Blame Jill

If the Elbert County BOCC did not have Jill Duvall, they would have to invent someone to take her place.  The former Chairperson of the Elbert County Democrats has become an essential ingredient for our highly partisan and ineffectual local government to get anything done.  Our latest triad of commissioners has decided to once again utilize the time-tested method of "rule-by-blame" in order to move an agenda set forth not by the citizens, but one crafted in back rooms by local party bosses.

It does not even have to make sense.  I recently overheard a couple of people lamenting the fact that there must be such a waste of taxpayers’ money by having to have so many uniformed sheriff's officers attend Elbert County public meetings.  Person One said, "Well you know, that is what it takes to keep those disruptive Democrats in line." 

Person Two responded, "And if they don't get their way, they sue the county!"

Person One, "I heard that there is one woman who sues the county every time she turns around."

Just for the record, Jill Duvall has never sued Elbert County.  Not one time. Zilcho, Amigo!  Oh sure, she has turned in a complaint or two for misconduct on the part of our elected officials. And yes, the complaints were found to have merit. As it turns out, when elected officials misbehave they can sometimes have a fine levied against them, but that is why we have laws.  Just like watching a burglary, we expect people to report things that are breaking established norms.  Should we ignore making a 911 report about someone breaking the law just because we do not wish to have people think that Elbert County has criminals?

Any money that Jill Duvall has cost the county in attorney fees has come as a result of our elected officials trying to get out of paying an assessed fine.  The fact of the matter is that  burden is entirely on the person trying to avoid a monetary punishment and has nothing to do with the person who turned in a legitimate complaint. Of course there is plenty of blame to go around because  there are the other elected officials who either sanction this waste of taxpayers’ money or they just do not care if they waste county resources.  Either way, those in charge in Kiowa are complicit.  And either way, they will blame anyone who stands in opposition to their folly.

Still, this ignorance is rife in the culture of our locally elected officials.  Recently, this same tired and inaccurate accusation has been passed along by another elected official and I am betting that most of you would never guess who this person is.   Let me give you a hint: There are few political offices in Elbert County that carry as much political clout as the one this person holds.  To be elected to this post means you are someone who has the pulse of everything that happens in Elbert County.  Give up?  If you guessed Keith Westfall, the Elbert County Surveyor,  you win an all expenses paid trip to Fondis for their annual Cherry Blossom Festival and Parade. Congratulations!

Jill Duvall wrote an editorial that was critical of County Manager Ed Ehmann.  You know the fellow I am talking about.  The guy who has gone missing in action just a little over a month after that article was published.  Ed Ehmann: the highest priced employee in the county who wrote his own contract with a fantastic parachute clause that is likely to cost the county a boatload of money because he is about to get sacked for personal misconduct.  The one who  has been meeting out of the county with developers and does not like taxpayers meddling in what he feels is his personal business.  Yes, that Ed Ehmann.  

On the Elbert County Republican Facebook page, Keith Westfall wrote:

"Maybe research should be done on the author of this article (Jill Duvall). I for one would like to know how much money this person has cost the taxpayers in lawsuits and attorney fees."

"Yup but the road always involves one very unhappy individual. No other county manager that I know of has to put up with the BS brought on by a select few people. If I was that unhappy living where I do, I would definitely make a change too. I would move to Boulder County. I for one get so tired of listening to her accusations and BS. I believe most people around have quit taking her seriously. That are just tired of their taxes having to pay for defending frivolous lawsuits."

"And if you don't like where you live... move."

This response was pure, unadulterated horse manure, devoid of facts and written in defense of someone who is about to really cost the taxpayers big money. This manager, who could do no wrong, may end up getting us into additional legal hot water in the form of law suits due to his unfortunate and  inappropriate handling of personnel matters.  Keith Westfall was extolling the virtues of Ehmann, making him out to be a pillar of outstanding public service.  Keith did this because he was defending the status quo, not because it was based on his actual performance.  But you know what?  It will not make any difference whatsoever, because this courthouse culture club that we have developed in Elbert County government demands a scapegoat. Our local leadership needs someone to blame.  Even when Jill is correct, it is much more satisfying to pretend that the Elbert County culture of government is above making a mistake.  Just find somebody to blame and let 'er rip.

This is the way it always goes out here.  If anyone wants to get some project moving  in Elbert County but they find themselves short of cash from their own mismanagement, all they have to do is find someone to blame.  Even if they find they have budgetary shortfalls because of their predecessors who made poor decisions, and made questionable loans from predatory lenders...no problem. Do what they did.  Just campaign on the fiscal responsibility of your party and denounce every Democrat as a “tax and spend liberal.” Once you are elected, and trust me, you will be elected; just go and find another fly-by-night lender and carry on your merry way.  They line up on the courthouse steps.  It does not matter a whit that a Democrat has not held a BOCC position for over twenty years.  Just remember the prime directive: Do not take the blame!  

Or let's say you want to use the money that was earmarked from your 1% sales tax for road improvements for purposes other than what the public was told. Sure it is a pile of money, but not big enough to actually do much road work. So what's an elected official to do? Well, how about withholding that money to secure more loans for things that our local culture club wants to get accomplished instead of what the taxpayers said they wanted. All you have to do is find a nifty little loophole in the way the tax measure was written and then find someone to blame.  How about that complainer, Jill Duvall, and her pack of whiny liberals.  Just tell the public that because of their constant lawsuits and official complaints, Elbert County Government is officially  hamstrung.  It's her fault!   Really?  Yeah,  we are going to really miss Ed.  And I am sure we will find a replacement just like him. 

They will assure us it won't be someone like Jill Duvall.  They would be certain to remind us that this harpy monster of a woman  would just spend money like it was printed in the basement of the courthouse.  Mr. Westfall even went so far as to say she should move to Boulder! Uh, is that supposed to be some terrible slam against her?  I did a little checking.  Boulder County has one large campus town.  Other than that it is much the same as it is here in Elbert County.  It's foundational roots are in agriculture.  There are several differences though.  They do have paved roads.  They have a thriving economy. And that's when I discovered that they are being run by a bunch of, what's the popular term out here, snowflakes!  I also noticed that all three of their commissioners are women with impeccable educational credentials.  Of course none of them have the particular set of skills Ed Ehmann does, but Boulder County seems to be doing better than Elbert County.  Imagine that, people who are born with two  "X" chromosomes leading the way in a county renowned for it's tech industry, light manufacturing, education and yes, even agriculture.

This is no longer acceptable behavior.  Our county government is being hamstrung by lawsuit after lawsuit, but not by a cabal of leftwing activists that you hear about on the Elbert County Republican Facebook page.  It occurs because we do not have elected officials who want to follow the rules.  For example, they are bound and determined to allow the Independence development to go forward on expired filings.  They are doing this in spite of the fact that residents who live in that area of every political stripe feel they have no other choice but to sue the county to stop this development without current applications, impact studies and Costs of Community Services (COCS) analysis.  Our government officials will do this stuff with an in-house lawyer whose track record is abysmal.  Do not go looking for the real reasons that this might be a bad idea.  Look no further than the blame game that operates daily out of the courthouse in Kiowa.

Here’s some logical, reasonable advice for our local elected leadership: 

1 - Stop hiring people who you think can do the job without any prerequisite knowledge of the C.R.S. or the field of study associated with the position.  Hiring competent, trained people is what they do in successful communities.  Start doing that.  If you do not believe me, look no further than what is going on in the assessors office.  We are flying by the seat of our pants and people are pissed off.  Check the qualifications of our (hopefully) soon to be fired County Manager. 

2 - Open up the records on all of the lawsuits we have lost in the past ten to fifteen years to see just what we are keeping from the public.  It would make your head spin. 

3 - And then when all of that is said and done, pull your head out of your back pocket and stop blaming people who are only asking you to follow the rules.  Stop lying about what they are costing the county. 

It is this culture club in Kiowa that is to blame for our troubles, not Jill Duvall.

Is Elbert County Being Stupid, Belligerent, or anti-Constitutional? Guest Blog by Mike Phillips

We’ve been here before; County Clerk, Dallas Schroeder, and underlings proselytizing their religious views while on duty at their government jobs. First there was the infamous poster expressing a religious viewpoint on traditional versus nontraditional marriage.  The issue went nationwide; solidifying the reputation Elbert County has for being a backwater vortex of dull-witted hicks. After the bad publicity, the County Clerk moved the poster to a less prominent place (but still visible in his office). Fudging, only breaking the law “a little-bit.” 

Did Dallas learn anything from the previous hubbub? Apparently not; now a Christian cross has been spotted hanging on the door to the Election Department. So if you find yourself wandering the Old Courthouse and spot said door, don’t mistake it for a religious stop and go in to confess your sins. It’s actually where you register to vote your favorite incompetent idiots into office.

To be clear, I don’t care if your preferred religion involves waving a bag of Brussels sprouts over your head and reciting Edger Winter lyrics every night. As long as you don’t hurt anyone outside of yourself… go for it. But just keep your wacko beliefs out of my face (I have my own, thank you) and outta my government.

There are a myriad of reasons (1) that there is a mandate for a separation of church (religion) and state (government). Here is the simplest to grasp. Dallas likes his version of Christianity. Cool beans. According to the military there are 215 worldwide religions who also think that their beliefs are just as worthy of promoting on your door. And just like you, every single one of them believes that theirs is the only way. Frankly Dallas, you don’t have enough door space, or the omnipotence to determine which of the 215, if any of them have found “the true way.”   

While hanging a Christian symbol on the Elections Department door may seem innocuous, it is not. Government cannot establish, promote or give preference to any religion because that’s the law of the land. Here’s the reason: What if the next County Clerk is a devotee of Drukpa Kunley and his Flaming Thunderbolt of Wisdom?  If that Clerk hangs a 10 inch dildo on the door to proclaim his version of “the good news” someone, like maybe Dallas or other Christians might object to his religious symbol.  Your “symbol” can be just as offensive to others and illegal to boot. The simple-minded might hate that and argue otherwise, but one religious symbol is just as valid to its adherents as another’s.

This isn’t anti-Christianity, so no Dallas, you don’t get to play the ever popular Republican “victim card.” Poor little fella. This is anti-stupidity. There are laws, obey them or get yourself another non-governmental job. The Elbert government doesn’t need another lawsuit caused by elected officials who are willfully stupid… We’ve had enough of those already, and it’s getting expensive.

==============

1. Sandra Day O'Connor wrote in 2005: "Those who would renegotiate the boundaries between church and state must therefore answer a difficult question: why would we trade a system that has served us so well for one that has served others so poorly?"

Links

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/controversial-marriage-poster-in-elbert-county

http://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/politics/2015/12/11/bible-quote-on-marriage-removed-from-elbert-clerks-office/77166266/

Rabies - Been there. Done that. Heed the warning!

If you, a human being reading this post, are exposed to rabies by a bite or a scratch etc.,  you have a window of time in which you must act.   If left untreated, rabies exposure in humans is considered 100% fatal.  There have only been a small handful of reported cases in history where a human survived rabies after contracting the disease.  According to the World Health Organization (WHO) 15,000,000 people each year get treated for rabies exposure.  The disease is considered tropical in nature and most deaths associated with it occur in poverty stricken areas along the Equator.  Annually, we can expect to see 49,000 deaths around the globe to humans every year. 

From the United States Center For Disease Control: 

"Human rabies cases in the United States are rare, with only 1 to 3 cases reported annually. Thirty-four cases of human rabies have been diagnosed in the United States since 2003, in which 10 cases were found to have contracted infection outside of the United States and its territories. The number of human deaths in the United States attributed to rabies has been steadily declining since the 1970’s due to animal control and vaccination programs, modern rabies biologics following exposure, and successful outreach campaigns. Rabies vaccination programs have eliminated domestic dogs as reservoirs of rabies in the United States, although we still see 80 – 100 dogs and >300 cats with rabies each year, usually infected by wildlife when these domesticated pets are not vaccinated against rabies. While the biggest rabies threat in the world (domestic dogs) has been controlled in the United States, interactions with other rabies reservoir species results in 30,000 – 60,000 Americans being vaccinated against rabies each year."

In other words, as long as you seek treatment after being exposed to rabies, you are likely to survive.  But this is where my cautionary tale begins:  Exposure to rabies and the resulting necessary treatment may cause you to go bankrupt even if you do survive. Lest you think I am spinning some fantastic yarn, this is almost certainly a greater danger to you than is the disease itself, and it happens because in the United States, insurance companies are in control of our medical system, and they can own you because of the nature of the state laws associated with disease prevention and the underhanded way our this system deals with potentially fatal disease. 

A couple of years ago, my wife and I were exposed to rabies.  The dogs got us up at 1 AM and were upset by something flopping on the floor.  It was a bat and he was unable to fly from the floor. We have had bats from the woods surrounding our house for years.  They do get inside from time to time, and we know how to deal with them from previous encounters.  Unfortunately, in Elbert County, the health department is under staffed and so to turn the incident in to the county is time consuming, and once you realize you have been exposed, the survival clock is ticking.  You must determine if the bat has rabies.  We used known procedures to capture the bat, called the county and then, since Elbert County did not respond in a very timely manner,  we transported the live bat to the state CDC lab for testing in the area where Lowry Air Force Base once stood.  We could have waited for the county, but they were unsure of how long it would take.  I called Tri-County Health (as we were directed to do) and explained our situation and they agreed our plan was a good one.  

To find out if a bat has rabies, they must extract its brain.  If dogs and other mammals are exposed to rabies, they must be quarantined.  Bats get killed.  We hate it, but in Colorado, if you let the Division of Health know you were asleep with a bat in the room, you are presumed to have been bitten and must by state law get treatment.  You are now viewed as a potential health risk and the state will now be tracking what you do to remedy the situation.  Our bat was rabid.  We went in search of treatment.

The thing is, finding a medical facility which has the HRIG (Human Rabies Immune Globulin) vaccine available is extremely difficult. It has a short span of viability.   We tried everywhere, to no avail.  We were also told that even if we did find the HRIG outside of a hospital, no doctor would administer the shots.  My wife and I were beginning to sense that something about this was just not right.  Since this was our last resort, we went to a hospital and essentially turned ourselves into the emergency room staff.  A doctor stuck his head in the room and from that point on we were in the capable hands of well-trained nurses.  But the strangest thing was happening.  Not a sole would answer a single question in regards to how much this would cost, what insurance would pay or even who would bill us.  We asked each person who entered the room…and there were quite a few.   They all just said that it was necessary and not to worry.

Yes, the shots are painful, but no longer given in the abdomen.  The larger you are, the more shots you get because dosage is calculated by weight.  I got six or more shots in the arms and legs. My wife got a few less than that of the vaccine. The  one HRIG dose is very thick and to inject it is difficult.  The nurse even had one syringe break in her hands from the pressure.

The remaining shots (vaccine) came in two sessions (3-4 days apart) at the Tri-County Department of Health in Douglas County.  Those single shots were not nearly as painful and we had to pay out of pocket for the each visit  It seemed expensive when they said $300 apiece times two sessions to Tri-County Health, but as everybody kept telling us, "You have no choice.  Rabies is 100% fatal!" And of course we would agree.  It was not long after those sessions we received the bill from the hospital.

The total cost for both of us, for the evening in the emergency room, for the HRIG shots and first round of vaccines, was $59,000.  Think about your family for a moment. If you have three or four kids, the bill might be upwards of $200,000, and you would be responsible for it, because you would sign your family into the emergency room for care and no one would bother to prepare you for the financial nightmare that would be coming down the pike

.  

We were shocked, worried and simultaneously angry.  All of the people we came into contact with in the emergency room, including the initial sign-in/registration desk, the nurses, the doctor,  knew  what we would be financially facing and were probably instructed that if they told us anything about the cost we would have been freaked us out of our minds…potentially bankrupting us.  I went straight to work investigating how and why all of this was happening.  

After reading everything I could on rabies, calling some insurance company watchdog groups, calling several doctor friends and lawyers, and then doing extensive reading on just how other countries around the globe deal with rabies, it became abundantly clear what was going on here:  This is a scam and I am certain that it goes on with all types of different maladies, not just rabies.  What tipped me off was learning that after calling the hospital and my insurance company, I discovered that there was a set price for rabies.  The insurance company just looks on a price sheet and sees what price had been negotiated for rabies.  They cut a check before I had even begun to complain.  No outrage.  No back and forth.  No, they just cut a check to the hospital.  It turns out that the healthcare providers and insurance companies sit down periodically and hammer out agreements on what they will pay for things and it is like a a huge game of monopoly.  Insurance companies tend to look at things like rabies as bargaining chips.  

Here is an oversimplified and made up negotiation but it is in essence how the industries dovetail to get our money:

Insurance company: “I will pay you somewhere in the range of $25,000 with no questions asked for rabies if you give me a 10% discount on Emergency Room trauma kits.”

Healthcare Provider:  “Hmmm. I don't know.  We use a lot of those kits and do pretty well on them.”

Insurance company: “Yes, but our actuary points out that Colorado has seen a 15% increase in HRIG treatments in emergency rooms for rabies exposure over the past few years.  People do not argue the cost of treatment when they know that if they are exposed they will possibly die without treatment.  In fact, our actuary says only 8 people in 100 ever even begin to challenge the costs associated with this type of incident.  It is a very safe bet you will do better with ten vaccinations that will bring you $250K than we will do with the reduced price for trauma kits.  What do you say?”

Healthcare Provider: “Make it a 8% discount on the trauma kits and $27k on the rabies and we have a deal.”

Insurance company:  “Deal!”

My research, which I turned over to a gifted attorney, indicated that that most countries use ERIG (Equine Rabies Immune Globulin) when treating rabies and that it is shown to be just as effective as HRIG.  No, the ERIG is not for horses alone, but it is made using equine based ingredients (E) as opposed to human based ingredients (H).  The difference is amazing in terms of price.  ERIG costs just a few dollars per dose. and at the time I did my research, the HRIG cost was  $14/dose.  Today, the average price for treating rabies runs about $40 according to the World Health Organization.  Remember, 15,000,000 people around the world get treated for rabies.  If everybody paid on  an average of the $29,000 that we were charged, that would come to $435,000,000,000.  People in third world countries struggle with $40 as the average income in the areas where rabies is most predominant make only $2 per day per family.  Only here in the US can somebody get away with asking two retired school teachers for $59k for a set of injections who may or may not have been bitten by a rabid bat.  And for many, many people, that would represent bankruptcy.

Those of you who are looking to attach your anger about Obamacare or the newly devised AHCA that has yet to be revised by the Senate can just forget it.  This is why we need to get insurance companies out of our healthcare model. Think about this:  INSURANCE COMPANIES DO NOT MAKE ANYONE WELL.  THEY DO NOT GIVE INJECTIONS OR EVEN DISTRIBUTE BANDAIDS.  THEY JUST DRIVE UP THE COST OF MEDICAL PROCEDURES AND THEN PAY LOBBYISTS TO SELL THEIR SCAMS TO POLITICIANS.   I could have taken Gaye to Paris or Montreal, got our injections and vacationed for the price we were billed.  Oh, sure they came down on the price some when we said we were going to fight them, but that is not the point.  The point is that our system of healthcare is corrupt and immoral.  The leading cause of bankruptcy in our country is health related.  We are the only major country on the planet that plays this game and it has to stop.

I went to the town hall meeting for Congressman (4th District) Ken Buck in Parker on May 10th.  We did not see eye to eye on much, but when I related our rabies story to him he dropped the false argument about our healthcare system costing more because it is the very best in the world.  I contend that it can only be best if it serves people and our outcomes are the very best.  They are not.  When I told him that I was able to fight the system and get the price down to a manageable amount with the help of a good attorney and some decent research, he seemed pleased.  That said, I told him it is immoral that everyone in the room is just a healthcare emergency away from losing everything, and he agreed.  Did I make a dent in his opinion of the AHCA or the demolition of Obamacare by his political party?   I sincerely doubt it…but one can hold out hope.

Dear people, stop injecting politics into the healthcare argument.  It is either affordable for everyone or it is not.  If you believe that it is okay to precociously charge unwitting patients ungodly amounts for a life or death vaccine that only costs a few dollars to make just so that a CEO for a healthcare group or an insurance company can buy another mansion in Aspen, then you-are-part-of-the-problem.  Healthcare organizations and forward thinking countries around the  have figured this out and I believe it is time to admit that we have been played like a fiddle.  Whatever we end up with for healthcare in the United States, at least let it be known that we see how we are being devalued as human beings by wealthy corporate CEO's.  And that, my friends, is not a batshit crazy thing to say.

What to do if exposed to a possibly rabid animal in Colorado.

https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/sites/default/files/DC_CD_Zoo-Rabies-Fact-Sheet_2.pdf

Up to date rabies tracking in Colorado, 2017 by The Colorado Department of Health and Environment.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/15zMiGVSHjMU4rH2I45sGXFNS70ify5ADs6uwRyOcYeo/pub

Tom Peterson Talks Up a Storm!

Tom Peterson, Chair of the Elbert County Republicans, is a real peach.  I can tell you, if he wants to espouse his views on any topic under the sun, he is going to do it.  He may even do it while in attendance at the regularly scheduled meetings of the Elbert County BOCC! 

Now those of you who are reading this may be surprised to learn that, if you are a member of the audience at one of these meetings, you actually are allowed to make only one comment; it cannot exceed three minutes and it cannot be political in nature.  Of course the real purpose of this arcane procedure is to stifle the public from interfering with the BOCC's agenda.  If you want to ask a question about something the BOCC is discussing...write it down because they do not want you to interrupt them.  If the public comment portion comes before your topic is up on the agenda then you will just have to wait.  It is annoying and stifles input into the governing process, but you can't have a prying audience get at the details of a subject, now can you? No, of course not.

But if you are Tom Peterson, set your mouth on automatic, turn back the dial on the whole, "no political talk rules" and let 'er rip.  That is how Tom Peterson approached the delivery of his “anti-resistance movement and their anti-American obstructionist tendencies” diatribe at the last BOCC meeting.   The room was filled with county employees who were on the clock. The choreographers of this dog and pony show were aware of this fact and made sure the Republican chairman got a very warm round of applause.  Funny the way that works, but that is the topic for another day.  If he were a rule-abiding man, that should have been the last we should have heard from Mr. Peterson, but apparently he received bonus points with the commissioners during his earlier speech. Soon it became clear to everyone in attendance that it was just the beginning for the outspoken Republican because he gave a running commentary for the remainder of the festivities with no objections registered from the elected officials in charge of the meeting.

Suffice it to say, Tom made a couple of bold statements in the meeting.  Well, maybe the word bold would be the correct word if the county was intentionally trying to set some kind of record for unforced errors that resulted in litigation against the county, so let me change that word to idiotic.  I really do not believe that the commissioners are interested in another flurry of lawsuits, but under the guidance of Republican Chair Tom Peterson; County Manager Ed Ehmann and County Attorney Wade Gately, they are likely not through with their string of unfortunate lawsuits.  With this troika  providing expert guidance, the BOCC is wired for more of the same  difficulties.  They just cannot seem to grasp the difference between written laws and Wade Gately's wish list to Santa Claus.

Let me explain. Tom Peterson blurted out a very telling statement, “There are a handful of people who make multiple requests [open records] and it is burdensome on the county.” Now think about that for just a moment:  It is the word "burdensome" that is the key to how Peterson views the world.  You see, it is the law that we govern openly in this country, and unless there is information that must be kept secret for reasons of public or national security, it is our lawful right to know.  We cannot expect that this is a service that does not come with a price tag, to be precise, a monetary fee. However, let me assure you that any secretarial assistance, copying costs, or Kleenex necessary to wipe away the commissioners tears or assuage their hurt feelings at the notion of not being trusted are a bargain in comparison to yet another burdensome lawsuit for not following the rules.

Grant Thayer gave Peterson a verbal green light for the posting but it was obvious that this approval was not thought out very well. This list of people would be put on public display for all the good  folks of Elbert County to see. Still, anyone with room temperature IQ knows the purpose of this  list would be to shame people for exercising their statutory rights under Colorado and U.S. laws.  Sure, it is okay to submit your own CORA/FOIA requests, Mr. Peterson and then do with that information as you please.  That is your right.  But notably absent from the recorded discussion on this topic was his offer to pay for it.  Or, was this a predetermined decision to have this conversation read into the record for purposes of intimidation?  I hope Mr. Thayer is not suggesting that the county employees generate and update a list of requests and the people who made them a part of their regular duties, as I can assure you this is what infuriates taxpayers.  This is why we end up paying huge legal fees for unwanted and unnecessary litigation.  Of course, a competent lawyer would advise you against this kind of shallow thinking, and I am certain Mr. Gately will tell you the same thing...er, maybe?

In addition to the proposed folly by Mr. Peterson, there was supposed to be an item agenda introduced that most certainly would have steered the county into the rocks of yet another lawsuit.  (I would be remiss if I did not point out that reason prevailed and the sitting commissioners must have taken the advice of several of the citizens who told them they would be making a huge mistake if they went forward with a proposed rule regarding appointments.)  Its initial wording stated, "No person who is a current or former plaintiff claimant in any lawsuit involving the county will be considered for appointment or reappointment." Clearly, that is punishment for anybody who exercised a statutory right to complain about the way government behaves.  I have no way of confirming this, but I would bet good money that clinker would have gone directly to the ACLU and or the CFOIC.

As long as we are just being honest here, no one who the commissioners, the county manager, etc. does not want appointed will ever be appointed.  I have never filed a lawsuit or complaint in my life, and I can tell you that because I am a well known Democrat, I will never be appointed to anything in this county.  I know that. You know that. They know that.  Writing the rule would have been the equivalent of just spiking the football and so it was unnecessary.  Kudos to whomever pulled it off the agenda. Lest we forget, President Trump has sued the U.S. Government a total of 190 times in his lifetime, and he gets appointed to fun things all of the time.  Or did our Republican BOCC wish to suggest that only the people they dislike should be subjected to disqualification by being a plaintiff against the country he leads?

https://www.usatoday.com/pages/interactives/trump-lawsuits/

Commissioner Richardson, please just do your job.

By my own choice,  I do not belong to the Elbert County Citizens Page (ECCP).  When the site's administrator, Marlene Groves, decided to censure me for what she felt was a purely political piece (which I contend it  was not), I politely left the site.  No name calling.  No bashing.  No ad hominem attacks to get back at her.  She had every right to take it down because it is the way she wanted things to be on her web site.  I have done  the same thing on other sites.  If an administrator does not  want my writing, if they do not want my opinion, or if they do not like me personally, then it is their site, their choice, and they can do what they wish in terms of publication.

 When I did write a weekly blog that was posted on the ECCP, I occasionally drew the wrath of Commissioner Richardson.  He always talks a good game about people putting their names on things.  He is always quick to point out when he believes that people do not have courage or if someone is being cowardly.  He will even go so far as to accuse people of sniping at the Elbert County Administration in a cowardly fashion.  He obviously needs to look up the word "coward," because he clearly does not know what it means.  Richardson is not in any kind of minority in Elbert County, has not been bullied by any elected officials, nor has he ever gotten the run around by a paid minion of the Elbert County BOCC.  It takes courage to stand up to abuse and speak truth to power.   It takes no courage to be a part of the herd.

Besides  being a champion for Ed Ehmann, Commissioner Richardson is making it his policy to do exactly what he claims to abhor.  He snipes at anyone who does not agree with his beliefs.  He denigrates anyone with an opposing view, and he does not bother to even consider why they might not be happy with his leadership.  He attempts to sound very officious and proper in his own writing, but is usually betrayed by careless spelling and elementary grammatical errors.  What he is normally doing is trying to squelch dissent by using all the trappings of his office to get his way.  I provide an example for the readers following this paragraph.  In this case, Richardson is using his position as an elected official to get the ECCP to take down a factual piece outlining what the author feels is unwarranted and unethical behavior on the part of Elbert County Manager, Ed Ehmann.  He (Richardson) confuses legitimate and searchable information with "negativity and bashing" but all of the information in the article appear to be true.  (This is an unedited copy of the actual email)

"Marlene,

I ask that you remove the ECCAdmin post of the “Truth” Colorado item regarding MR. Ehmann.  It not only violates your own stated “rules” that you don’t allow bashing or negativity but, the fact that the person who posted it is hiding behind the admin account name is appaling.  Whoever posted it should have had the personal fortitude to publish it under their own name vs pass on that some vague “people” ask that it be posted.  The source – a vanity website that apparently only exists for the ego satisfaction of failed candidates and former claiments – is not something I would think you would associate yourself with.   I admire and welcome honest conflict.  But, sniping from the shadows is cowardly and I would have expected more from the site that you run.

Respectfully,

Christopher A. Richardson

Commissioner District 1
Elbert County
303-621-3132"

I have several points I feel I need to make:

No. 1:
Regarding this being a private and oh, so important email:  I can hear him screaming in anger   that this was shared with the likes of me, a "vain and failed candidate who possesses not an ounce of courage."  What he will most likely miss in his tirade will be that the second he sends out an email like the one above, he is acting as an elected official.  And, we, his constituents, and anyone else who might be interested, are legally privy to his emails where he uses his title and his official email.  This could have easily been obtained with a CORA request. So much for any impropriety of which he will obviously accuse anyone involved with ECCP or Truth Colorado.

No. 2:
I am proud to have served the Democratic Party and made a run for county commissioner in 2008 even though I knew that I was almost certainly going to lose by a landslide to former Commissioner John Shipper.  It is called civic responsibility and obviously Mr. Richardson does not honor anyone but the winners.  It is highly unlikely that he would ever have thrown his own hat into the ring had he known from the onset of his campaign that he would lose by a wide margin.  He likes to participate when the odds are in his favor.

But it might be important to point out that winning does not always make you virtuous.  I would remind Mr. Richardson that former County Treasurer Billie Mill's staff incorrectly placed motor vehicle registration fees into the wrong accounts for a period of 2.5 years. She was unable to spot her department's mistakes and it caused a $1,000,000 shortfall. Normally a person would be held accountable in some way, shape or form for that kind of mistake.  Not so in Elbert County.  Everybody knew that it was her department that failed the county and yet she was still elected to the office of County Assessor.   That is just how party-driven this county has become because the Republicans  so outnumber the Democrats.  Apparently, Mr. Richardson is okay with that  and chooses to demean candidates who did nothing more than offer to run for public office.  Now that is bashing. http://www.denverpost.com/2010/09/16/elbert-county-mired-in-crises/

No. 3:
I would like to point out that Truth Colorado may not be Mr. Richardson's cup of tea, but it has been around for quite some time now.  This site offers a different perspective,  political cartoons (all protected by the US Constitution), and has a decent following.  I will venture to say that the insecure Mr. Richardson reads Truth Colorado with more regularity than most.

I do reporting and post a regular blog there.  I can guarantee you, there is more factual reporting regarding Elbert County meetings at truthcolorado.com than you will find on any other county website.  And yes,  there is opinion and criticism of the local government when it is warranted.  That is the way the world works when you get into politics.  Not everybody is going to love what you do or say as an elected official.  The good commissioner needs to grasp the notion that his constituents have a right to disagree or complain about his performance.

Michael Phillips runs Truth Colorado.  Mike contracted polio at the age of nine months.  He has lived well over sixty years with one of the most terrible diseases imaginable.  He works hard and he receives almost no compensation for his work on Truth.  He is tough on people who do not follow the rules of common decency and fair play.  He offers this website up as a public service... whether Commissioner Richardson or anyone else values it or not.  The effort he puts into this online newszine is monumental; physically painful and slow, difficult and thankless. Mike does this and everything in his life from the confines of his wheelchair, and I am appalled that Mr. Richardson belittles people like Mr. Phillips.  Failed candidates?  Vanity website?  Mr. Richardson falls short of the mark if he thinks his own efforts exceed those of people like Jill Duvall, Mike Phillips, Rick Brown and many others who get up and do this work for free.  They do not get a paycheck, carry a county credit card or have a juicy title with which to bludgeon anyone whose thoughts may counter their own.

No. 4:
Finally,  there is Mr. Richardson's undying loyalty to County Manager Ed Ehmann and County Attorney Wade Gately.  The taxpayers in Elbert County are just about to wade (pun intended) into what may be the most expensive lawsuit this county has ever seen.  This is a far reaching and potentially explosive situation and the BOCC is going to have its hands full.  Blind loyalty to friends in high places is the last thing we need.  We need to know when things are going well and more importantly when they are not.  Channel Seven News is out with the story tonight.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/crime/suit-claims-elbert-county-commissioners-spied-on-employees-computer-made-false-claims

I have spoken with the attorney representing the county employee who has filed suit against the county.  Despite what the BOCC and their employees may be telling those around them, there are expert witnesses who are saying that this could be a huge and extremely expensive lawsuit and the county is more than likely going to have a catastrophe on its hands if it loses this case.  The Federal fines alone will boggle most people's minds when all is unveiled, and there are many people who are being targeted.  Suffice it to say, the losers will once again be the Elbert County taxpayers, since those who are responsible are indemnified. 

Mr. Richardson, Mr. Thayer and Mr. Wilcox need to start governing today, stop dallying in partisan politics and develop thicker skin in the face of disagreements.  The attorneys will take care of the mistakes and if people are guilty of misconduct, this new BOCC will have to clean house, not make excuses.  When Mr. Richardson was sworn into office, he vowed to represent the county and all of its residents, not just those who are in agreement with his particular point of view.  Any attempts by Commissioner Richardson to censure political views on independent websites goes well beyond his job description.

Unsung Heroes in Elbert County

During the last election, the good folks over at Kiowa Court House went out out of their way to provide a break area replete with snacks and beverages for those of us working on the count.  Ed Ehmann kindly gave up his office for quite some time so that the election volunteers would have a place where they could get a much needed respite from the tedious work of conducting an election. And in that office on the north wall was a colorful map of the county divided up by regions.  

Being the political wonk that I am, the map spawned some interest and I wondered what possible divisions in our county were being made by those large areas on the map.  When I stood to look at the carefully divided representation of our county, it became abundantly clear just how important this document was.  With absolutely no facetiousness in this statement whatsoever, I was reminded how easily we forget the real purpose of county government and just how crucial it is.

 

The map on the wall to which I am referring divides the county into the areas of responsibility that each of the county road grader operators are required to cover.  Each area had a name on it which represented the driver of the blade operator.  One area. One name.  In terms of the size of some these designated zones, it becomes abundantly clear that each of these names is very important to each and every one of us who lives in Elbert County.  

We all are aware of the deficiency this county has when it comes to the amount of actual paved roads.  The last time I checked, it was somewhere a little over 200 miles for an area about the size of a small New England state.  That said, these operators did not create this shortage of pavement, nor did they ever get a vote on what materials were purchased to build our vast array of dirt roads.  No, all they are asked to do is keep the roads open.  That is a gargantuan task and they get the job done.

 

Whether you want to admit it or not, Elbert County does not have enough commerce to supply all of our population with gainful employment.  What that means is that a significant number of people in this county have no other choice than to get up every work day and commute into the metropolitan areas along the Front Range.  My wife and I did it for years.  We drove in 50+ miles and we drove back 50+ miles so that we could build our dream house and have our beautiful woods.  And yes, because our roads get muddy, snow covered and sloppy beyond all description, we, too, have cursed the County Gods and screamed possibly the most asinine complaint ever uttered in our beautiful county, "Where the hell is the #%&ing blade driver?"  

 

Truly, the answer to that utterance of stupidity has a very simple answer.  They are out working to keep you safe. They probably have been out all night long.  Their families are worried about them.  They are not superheroes, but they are about as close  to superheroes as anything we have to offer here in Elbert County.  It will also probably surprise no one when I say that for the importance of the work they do and the strange hours they put in, they are under-compensated and under-appreciated.  They are not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination.  They have protected you and your family as surely as any sheriff's deputy or firefighter and yet they receive almost none of the same type of recognition those other heroic people receive.

It is time to reverse that lack of recognition.  It is time to thank these people for the important work that they do.  I am fortunate enough to know my local operator.  He is a good family man and has been there for me and my community more times than I can count. Get to know your road grader operator.  If you see them in the store shake their hand and thank them.  If you see them on the road, give them the space and patience necessary to do their work. And just don’t take them for granted. When the county fair is up and running at the fairgrounds in Kiowa in Augusts, go over and watch them compete with their graders and let them amaze you with their skills.  These people deserve no less. 

Think about that the next time you get to work and punch in on time.  Think about this the next time you arrive home during a storm and a loved one shows you how much they appreciate that you are home, safe and sound.  You had a lot of help getting there.

TABOR and Gallagher Tax Measures Impact Firefighters!

Suffice it to say, you need a program to follow all the twists and turns that have gone into the evolution of Colorado's tax laws.  Two major shifts over the years are about to cause those of us who live in Elbert County a major headache.  At first blush, it appears that the residents in the county will soon be receiving tax breaks due to the Gallagher Amendment passed a quarter of a century ago and the 1992 TABOR Measure (Tax Payer Bill of Rights) written by the Libertarian politician, Douglas Bruce.  It is beyond the scope of a mere blog post to fully detail the ramifications that the combination of these two pieces of legislation have caused during the past 25 years, but suffice it to say, it has been both a blessing and a curse to people of all political persuasions.  It has, in large part, done what it was advertised to do, which was to control tax and spend policies by both political parties in Colorado.    But for everything that might you want in the way of controlling taxes, there is always a down side.  The problem is how the cuts are made, what the law values, and more importantly what the law deems unnecessary.

Briefly, The Gallagher Amendment was an amendment to the Colorado Constitution. It was voted upon, passed by the voters and put into place in 1982. The gist of the bill was about Colorado's property taxes. The part that most crucially impacts us today in this amendment is the language requiring that the largest portion of taxes derived from property taxes must come from commercial properties.  Residential property taxes cannot exceed what comes from the commercial side of the ledger. That works well enough until you run into a period of time when residential properties values begin to soar.  That means that our residential taxes must be slashed to stay below what the commercial taxes are bringing into the coffers.

Sounds good, right?  Hold your horses there, Betty!  Go back to science class for just a moment.  For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.  Sometimes we do not want to look at what our little windfalls are truly costing us.  See all of those noses littering the ground around you?  Those were cut off to spite lots of peoples own faces.  We in rural Colorado have way more to lose than those living in the cities.

We have been seeing property values on the rise for a good long while here in Colorado.  People love this state.  They love the tourist offerings.  They are curious about the state's stand on marijuana legalization.  They love the winter skiing and summer hiking.  Gallagher is causing our taxes to go down and  that also causes people to want to live here.  Unfortunately, with this drop in taxation, the services that are paid for by the property taxes also take a hit and that can be dangerous in vast areas of open land where fires can break out from lightning or human carelessness at any time.  I won't bother debating climate change, but I will say our continued dry spells, whatever the cause, make fire a genuine, legitimate reason for concern.  Rising house values and lowering tax rates cannot replace your home, your outbuildings or your livestock from a disaster.  Only fire prevention has a chance to do that, and one of the major hits as a result of the perfect storm between TABOR and Gallagher is that it hits rural fire protection districts the hardest.

TABOR is much more complicated and has been challenged and changed several times.  But suffice it to say it has both strength and weaknesses.  From Wikipedia, "In 1992, the voters of the state approved a measure which amended Article X of the Colorado Constitution that restricts revenues for all levels of government (state, local, and schools). Under TABOR, state and local governments cannot raise tax rates without voter approval and cannot spend revenues collected under existing tax rates without voter approval if revenues grow faster than the rate of inflation and population growth. Revenue in excess of the TABOR limit, commonly referred to as the "TABOR surplus", must be refunded to taxpayers, unless voters approve a revenue change as an offset in a referendum. Under TABOR, the state has returned more than $2 billion to taxpayers."  In other words, the tax cuts become permanent without a formal vote to the contrary.  These are lean times for Colorado fire protection districts and help is nowhere on the horizon.

In Platte Canyon Fire Protection District, a 280 square mile area that is prone to dangerous prairie fires, the cuts will be particularly severe.  It is estimated that the cuts could be as deep as 18% or $380,000 per year to a department of only sixteen firefighters.  There is no waste to cut.  The fact of the matter is that TABOR requires these types of cuts with no regard to public safety,  and that puts everyone at risk. Elbert County will also be experiencing tax cuts which will cause deep cuts to our local fire departments.  I urge you to go and spend some time at one of our district fire protection facilities and see the excellent job they do on a bare bones budget.  There is no waste and there is much sacrifice to keep us all safe.

So here in rural Colorado, the chickens have come home to roost. We all want to protect our rural way of life.  Oh sure, there are some elected officials who will plan and scheme to bring more rooftops and with it, more commercial development.  It would have  certainly caused less impact on our money that we receive from the state if we had more commercial development, but up to this point,  commercial enterprises have shown little interest in coming to Elbert County. Truth be told it is  because we have so little infrastructure, mostly dirt roads and almost no central sewage or water.  Such is the story of rural America.  Rural lifestyles here along the Front Range guarantee fewer safety net options, and until the fire comes, nobody really talks about the situation.

www.http://denver.cbslocal.com/2017/03/30/budget-cuts-rural-colorado-wildfires/

 The impact of these budget cuts affects not only fire protection, but also schools and almost every other use that is paid for by state tax dollars.  Millions of dollars are not going to be spent on local governments.  $500,000,000 are estimated to be cut from local governments in 2018 alone.  Our county is already broke and scrambling to make ends meet.  A cut in the money from the state will not be helpful.  Oh, and did I mention that it impacts law enforcement?  We all know what happens when the law enforcement budget gets cut in Elbert County.  We will either have to let officers go or come up with ways to generate more revenue and that always comes back to the local citizen's pocketbooks.

So what can we do?  It is not easy, but we have to stop listening to politicians and vote for our values.  If we want better fire protection, better schools, and great law enforcement we have to ask our legislature to address this problem.  It has to get on the ballot.  We need to have the tax laws written in such a way that we are both fiscally responsible and fair to those of us living in rural Colorado.  Nobody should have to worry about the possibility of having a fire destroy their home.  We have to build in a means to augment budgets that have been impacted unfairly by the TABOR/Gallagher situation.  We have made changes to TABOR already, and some would do away with it altogether, but I will settle for us just making anything happen that moves the needle on the common sense gauge more to the middle.  I like a good tax cut as well as anybody.  I love my home, my animals, my environment and my neighbors more.