Your county commissioner has tried diligently since January to fulfill a campaign goal of ending the taxpayer subsidy of the county fair and return both fair event and fairgrounds to the Fair Association. The Association “sold” the fairgrounds to the county in 1972 for ONE DOLLAR. I wanted to return it, with its dwindled fund balance of $50,000, to that same private, non-profit charity. They were willing to take it. But at the last minute, it did not happen. Why? Stay tuned.In the past ten years alone, prior county commissioners have squandered over $1.4 MILLION subsidizing operating losses at the fair. Remember THAT the next time my colleagues say county government needs “more money.” Remember THAT when they seek re-election as “fiscal conservatives.” Ha!The county also let the buildings deteriorate. There is a $300,000 roofing job needed. The total backlog of desired improvements now exceeds $3.4 million.Remember the jail and courthouse scandal? The ONLY good thing about those illegal debts (without voter approval) for our new, already-full jail and our new, unneeded Taj Mahal courthouse was that it forced some mild economies in the sieve known as county finances. Although I disagreed with the terms*, at least the Pikes Peak Center and the Penrose Equestrian Center transfer to private groups ended those massive subsidies. It was done to free up cash to pay for this $156 million in added illegal debt, called “certificates of participation.” (Annual cost of COP debt service alone is $8.5 million.)(* The Pikes Peak Center lease was $1 a year for 25 years, AND the county GAVE its affluent new tenant, the World Arena, $500,000 in cash, AND agreed to still pay the water AND even to mow the lawn! I’m surprised they didn’t also promise them lifetime free car washes and shoe shines as well. Even worse, the Penrose deal was an outright gift to other insiders, of many acres of prime, improved real estate, worth $5 million, just north of the Broadmoor, PLUS another cash handout. (Tar and feathers, anyone?)Another part of last year’s fiscal plan was a public commitment to end the fair subsidy.That required an end to county mal-administration. County salaries turned operating profits into losses. Last year, in round numbers, a slight profit became a $137,000 loss when salaries were included. This year, when the subsidy was supposed to end, a $35,000 profit became a $37,000 loss when salaries were included. Also, the fair manager had a SECOND FULL-TIME government job. That’s called “double dipping.”Rather than ending this subsidy, my colleagues decided, 4-to-1, to HIDE the subsidy in the Parks Department budget. They admitted there was $414,000 in immediate repairs needed, with no known source for that money. They agreed the fair fund balance would be ZERO in two years. Lack of any start-up money will make a future transfer of this money-loser virtually impossible. They decided instead to run the fair into the ground. One could call these actions “criminal,” but “political” would be even more damning.The prior county commission had asked a “blue ribbon panel” to recommend what to do about the fair. (Will we ever have a red ribbon panel? Puce, anyone? Maybe we should “mauve on!”) The panel reported a non-profit should run it. The fair association IS a non-profit. But when it came to making that obvious decision, our queasy quartet quavered.Why did they cave? One commissioner said, in essence, the fair was “for the children.” Don’t you LOVE that liberal mantra, used to justify every step supporting socialism?Another commissioner feared quick resale at a profit (deluxe condos on the fairgrounds? Free fragrances of manure included?), even though a county option to buy it back for one dollar if marketed within the next five years was part of the deal. He proposed the fair association PAY the county $29,000 a year for the privilege of running the one-week fair event (!) Get this–the association should take all the risk, like bad weather; do all the work; deal with the leaks; let the county supervise its expenditures; accept political appointments to control who sits on the board of a private group; then also pay its entire optimal net cash flow to the county, to ensure there are no profits for future investments. Brilliant business strategy, oui?The association leader, a banker, said that offer made no sense. As a 30-year real estate investor, and the only successful entrepreneur-investor on the board, I agree with him. No tenant will improve government property, which can be taken back on short notice, the way he cares for his own property. That reality is why we promote home ownership, and why even politicians claim to support capitalism (while still voting for socialism).I have rounded off some numbers. You can hear this Nov. 10 travesty for yourself in detail on the county’s website. I did my best to stave off this impending financial disaster, but one commissioner who cares, who thinks, is still not a majority. My pledge to you was never to wave a magic wand and guarantee results, only to exert my best efforts in this area, and others, on behalf of taxpayers. I have kept my promise.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.
