El Paso County Commissioner Chair, District 2

200 S. Cascade Ave., Colorado Springs, CO 80903

Phone: 719-520-6412

AmyLathen@elpasoco.com

El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa and members of our El Paso County Citizens Budget Oversight Committee will join me for a town hall meeting Friday, September 28, 2012 at the Colorado Springs Police Department Stetson Hills Substation.   Everyone is invited to come and get answers to questions about all aspects of county government as well as participate in an in-depth discussion on the Sheriff’s Office County Ballot Question 1-A.

This is an important question for voters to decide.  It is a public safety question; it concerns emergency preparedness, emergency response, the statutory obligations of our Sheriff’s Office to provide critical public safety services to all citizens in the county and the safety of our deputies both in the jail and on patrol.  I have asked Sheriff Maketa to join me and together we will outline the critical needs he has shared with Citizens Budget Oversight Committee and our Board of County Commissioners and review how those needs have developed over time.

I hope you will join us!

What:       Town Hall Meeting

When:      6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Friday September 28, 2012

Where:     The Community Room at the Stetson Hills Police Station

4110 Tutt Boulevard, Colorado Springs

We will have refreshments and will discuss the procedures of the County Assembly.  You’ll discover everything you need to know for a successful day as a delegate/alternate to the County Assembly!  You’ll also have an opportunity to ask me any questions you may still have prior to casting your vote this Saturday.  I am asking for your vote and hope to see you at the RALLY on Friday and then at the big Assembly THIS SATURDAY!

Remember, Assembly doors open at 7:00am and the meetings begin at 8:00.  Liberty High School, 8720 Scarborough Drive.

Any questions?  Call us: 645-3197

TasteBudsRestaurant                           Falcon Fire Station

520 Colorado Ave.                                 7030 Old Meridian Road

Calhan, CO 80808                                 (Corner of Meridian and Hwy. 24)

March 17th                                             Falcon, CO 80831

7:00am -9:00am                                      March 17th,   2:00-4:00pm

Multi Purpose Facility, (NE Corner of Ford Street and Galley)

1025 Ford Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80915

6:00-8:00pm

(We’ll also prepare for and share details about what you may expect at the County Assembly on March 24th at Liberty High School)

BE AN INFORMED VOTER! COME ASK QUESTIONS AND SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS AND CONCERNS.

TRUTH MATTERS!!!  I’ll never give you anything less!!

I invite you to my home to ask questions and learn why I am seeking your support to continue serving in my second term as your County Commissioner!  I look forward to seeing you and I hope you won’t miss this opportunity!

I am the 50.5 percent.

I am, according to the Heritage Foundation, part of the lucky half of Americans who pay federal income taxes, so that the other half (technically the remaining 49.5 percent) can pay nothing.

Half of us are paying the whole bill. Somehow that doesn’t seem fair. Folks like Elizabeth Warren and President Barack Obama agree. They think we should pay more.

We’re used to that, we 50.5 percenters. Every time a new “stimulus” is announced, every time a new government program to solve all our problems is rolled out, we know that a) the problems aren’t going anywhere; and b) we’ll be stuck paying the check.

And every time there’s talk of a tax “cut” or a “rebate,” we assume it will be set up so that, somehow, the people who actually pay in get left out.

But what can you do, right? If you’re a 50.5 percenter you just get up, go to work, try to take care of your family and hope that someone, somewhere in Washington or on Beacon Hill is getting your back.

They’re not.

Why should they? We’re barely half of the population. Politicians count votes — not pay stubs.

Back in the evil days of Ronald Reagan, a mere 15 percent of the population didn’t pay taxes (or in the case of children, were claimed as a dependent by a taxpayer). Back then, we had lower rates and more payers. More people in the ship of state together, sharing in the rowing. We working taxpayers mattered.

Today, thanks to the “food stamp president,” as Newt Gingrich calls him, the number of non-payers is 300 percent bigger, and a record number of Americans, one in five, now receives some level of federal government assistance.

And no, my overpaid friends in the Patrick administration, that doesn’t include government workers.

Yes, all American workers pay payroll taxes, but those are for your Social Security and Medicare benefits (remember Al Gore’s “lockbox”). But Social Security’s been in the red since 2009, so we 50.5 percenters have been picking up that tab, too.

There’s a terrifying chart in the president’s new budget showing that, under Obama’s proposed spending plan, federal debt will reach $200,000 per U.S. household by 2020.

Numbers like that simply aren’t sustainable.

By 2020, we’ll be paying more on national debt service than on national defense — and the debt will still be growing.

So why aren’t people panicking? Why aren’t voters demanding serious spending cuts and tax reform?

Once again, why would they?

The half of Americans eating the pie know that they’re not paying for it. In reality, that debt burden is $400,000 per 50.5 percenter household and zero — nada, goose egg, zippo — for the rest.

The president proposes to make the tax system more “fair.” But “fair” in the Liz Warren sense of the word. He wants to raise income taxes, dividend taxes, Medicare taxes, etc. on families earning $250,000 a year — and already paying most of the federal tax bill.

This is the same budget that promises soaring deficits for years to come. In other words, Obama isn’t raising taxes to pay down debt. He’s collecting it from the 50.5 percenters to “share” with the rest.

Do you want to live in an America where the takers outnumber the makers?

Is a nation where 51 percent freeload off the 49 percent still really America?

And is that a country you want to live in?

Because if we re-elect President Obama, that’s exactly the country we’ll have.

Michael Graham hosts an afternoon drive-time talk show on 96.9 WTKK.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/op_ed/view.bg?articleid=1405838

I have worked several years now with Ms. Lathen to bring satellite offices into the Calhan community to benefit the elderly with much needed social services and even an endeavor to create a Humane Society in this area to insure the safety and well-being of livestock and pets.

Amy has been instrumental in opening up the El Paso County Fair Grounds, encouraging citizen usage for equine events and just general purpose.  The outdoor arena for the summer and the Owen’s Livestock Arena in the winter months are available to ride and exercise your horse in out of the cold and occasional adverse weather conditions and these came about because of Amy’s desire to help our many ranchers and horse enthusiasts.

There are many things that impress me about Ms. Lathen; however her attention to small issues as well as large issues and listening to and considering the interests of her District is most impressive.  She is a “go to and get it done” keeper and always has an open-door policy.  She will always have an answer for you and if she doesn’t, she will research it and get back with you!!

Her job as County Commissioner is not just an 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. job, it is a way of life that is time consuming and never ending.  It not only is a commitment on her part but also on her family’s part and she is blessed with a family that recognizes the importance of her work and supports her 150%.  She is an asset to our District and definitely has my support and vote. Amy is not only District #2 County Commissioner, she is also our advocate and friend.

Respectfully submitted,

Connie S. Johnson, Taste Buds Restaurant, Calhan,CO

V. President, El Paso County Fair Corporation

President, Eastern Plains Chamber of Commerce

Much has been written and debated regarding oil and gas development and we struck an extremely responsible, sound balance in the policy that we adopted.

Working within the reality of our authority here in the county and recognizing some of the unique characteristics of this region, we essentially established four regulations that are now within our local policy.  Before listing the four regulations we established, it must be emphasized that the State of Colorado, along with Federal requirements, already very heavily regulates the drilling industry.  The State dictates numerous regulations for everything “down-hole” and site related as well as reporting standards, air emissions and water quality and sufficiency.  We have no authority “down-hole” and very limited site related authority.  Essentially, we cannot enact anything that exceeds established state standards.

Our local policy now includes:

1.  Noxious Weed Management.  This may sound strange, but state law actually mandates noxious weed control and we are obligated to establish certain requirements when we deal with moving dirt and reclaiming land.  This regulation is purely within local land use and was fully agreed to by the state and industry as necessary and reasonable.

2.  Emergency Management Plan.  This again falls under local control and works with the existing districts to develop a custom plan for our region.  Here again, the state and industry were in full agreement and deemed this necessary and reasonable.

3.  Transportation Impact Plan.  When a well is drilled, there is an average of 1,000-1,200, even up to 1,500 truck trips required to establish that well.  Then, once established, there will be continued truck trips as the well goes into production.  All these trucks wear down the roads and create a significant impact.  Whether running on six inches of asphalt, chip seal or just on our eastern El Paso County gravel roads, we must re-mediate the damage and make sure that we protect the assets owned by the citizens of this county.

El Paso County is the only county in the state that does not have a Business Personal Property Tax.  That means that if this industry does establish itself here, that we will not have that revenue stream to mitigate those road impacts.  We do not believe that those impacts should be borne by the taxpayers and have therefore established a plan whereby the industry will offset those costs and re-mediate the impacts they make to our roads.

This is not uncommon whatsoever and falls once again under the full purview of local control and land use.  The state and industry agreed, deemed this necessary and reasonable and we are able to protect our taxpayer assets.

4.  Water Quality Assessment, Monitoring and Mitigation.  Of the four adopted local regulations, this was the most controversial from the state’s perspective.  That is because the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) already regulates water quality, sufficiency, disposal and use.  Therefore, they felt that no local regulation would be either necessary or appropriate.  We disagreed on this and believe that given the critical nature of our water supply and the overwhelming input from the citizens we are here to represent, that we needed to take a much closer look.

The plan that we approved is exactly the same as the state (through COGCC) already has written.  The only difference is that the state plan is voluntary and we believe that it should be mandatory here in El Paso County.  Therefore, we adopted the state’s monitoring plan within our local regulations in order to establish baseline water quality testing and ongoing monitoring.  This is an extremely reasonable approach and vital to our dependence on groundwater sources in eastern El Paso County.

In addition to these four adopted regulations, we will go forward with a Local Government Designee, working directly with the state through the COGCC to troubleshoot other issues as they relate to our region.  These may be handled then through Memos of Understanding with individual operators on a case by case basis depending on site specific issues.

There is also pending state legislation which may change our authority, the state’s authority and various regulatory systems.  With no guess yet as to what may be enacted at the end of the 2012 legislative session, we are confident in what we have established in this interim and believe that this sound policy sets a strong foundation for whatever legislative action may be taken.

The entire approach struck a balance with the law and our authority, existing regulatory bodies, responsible management of our local assets and resources and creating a strong environment for this industry with a tremendous potential for job creation and energy development.

We will continue to work with the state, the industry and our constituents as we all discover whether or not oil and gas will ultimately be developed here in El Paso County.  I am thankful for all of the work that has gone into this issue here over the last 12 months and believe that we have established an extremely sound policy for the future.