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Colorado Springs Utilities - Our ENRON!

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Contributed by: Brian L A Wess on 12/18/2007

I don't know what is worse ... the fact that it took more than three years for Colorado Springs Utilities to figure out that one of its own supervisors had stolen $434,799.86 of our money (it is a publicly owned utility after all) or the fact that, knowing this, CSU and our City Council actually have the gall to increase our utilities rates yet again by another 2.3 percent effective Jan. 1.

In a news release, seemingly timed carefully to come after the rate increase request had been approved, we are told that 69-year-old Donna Inzer turned herself into the Colorado Springs Police Department on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007 and was booked into the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center, charged with Felony Theft. What is interesting about the timing is that Utilities has known about the missing $434,799.86 since Feb. 20, 2007 when Colorado Springs Police were informed following an audit review by City Auditor Jeff Litchfield.

Even more interesting is that Ms. Inzer was able to steal this money unchecked and unquestioned during a period of three years. Any real business has procedures in place to make sure things like this don't happen, or if they do that they don't go on for three years. Even the crooks at Enron weren't able to get away with their scam that long.

If anything smacks of waste and mismanagement right now it's Colorado Springs Utilities. While everyone else, government and citizen alike, is forced to cut back and make due with what they have, Utilities keeps wasting money. It loses half a million dollars and we have our rates increase.

Utilities has spent huge amounts of money "implementing new customer service systems" that have replaced what used to be a virtually instantaneous and pleasant customer service experience with 20-minute or longer hold times ... there's efficiency for you.

It seems that virtually every time in recent memory, Utilities has come to Council with its hands out for more money or rate increases ... it's gotten it.

Utilities spent $5.2 MILLION in travel for Utilities employees in 20 months. That's eight times as much per employee on travel as the rest of our city government during that same time. Its excuse is that this travel is necessary "to keep employees current on running all four utilities." In September, City Auditor Jeff Litchfield found 13 types of violations, including one in six utilities employees in the records reviewed failing to get prior approval before traveling.

I operate in a business that changes constantly and requires me to update my education continuously and attend seminars if I want to make sure I am at the top of my game for my clients. I even attend a yearly three-day education convention that I have to travel to. If I take what I spend on all my education and business travel per year and then multiply that by all the 2,000 people that Colorado Springs Utilities employs ... it totals $5 Million. Yet Utilities budgets $4 million per year for employee travel and spent $5.2 million in less than two years ... that comes to $2,600 for EVERY EMPLOYEE! Wouldn't it be nice to see WHERE these employees are traveling to and WHY?

Isn't it time that Colorado Springs Utilities be required to run its business, the public's business, just like that ... A BUSINESS!

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Submitted By: Mark Murphy

posted on 12/28/2007 @ 7:04:07 AM

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The private sector is no more immune from white collar crime than the government sector, nor does is operate more effectively. Sure, there's always room for improvement, but Springs Utilities' financial ratings are among the best in the utility industry. It's service reliability is exceptional and J.D. Powers this year rated it second in the nation for customer service. Plus, the municipally owned utility had the added oversight of city council and its records are open to the public by law. You'd be hard pressed to find such performance, transparancy and accountability elsewhere in the business sector.

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CONTRIBUTOR INFO

Brian L A Wess

Colorado Springs , CO

Brian L A Wess has posted 72 stories and 8 comments since joining on 12/8/2006. Brian L A Wess 's average story rating is 4.86.

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