It's springtime in the Rockies! I took my angelic granddaughter Sophie to our neighborhood park.  Kids were playing football, others on the swing set, teenagers lounging on the lawn.....WHAT A COUNTRY! A sign on the trashcan caught my eye. Volunteers are cooperating with the city to keep the park open, and asking for help from the neighborhood.  It got me thinking about services and the taxes that pay for them.

Government almost everywhere has grown to spend more than it's taking in. When your household is spending more than it's taking in, what do you do?  You can live with less, cut back on your spending. You can keep spending and borrow the shortfall. Ask California how that's working...they're $20 billion in the hole.

The federal government can print more money, raise taxes, or borrow.Colorado is limited in raising taxes. The city of Colorado Springs can't print money, or borrow to cover its costs.  We vote down tax increases to cover city spending. Our city has to live within our budgets – what a concept!

Today, volunteers are stepping forward to help fill gaps in funding. Much help is coming from our faith based communities.  Did you read about the deal between the city and private enterprise to keep some municipal pools open?  Wow! The city could even make money on the deal. The U.S. Olympic Committee is helping with kid's sports.   Wonderful El Pomar, as always, is stepping up in critical areas.

Much of this is experimental and temporary. At the moment the city is cutting like crazy. The pendulum will no doubt go too far and we’ll cut too much, just as it went too far in spending. Our city’s budget for 2010 was approved about six months ago. Already, cuts in services are creating problems, even if they don't yet affect you yet. If fire and police budgets get cut to the point where we personally feel the pain, that could influence our votes.

What can we do? We want government to be cost effective, but we don't want the pendulum swinging so far that it severely impacts our quality of life.  We can volunteer to help the disadvantaged who rely on unsustainable programs.  We can write a check where it's appropriate.  To me, it's all about the kids, so I've always supported groups like Cub Scouts, Junior Achievement, and CASA. This year I'll add a check to Uncle Wilbur.

We elect our representatives.  We hope they make good decisions. We'll soon discover what can be accomplished with the funds we give them to manage. Your vote will determine how we prioritize low taxes (who doesn't like low taxes?)  versus the things that make our city desirable - like  parks, hiking trails, and schools.

I'm concerned for our homeowners. If our decisions lower our quality of life, it’ll also lower the value of their homes. And, I’m concerned for Sophie.  She's only six months old, so she’s going to live with the outcome of all of our votes, and our efforts, for a very long time. We owe it to her and our future generations to study the issues carefully, and to vote smart.