Mobile home banIn last November’s monthly report, I attacked a new county law that made ALL mobile homes built before 1976 virtually unsaleable, because they could no longer be relocated within the county. I alone had voted against that 123-page revision of the entire building code. Why? Originally, it was simply because I have a quaint notion that commissioners should not adopt laws they had not even read (!)The assessor responded commendably to my later discovery of this hidden ban. He lowered the taxable value of those homes by 75 percent. His decision confirmed my view that the Board had illegally exercised eminent domain powers through this raw regulation, but without paying just compensation, as required by the Constitution we swore to uphold. This pernicious new rule took $12 million in property value from “the little people,” owners of little political influence and very modest resources. An aging trailer, which had averaged $6,000 in taxable value (now $1,500), may be their only asset. It may be rusty, it may be creaky, but it is still their castle!The Regional Building Department has now relented and agreed to amend that ghoulish law, passed last Halloween. Instead of automatic outlawing of all relocations based solely on year of construction, these mobile homes will simply face an inspection to determine whether they are fundamentally safe, particularly from an allegedly greater risk of fire. That is the same process any other mobile home undergoes when placed within the county.Now that this abuse is being corrected, I also asked the Regional Building Board of Review to support mailing post cards to all mobile home owners, offering a low-cost inspection service to identify potential safety hazards. They should furnish a list of suggested safety improvements, but without citations for violations observed in this voluntary service. The cost of mailing those post cards is about $600. Don’t these poor owners have a right to know if they are in danger? If it saves even one life, isn’t it worth doing?Imagine how it feels to have saved those 2,254 mobile home owners from this gross abuse! I’m glad to have been elected as your commissioner, and to have the ability to fight for Justice.************Race-based county formsWhen reviewing a proposal to appoint people to one of our too-numerous citizen boards, I noticed the on-line county questionnaire attached to one form. It asked applicants to state their racial background. I was stunned. I thought we were past those dark days of judging and cataloging people by race.The form said the information would be kept confidential, but there it was in our back-up materials, available for public inspection. So much for government keeping its word.I wondered how Tiger Woods, with his varied ethnic heritage, would have fit in one of those small-minded bureaucratic boxes.I brought this pernicious practice to the attention of the Board at a public meeting. After some lame efforts at justification, the county administrator and his assistant finally agreed that the question could be deleted from county forms, and it was. At my request, the county is now “reconsidering” its use in employment applications and personnel files as well. Rest assured, I will remain vigilant about expunging this un-American inquisition.Part of my role as a reformer is to remove the blinders from my co-workers, so they may see the consequences of what they do. Even routine governmental actions demand constant scrutiny, not thoughtless, robotic obedience.********************Pikes Peak Center roof repairI reported in my first monthly report (Nov. 04) that the prior Board of Commissioners had leased the Pikes Peak Center to the World Arena for $1 per year for 25 years ($25 total rent), PLUS gave the tenant $500,000 as a “signing bonus” to offset some needed maintenance caused by past county neglect. The giveaway has proven to be even worse than I thought.On Nov. 3, 2005, wind damaged the PPC roof. Because the county leased the property and did not sell it, it is responsible for the replacement cost, about $80,000. We are self-insured, so there was no insurance claim to make. Besides, it was an “unusually high” wind speed and the warranty by the roofing material manufacturer was void above speeds of about 50 m.p.h.The county also provides water and yard work under this buck-a-year sweetheart deal. Thus, we are GUARANTEED to lose money every year. To avoid all these future costs, I urged we either renegotiate the lease or even GIVE the center to the tenant. No dice. My colleagues, who are handed the same pay check every two weeks, regardless of performance, see no problem in getting only $25 in income and paying out millions in expenses over the next quarter century. With such deficient business acumen, I wonder if they are trying to show that their fiscal credentials are compatible with the current spendthrift practices in Washington, D.C., in order to seem qualified to run for our vacated congressional seat!********************Contact me at (719) 520-6412, by e-mail at DouglasBruce@elpasoco.com, or by writing me at 27 E. Vermijo Ave. Colo. Spgs. CO 80903. Audiotapes of all BOCC meetings, both simulcast and in archives, are available at www.elpasoco.com. Back issues of my monthly reports are at my Web site, www.DouglasBruce.com. Reports can be e-mailed to you monthly. 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