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Colorado Springs Utilities - Our ENRON!

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Contributed by: Brian L A Wess on 12/14/2007

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 Utilities and your 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: Brian L A Wess

posted on 12/27/2007 @ 4:37:34 AM

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It's always amusing when someone claims that it doesn't cost the public because "it's covered by insurance." That's like saying no one pays for shoplifting. Who pays for increased premiums on a Publicly Owned Utility? The Public. Even better is when someone claims that malfeasance and poor management practices are ok just because the up time of a utility is good or that the rates are lower than most cities of its size. Especially since, according to the Department of Energy, almost every Utility company for medium sized cities operates at over 99% up time. Sad proof that they don't teach economics or ethics in school anymore.

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Submitted By: Marcus Garcia

posted on 12/14/2007 @ 2:18:41 PM

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I wonder if Mr. Wess did enough "journalistic" research to find out that EVEN WITH a 2.3 percent rate increase for 2008, he will STILL be paying a utility bill that is ranked 5th LOWEST in the country for cities this size. I wonder if Mr. Wess knew when he wrote his piece that he and everyone else in Colorado Springs enjoys a reliability rate of somewhere near 99.83% I wonder if Mr. Wess has ever lived in a city where electricity cost less than $.07 per KW-hour. Quite frankly, I just wonder about Mr. Wess...

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Submitted By: Penny Quintero

posted on 12/14/2007 @ 10:49:20 AM

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This isn't community journalsim. This is blasting by someone who has no personal knowledge of the situation or a clear perspective on utilities operations. If he'd bother to read the information, he'd see there are no impacts to customers because of the insurance. I wonder how many public meetings Mr. Wess has bothered to attend or participate in. I myself watch each meeting on the television and often email or call to contribute constructive ideas. This is just blathering. To suggest that it's journalism brings down the entire profession.

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Showing 1-3 of 3 comments

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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