Notified — Pueblo PD response times, PUC picks and chile license plate for show only
January 6, 2017 | Police chief: Ideal response times aren’t attainable.
How does the Pueblo Police Department meet its staffing challenges? That’s something the city and the department have been struggling to answer for years. With limited funds and voters disapproving of sales tax hikes to fund more officers, the city has been forced to pay for overtime — to the tune of $1.13 million in 2015.
But that problem, as is often noted by citizens, is resulting in tangible conseuqences. A recent audit recommended the police department meet a response time of under 10 minutes 90 percent of the time for emergencies.
The police department says that’s impossible.
That story after the jump. Plus, the governor’s office comments on the controversial PUC pick and why Pueblo Chile growers won’t see any additional funds from the chile license plate.
Pueblo PD overtime equates to 11 officers, can’t meet response times
The Pueblo Police Department recently underwent an audit regarding overtime pay, an issue the city has been dealing with for some time. Highlighted was the staggering amount of overtime the city is paying for: $1.13 million, or the equivalent of 11 sworn officers.
Police chief Luis Velez presented the findings to city council in late December, and what’s even more noteworthy than the dollar amount is the audit recommendations Velez said his department could not meet — mainly meeting response times.
The department should establish a plan to respond to emergency calls within five minutes 90 percent of the time, said the audit, done by LD Consulting LLC, out of Arizona.
That goal is just not attainable, Velez told city council members.
Why? The problem isn’t that getting from one end of the city to the other is difficult. Velez said his officers could easily do that, but not having enough man problem is putting response times for emergency calls at around 13–15 minutes.
The audit had a total of 25 audit recommendations, many Velez said the department was already working on putting in place, such as implementing new software.
A former Black Hills VP is Gov. Hickenlooper’s choice for the PUC
It’s an appointment that comes as a surprise to some in Southern Colorado. Gov. John Hickenlooper picked former Black Hills Vice President of Regulatory Services to serve on the Colorado Public Utilities Commission.
Why does this matter? Pueblo rate payers have been complaining Black Hills Energy has been unreasonably raising utility rates. Early last year when Frances Koncilja was affirmed by the Colorado Senate to the position, many saw the appointment as a win for Puebloans because she has ties to, and understands, the community.
Rep. Daneya Esgar, D-Pueblo, fought for regional representation on the PUC to bring some balance. Commissioners typically are from Denver.
PULP asked the governor’s office if Pueblo’s challenges with rate hikes from Black Hills Energy played was a factor in the decision of appointing Moser.
The following is the statement provided by the governor’s office:
The Governor chose the appointees for their expertise and ability to get things done. A PUC commissioner’s primary responsibilities are to implement the law impartially and balance the interests of ratepayers with the business needs of regulated utilities. We are confident both Mr. Ackerman and Ms. Moser will fulfill those duties.
Pueblo chile license plates won’t yield donations for chile growers
Paying extra for a Pueblo Chile license plate won’t help out chile growers beyond recognition.
Unlike several of Colorado’s specialty license plates, there won’t be a requirement to donate a certain amount of money to a non-profit that correlates with the chile growers.
The full story on why.
What to know: The Colorado Legislature starts up again on Wednesday
Lawmakers will return to Denver over the weekend to convene for the 71st Regular Session. The statehouse is expected to take on major issues from previous sessions, such as energy, transportation and construction litigation reform.
PULP sat down with the Senate President, a Southern Colorado native, to talk policy, predictions and bridging urban and rural Colorado.
A Q/A with Colorado’s new Senate President, Sen. Kevin Grantham, R-Cañon City.
On politics: Sen. Crowder, ready for presidential ‘regime’ change
Alamosa State Senator Larry Crowder took to Twitter Friday morning with optimism about the upcoming ‘regime change’ — a term often reserved for authoritarian governments.
We were curious what Crowder meant when he used the term ‘regime’ in a tweet on Friday, so we asked.
