The Fremont County Commissioners took the formal steps last Tuesday to adopt the necessary resolutions to put a county budget in place for 2011. Resolutions approving the proposed 2011 budget expenditures, levying the property taxes for the budget, and making the necessary appropriations to fund the budget were approved unanimously by the Commissioners.
A separate resolution dealing with employee benefits was approved by the board before formal consideration of the budget. That resolution will restore part of the employees’ retirement benefits which were suspended during the 2010 budget year because of revenue shortfalls. Commission Chairman Ed Norden said during the 2010 budget year the Commissioners suspended the four percent match in benefits for employees with retirement accounts. Norden said retirement benefits would have to be restored after two years or the program would be lost. He said the Commissioners felt it was important to attempt to restore part of the retirement match in the event deeper budget cuts force the county to consider a suspension again in the 2012 budget year. As a result the Commissioners approved a resolution restoring the employees’ retirement match for 2011 at a level of three percent.
District 1 Commissioner Mike Stiehl expressed concern about moving ahead with restoring the three percent retirement match saying it’s a difficult thing to do and said he is “still very cautious”. Stiehl said the last time the Commissioners gave employees a one percent pay raise in January of 2009, the county ran into budget problems later in the year. District 2 Commissioner Larry Lasha said for him it was one of the hardest decisions he has had to consider because it affects the future of county employees.
In considering the various budget resolutions Finance Director Dana Angel informed the board that there had been a last minute change to the property tax revenue number. Angel said the Assessor’s Office had revised downward the county’s assessed valuation by $732,000 which meant a drop of $8,996 in property tax revenue for next year.
The board unanimously adopted all of the budget resolutions finalizing nearly six months of work on the 2011 budget. The last remaining piece of business for the budget will be dealt with at a special meeting of the Board of Commissioners at 9:30 a.m., December 21st. That’s when the Commissioners must certify the mill levies of every taxing entity in Fremont County which relies on property taxes for their revenues.
The Commissioners Tuesday also heard a report from Mona Newton of the Governor’s Energy Office on various programs. She commended the community relations work that Karin Milisavljevich is doing on energy outreach programs in Fremont and Custer Counties through CSU Extension. Newton urged consumers to take advantage of the rebates being offered through the Energy Office by getting rid of inefficient appliances before federal stimulus dollars run out.
Commissioner Stiehl complained to Newton about the inequities of the distribution of stimulus dollars saying 11 of Colorado’s largest counties got the bulk of the money while only six percent went to the remaining counties. Stiehl said the Governor’s Energy Office needs to take another look at their distribution formula. Newton said she would investigate the formula for rural counties and report back.
The Commissioners appointed three new members to the Fremont County Tourism Council. The board appointed Lloyd Harwood of the Arkansas River Inn and Glenn Hayes of the Royal Gorge Route Railroad to three year terms on the council and appointed Dorothy Day of the Royal Gorge Bridge to serving the remaining one year of a term for a seat that had been held by Vicky Casey. Chairman Norden commended the service of Mike Bandera and Mike Johnston who did not seek reappointment. Norden noted that Bandera had served on the Tourism Council since its’ beginning in 2001.
In other business the Commissioners:
- Authorized the chairman to sign a contract with the Colorado Department of Local Affairs for the $400,000 grant that Fremont County has been awarded in state gaming impact funds. The money must be used exclusively on impacts from casino gaming and next year’s project will focus on asphalt paving of another four miles of roadway on Garden Park Road north of Cañon City;
- Approved the acceptance of a pair of bid offers to purchase two old pickup trucks from the Department of Transportation in the amounts of $500 and $750;
- Authorized the chairman to sign a contract so the Fremont County Department of Public Health can receive a $9,600 grant for the Healthy Communities Outreach program.