Not sure about colorado but here in cali you can hire a lawyer to get it dropped fairly easily like jim said,dont really save any money but it gets dropped and you dont have to show up.Fuck the state getting your money plus here the court fees are as much or more than the fines,250fine=500 by the time your done.
Dont trust that clerk telling you case dismissed unless they give it to you in writing!That happened to me once and they showed up 2 years later with a warrant,i even showed up in court on my appearance date but they had nothing so they said dismissed!Then cops knocked at door at 7am,luckily the cop said bullshit to arrest you for california stop and let me go to court to handle it,$1100.00!Get the lawyer if you can,here is the guy i use now,they have to have similar in colorado i would think.
He doesnt even care if your guilty or not,he turns their own laws against them!