Westsider Westsider 7.19.13
North Jeffco
North Jefferson County, Colorado • Volume 12, Issue 28
POSTAL PATRON
July 19,2013
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourwestminsternews.com
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City eyes service modifications Snow removal considered in budget review By Ashley Reimers
areimers@ourcoloradonews.com Westminster City Council is beginning its review of the 2014 city budget. A public meeting on July 8 gave council and the community a quick look at some potential service modifications within the budget. The 2013-2014 budget was adopted in October as part of a two-year budget, and
a mid-year review process is standard procedure. In November, voters approved a city charter amendment allowing the City Council to adopt a formal two-year budget. City Manager Brent McFall said the recent public meeting was meant to provide an opportunity for the public to give council input on the budget as it considers any revisions for the adopted 2013-2014 budget. “This is not a full budget process. We don’t start over again,” he said. “The process gives council a few times to review the budget and receive any public comment on budgetary matters anyone may want to make.” The adopted 2014 budget totals
$175,458,142 and includes funding for all services and programs provided by the city government to Westminster residents and business. Brent said based on what he knows at this point, it appears the city will be able to fully fund operations for the city in 2014 at the projected level. “Sales and use tax continues to be the major source of funding for the general fund, providing 64 percent of general-fund operations,” he said. “I also want to point out that the city only receives about 4 percent in revenues from property taxes. The majority of those revenues go toward the counties and school districts.” During McFall’s budget presentation, he pointed out three areas of potential service
modifications to be considered for the 2014 budget. The first modification is the postsnowstorm street-sweeping process, which according to McFall, continues to present the city with budget challenges. Staff is proposing to discontinue post-snowstorm sweeping, which currently costs $76,000 per year. McFall said staff is investigating the possibility of adding one citywide sweeping rotation, which would be performed during an appropriate time in the winter and would cost an estimated $34,250. “After factoring in the additional sweeping rotation, the city could receive a $41,678 Budget continues on Page 5
House budget cuts energy funding By Glenn Wallace
gwallace@ourcoloradonews.com
Westminster firefighters demonstrate a vehicle extraction during a safety event on July 14 at the Westminster training tower. The event was geared toward special needs children and was co-sponsored by Spectra Autism Center. The event featured more firefighter demonstrations, rides on a vintage fire truck and the opportunity for children to take on the firefighter combat challenge obstacle course. Photo by Ashley Reimers
Firefighters extend reach Event focuses on children with special needs By Ashley Reimers
areimers@ourcoloradonews.com A safety event geared toward children with special needs debuted over the weekend in Westminster. The event was sponsored by the Westminster Fire Department and the Spectra Autism Center and focused on teaching children and their family members about fire safety, and gave youngsters an opportunity to experience what the job of a firefighter is like. “The safety event was open to any child, but we really wanted to put a focus on children with special needs and allow them to see what a real firefighter does while teaching them some safety,” said Westminster firefighter and event organizer Luke Gearhard. The Sunday, July 14, event at the Westminster training tower featured firefighter
demonstrations including a rappel off the side of the training tower, and two vehicle extractions. Children enjoyed free rides in a vintage fire truck while trying on real firefighter gear and testing their skills in the firefighter combat challenge obstacle course. Angela Trout brought her two children to the event, one who has autism. She said it’s nice to have an event geared toward children with special needs, but one that is also welcoming to her other child. “This is a lot of fun,” she said. “I like being able to bring both my kids, but also go somewhere that is focused on children with special needs.” Amy Gearhard, CEO of Spectra and Luke’s wife, said she’s never seen an event like this one in Colorado and she hopes it continues to grow in the future. Working with individuals with special needs on a daily basis, Amy said she understands how an individual with special needs may react differently in an emergency situation. She said the event was also an opportunity for firefighters to learn more about children with special needs and how to handle certain situations.
“It’s important for firefighters and police officers to understand the difference in dealing with a child with special needs,” Amy Gearhard said. “A firefighter might get a call about a violent and aggressive child who has special needs, so it’s important that a firefighter knows that the last thing he should do is restrain that child. It’s knowledge like this that can help make everyone safer. Both Luke and Amy agree a great way for families to communicate information to police and fire is by signing up for Smart911, a free, nationwide private service that allows people to create safety profiles online. The participants can enter vital information about themselves and their family members to be used during an emergency situation. People can create their profiles by going online to www.smart911.com. After signing up, people will be contacted every six months to confirm that the information on the profile is still current. “We hope people utilize the Smart911 service because it could really make a difference during an emergency,” Luke Gearhard said.
The 2014 Energy and Water spending bill recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives cuts sustainable energy funding by half. The $30.4 billion bill combines the offices of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) with the office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (EDER). The two offices, independent sections of the Department of Energy, would become the Renewable Energy, Energy Reliability, and Efficiency office, or REERE for short. For fiscal year 2013, the EERE received $1.82 billion. The EDER received $140 million. The Republican-led House spending bill proposes a cut of exactly 50 percent for the combined REERE office for 2014, $980 million. President Barack Obama had requested $2.77 billion for the EERE and $170 million for EDER. U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, representing Colorado Congressional District 6, introduced a late amendment to the 2014 spending bill to restore the energy funding, which his office says “helps maintain critical investments and jobs at the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) in Jefferson County.” The amendment failed — 178 yeas to 237 nays — though it did earn a handful of Republican votes. In a statement supporting his amendment, Perlmutter noted, “This is not the kind of ‘two for one’ deal you want to jump on. Their over arching funding scheme for EERE undermines our strategic energy investments and removes critical investments at our premier research laboratories like National Renewable Energy Lab.” Perlmutter said investment in research will help secure energy independence, helps job creation and is good for our national security. House Republicans were quoted in various media, saying the cuts were a budgetary necessity, and that privatesector research and development could fill the void. The energy budget that is making its way through the Senate increases funding, part of a more-than $90 billion gap between the two houses’ budget plans.
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