The Fremont County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously at their August 27th meeting to place a question before the voters on the November ballot in which a one cent sales tax increase is being sought to fund critical needs at the Fremont County Sheriff’s Department. Sheriff Jim Beicker told the Commissioners that his staff takes a lot of pride in the work they do for the citizens of Fremont County. He said, “They do an excellent job, but quite frankly, I am running out of ideas and the ability to continue to say yes”. Sheriff Beicker said citizens have not seen a significant reduction in services. He said his department has raised every fee and slashed every operational cost they can think of but said he has run out of ideas and is now asking the voters for help.
The proposed one cent sales tax increase would raise an extra $2.8 million in annual revenue which would allow the Sheriff to fully fund his law enforcement needs. Priority spending from the extra revenue would be used to restore the positions of seven detention officers, positions that were eliminated during budget cuts in recent years. A detective’s position that was eliminated would be restored along with hiring another investigator. Sheriff Beicker said there are numerous sexual assault cases and other crimes that need more immediate attention than waiting for time available from the investigations division. Beicker says the position of Animal Control Officer would be restored which was eliminated years ago under budget cuts. Two front office assistants would also be put back on the job to handle citizens’ request for service at the front window. The money would also be used to hire five additional patrol deputies, provide radio communication for detention officers inside the jail, provide more radios to the Sheriff’s Wildland Fire Team, and help fund the Sheriff’s increased portion of funding for the new Fremont County Consolidated Dispatch Center. Beicker says he anticipates it will cost his department another $250,000 a year to fund his share of the dispatch operations.
Another portion of the money will be used to finance the annual replacement of patrol vehicles for the Sheriff. Undersheriff Ty Martin says the patrol fleet is wearing out with most patrol cars having logged 170,000 to 190,000 miles. Martin says many of the Sheriff’s four wheel drive units have in excess of 200,000 miles. The county’s repair shop says there are about a dozen patrol vehicles that aren’t worth repairing. The sales tax would provide a minimum of $450,000 a year to replace at least 12 vehicles annually.
District 3 Commissioner Ed Norden said in 2009 the Sheriff’s Department put out a call of help to the voters but were turned down. Norden said the Sheriff has continued to operate by cutting budgets. He said he hopes the voters come to the realization that things have only gotten worse. Norden said as part of budget cuts several years ago the Sheriff eliminated a uniform allowance for his deputies. Upon checking Norden said Fremont County may be the only county in Colorado that does not provide deputies with some sort of uniform allowance or reimbursement. He said “that is embarrassing and needs to change”. Norden said the officers who put their lives on the line every day to serve their citizens deserve better.
County Commission Chair Debbie Bell emphasized that the one cent sales tax that will go before the voters in November will have a ten year sunset. She said the sunset will hold the Sheriff and the Commissioners accountable that the sales tax will be spent on critical public safety needs as intended.
Also at the August 27th meeting the Commissioners tabled for a second time a request by Arkansas Valley Ambulance (AVA) that the company’s ambulance license be upgraded from Basic Life Support to Advanced Life Support (ALS). AVA Manager Jay DeMay initially launched into a verbal attack against the Commissioners for delays in securing their ALS certification. DeMay said the certification was being derailed for no good reason. Regarding the delays, DeMay said the “carrot keeps getting moved”. DeMay went on to say, “Our care is at the highest level. Your constituents have been deprived of ALS care for 30 years.”
When he was reminded by the board that the delay was to allow the county’s ambulance inspector to further investigate a complaint against AVA for administering ALS drugs in the ambulance, DeMay said his actions were in compliance with language in the county’s ambulance regulations. Ambulance inspector Tom Anderson said those regulations have never been interpreted in that manner and that DeMay is familiar with proper protocols. Anderson said he had submitted the complaint against AVA to the EMT Division of the Colorado Health Department and state officials indicated they wanted to review the incident.
District 3 Commissioner Ed Norden said the board would be remiss to overlook the state’s review without first getting a response from state officials. Board Chairman Debbie Bell further chided DeMay for his criticism of the board saying she did not appreciate his comments and expected him to show more respect to the board in the future. The Board of Commissioners tabled the AVA request until the September 24th board meeting saying they want to hear a recommendation from AVA’s new physician advisor at that time and get a report on the State Health Department’s review of the complaint.
The Board of Commissioners also took action at the August 27th meeting awarding a bid to Rocky Mountain Materials & Asphalt for the parallel taxiway project at the Fremont County Airport. Rocky Mountain submitted the low bid of $1,736,528 for the project which has been in the planning stages for several years. 95 percent of the project cost will be paid for by the Federal Aviation Administration and another 2 ½ percent will be paid for by the Colorado Division of Aeronautics.
Eight years ago Fremont County was on the priority list for a $9 million project to extend the airport’s runway. The county met delays from the FAA as money was shifted to other projects. Then two years ago the FAA shifted the emphasis for general aviation airports from possible runway extensions to safety improvements. That’s when the FAA prioritized a parallel taxiway for the Fremont County Airport and vetoed a runway extension unless the county was able to show evidence of a major increase in demand and existing air traffic. Airport Manager Richard Baker said he had hoped the taxiway paving project would have already been underway but now it appears the work will extend into this fall.