Colorado Springs, Colo., Shoots Down Storm Water Proposal

Colorado Springs, Colo., voters' chance to weigh in on a new storm water fee measures went down the drain Wednesday, when the city's title board defeated the proposal.

Three Colorado Springs officials acting as a title-setting board refused to set a title for Bruce's measure, which would effectively end the city's storm water enterprise by making fees voluntary. The city officials called Bruce's proposal vague, questioning the meaning of "voluntary," "contracts," "enterprise" and "future."

The ballot measure's author, El Paso County commissioner Douglas Bruce, acknowledged a defeat before the title board, saying he will not have sufficient time to gather signatures in support of November ballot placement. But he vowed to sue the city over the denial. The tax-cutting activist's goal is to allow local voters to say whether self-supporting city ventures should collect fees on a volunteers-only basis.

The fee Bruce wishes to challenge stemmed from city council members, not public voters. All area property owners must pay storm water fees to fund a backlog of drainage projects.

"Voluntary contracts doesn't make sense to me," said Municipal Judge Robert Briggle, who joined City Attorney Patricia Kelly and Deputy City Clerk Cindy Conway on the title board. Briggle also said that the measure could be construed to mean that the city cannot conduct business with other enterprises.

Bruce, however, likened the debate over terminology to "Alice in Wonderland." "And on and on down the rabbit hole," he said. "I see nothing that's confusing in this. There's nothing that couldn't be understood by a 10th-grade dropout."

Bruce said he could file a lawsuit as early as Friday; Wednesday's setback, however, means he will have to aim for ballot placement for the 2008 election.

Source: Colorado Springs Gazette