Increasing Utility and Transportation Fees – Colorado

Rising fees for utilities may be slowing recovery, economists say, By Colleen O’Connor, November 7, 2010, Denver Post: “Even in one of the most contentious election cycles in recent history, most politicians agree on one thing: It’s a mistake to raise taxes during an economic recession or early in a recovery. But equally mandatory fees have quietly and relentlessly crept up in Colorado and across the nation, and economists say they could be slowing the economic recovery. Rates for electricity, water, sewage treatment and phones – even bus fares – have risen during the recession…”
Nickel and dimed by increasing fees, Editorial, November 9, 2010, Denver Post: “Unemployment is high. Pay raises, for those lucky enough to be getting them, are low. The economy is barely bubbling back to life, yet utility and public transportation rates have soared in the past few years in Colorado, making us wonder if those in charge are tone deaf to the pressures faced by working families. A story in The Sunday Denver Post by reporter Colleen O’Connor documented some of those increases, which include an average 15 percent retail electricity increase from Xcel between 2009 and 2010…”