Budget crises and sustainable development for city
The present is a tight and frugal one for the city. Recently, Colorado Springs news media reported that there was now a significant brain drain hampering the future recovery of the city. A brain drain is perhaps a loaded term for the situation, it suggests a mass exodus of highly-skilled and experienced people looking for bigger and better opportunities.
There is some truth to this in Colorado Springs. Massive budget cuts have led to many city employees, especially in the hard-hit park service, being let go and made redundant.
“The truth is, it's been a challenging time to be a public servant,” Chris Lieber, a manager with the parks, recreation and cultural services division told Independent, a Colorado news provider.
The budget cut backs of the city have been significant for most departments, but for Lieber, who was recently forced into the private sector, his departments has seen budget cuts of extreme levels, with the general budget of 2008 falling from $20 million in that year to just $3 million for 2010.
Even in cases where staff are not being let go, their experience is becoming wasted as services are but back. A manager with vast experience overseeing the management of all the pools and water parks in Colorado Springs, for example, will not be content with managing just three pools, and will likely take up opportunities elsewhere, where the job is more challenging or rewarding.
But such dire views of the future shouldn’t be all that this city looks forward to. There is much planning and preparations for the future to be made, and despite the rough economy and local budget crisis, many residents of Colorado Springs recently turned their attention to celebrating Earth Day.
It was only the fifth time the landmark conservation event had been observed in Colorado Springs, but Becca Sickbert, a local organizer and founder of the event, told Colorado news provider Colorado Springs Gazette that “it’s been fun to watch this event grow up.”
The local government also got involved, the Colorado Springs Utilities had a stand at Colorado College’s environmentally friendly Cornerstone Arts Center, where the event was held, and were advising the public on how to cut down on energy bills. There was also a group of local children who were offering haircuts and donating the proceeds to a conservation charity and giving the hair trimmings to a company that makes mats, which are used to mop up oil spills on beaches.
“I know a lot of people talk about what we’re doing wrong,” said Danika Carter, a local coordinator of the event. “I moved here four-and-a-half years ago. I have seen such incredible growth in recycling and reusing. I think we’ve really come a long way.”
Environmental awareness is catching on in Colorado Springs then, and if the current budget crisis is a sign of the dark present, perhaps Earth Day’s increasing popularity in the city is a harbinger of a more sustainable future.
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Colorado Springs Digest
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Budget crises and sustainable development for city
Colorado Springs is facing tough times, almost everyone is aware of it, and almost all residents are feeling the effects of the city’s budget crisis. Public pools have been closed, though three of the five public pools have now been re-opened, and some residents have found themselves cutting the grass at local parks due to wide-spread layoffs of city employees.
The present is a tight and frugal one for the city. Recently, Colorado Springs news media reported that there was now a significant brain drain hampering the future recovery of the city. A brain drain is perhaps a loaded term for the situation, it suggests a mass exodus of highly-skilled and experienced people looking for bigger and better opportunities. Read more
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