012, 21.

CSU SHOULD FOLLOW MEMORIAL’S FATE

Just as the recalcitrant Memorial’s CEO, Dr. McEvoy, thought his ideas were the only ones worth listening to and never expected his imperial visions will evaporate before his very eyes, so CSU’s CEO, Mr. Forte, may be dreaming that his empire is beyond reproach. Wake up and smell the roses!

With public scrutiny now finally at professional levels, as the city has enlisted expert lawyers to negotiate on its behalf the transfer of Memorial to UCH, it has become clear that selling the hospital is the right choice among many others that were available. We, as a city, can have our cake and eat it, too: enjoy the benefits of a first-class health care service (underwritten in part by the billionaire Anschutz) without liabilities and an incompetent leadership team and supervisory board.

If we were worried about what to do with Memorial (around $600 million enterprise), why aren’t we worried about what to do with CSU (around $1.1 billion enterprise)? The same incompetent board that supervises Memorial is still supervising CSU. Despite the recommendation to install an independent board, this monolith has got to go!

Just as Memorial was run by a provincial leadership that scared us into thinking increased health-care costs would ruin the hospital and leave us without proper care, so does CSU pretend that its leadership, and even ownership, can never be different from what it is.

Why not put CSU out to bids and see what happens? By now even our confused Council can figure out how to handle such an offering, with all the legal guidelines that have been set in place for MHS to solicit bidders. There are companies out there, from Xcel on one extreme of the private spectrum, to RISI on the other extreme of non-profit regional utilities, who might be interested.

Yes, we need to set a task-force and finesse the nuances of negotiations; yes, we need to have people with integrity serving on it for the right reason; and yes, we need to see that our future liabilities regarding pollution and any toxic waste associated with any of the power plants will be cared for by the new owners.

So, what’s holding us back? Is it a bureaucracy that fears losing its grip on wages and benefits, pensions and other perks? It can’t be that petty. Or is it? What is so special about a municipality that owns its utilities if rates go up while services decrease? What’s so special about CSU that warrants keeping it city-owned?

Perhaps it’s a lethal combination of pride, tradition, and inertia, lethal because it has no warrant, no rationale. Until we try to sell CSU we wouldn’t know if we can get a deal better than the one we currently have. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, as the saying goes. Our local rates are definitely higher than those offered by Xcel Energy in Denver and in Summit County, as local citizens who have second homes report. So, this argument doesn’t hold.

The big management questions about CSU haven’t been answered yet. Who oversees this huge organization? What is the competence of top management at CSU? Is its CEO qualified and up to the task (still waiting to see his resume)? Rumor has it that he won’t just retire, but has another job waiting for him (with whom?). Will an “independent advisory board” make any difference, as long as legally oversight responsibilities remain with Council?

There are other big operational questions that need to be answered as well. Why is CSU still using coal, an energy source that might be cheap up front but very expensive in terms of pollution and EPA guidelines that must be adhered to? Is the so-called Neumann solution for filtering after burning coal not backwards (more on that in a later column)?

Shouldn’t we worry about replacing coal with gas or biofuels and then not have to deal with this kind of pollution at all? Are we stuck using 20^th century equipment in the 21^st?

Likewise, one wonders if all the resources available to operators, like CSU, have been exhausted. Given the global economy (see my last column), has CSU consulted all potential solutions to providing energy for the future?

For example, regardless of alternative energy sources, have equipment efficiencies been considered? We have Sturman Industries up the pass in Woodland Park: can they help make the equipment 10-30% more efficient as they have done for major trucking companies?

Should we have one centralized source of energy with an expensive grid and potential for failure? This is where national security concerns (of sabotage) merge with the concerns of the Sierra Club (of ecological preservation).

Raphael Sassower is professor of philosophy at UCCS who is praying CSU doesn’t turn off service to his buildings. He can be reached at rsassower@gmail.com See previous articles at sassower.blogspot.com