We don't need another hero...

[ebonlock]

Welcome to Galt Gulch, Libertopia of the future!

Colorado Springs cuts into services considered basic by many

This tax-averse city is about to learn what it looks and feels like when budget cuts slash services most Americans consider part of the urban fabric.

More than a third of the streetlights in Colorado Springs will go dark Monday. The police helicopters are for sale on the Internet. The city is dumping firefighting jobs, a vice team, burglary investigators, beat cops — dozens of police and fire positions will go unfilled.

The parks department removed trash cans last week, replacing them with signs urging users to pack out their own litter.

Neighbors are encouraged to bring their own lawn mowers to local green spaces, because parks workers will mow them only once every two weeks. If that.

Water cutbacks mean most parks will be dead, brown turf by July; the flower and fertilizer budget is zero.

City recreation centers, indoor and outdoor pools, and a handful of museums will close for good March 31 unless they find private funding to stay open. Buses no longer run on evenings and weekends. The city won’t pay for any street paving, relying instead on a regional authority that can meet only about 10 percent of the need.
[...]
Though officials and citizens put public safety above all in the budget, police and firefighting still lost more than $5.5 million this year. Positions that will go empty range from a domestic violence specialist to a deputy chief to juvenile offender officers. Fire squad 108 loses three firefighters. Putting the helicopters up for sale and eliminating the officers and a mechanic banked $877,000.

My only question is when do they build a Thunderdome and will they be airing the battles to the death on Pay Per View? They could just convert one of those mega-churches, easy-peasy.

S. cerevisiae says:

Things you do not normally hear: “I’ve got a great idea! Let’s make our city more like Mogadishu!”

Comments

[scoreboard.livejournal.com]

You do realize that this is the HQ city of James "Spank 'Em High" Dobson's Focus On The Family ministry, right?

Karma is, how you say...ah, yes - a biznatch.

(Irony dept: my first ever friend growing up, only 3 weeks apart on birthdays? Worked for them there for many years. How the hell did I ever wind up like this?)

[ebonlock.livejournal.com]

You do realize that this is the HQ city of James "Spank 'Em High" Dobson's Focus On The Family ministry, right?

I'm seeing him as the new Master Blaster...

[phillipalden.livejournal.com]

This could be a glimpse into the future for other American cities.