Effective leadership requires adapting and being forward-thinking. We believe leadership in local government comes with the responsibility to guide our communities through both stability and change – the hard times and the good ones, too.
In July (Herald, July 21), we wrote about the county’s budget challenges. We called for shared leadership and responsibility as we address long-predicted shortfalls in county revenue – otherwise known as a structural deficit. Since that time, the commissioners have placed Question 1A on the November ballot: a new 1-cent sales tax that would raise $18 million per year if approved. You can find more information at onecentlaplata.com.
Protecting your safety is our mission – whether through the District Attorney’s justice programs, wildfire mitigation grants, emergency management or sheriff patrols. We work to protect public health, air and water quality, and food safety.
Our Road and Bridge Department maintains more than 600 miles of county roads, and that department’s budget is in the red – a problem documented over many years. The county owns and maintains 18 buildings. To ensure their value and continued safe, robust use, we must pay for maintenance, some of which is deferred.
Through the Human Services and Health Departments, the most vulnerable among our residents are protected and cared for – including youths in foster care, children at risk for abuse, veterans who need services and elders living in unsafe environments.
Then there is the vital work of running core government services: managing elections; keeping marriage, birth and death certificates; ensuring animal protection and control; assessing property values; surveying properties; licensing vehicles; operating trash transfer stations; maintaining financial oversight; carrying out land-use planning; and so much more.
We support the economy by joining partnerships for job creation, furthering affordable and workforce housing efforts, and directing funds to the child care crisis and to expanded broadband.
These services are so present in the county that it may be easy not to realize they are there. No one should really worry about an Emergency Operations Center – but it’s there if a wildfire breaks out. None of us think about sheriff patrols all the time. But if we are in a crisis situation or stranded on a road, they are there.
Our county clerk and her team work tirelessly to ensure trusted elections. All we need to do is fill out a ballot and then mail or drop it off. We are placing this question on the ballot to ensure these core services continue – and that our shared future is a thriving one.
Did the commissioners plan for these budget problems? Yes, we did. For years, the commissioners saved money when the natural gas boom was propping up county coffers. What was unknown, even up to last year, was that the state Legislature would change residential assessment rates – a good-news story for property owners but one that has reduced the county’s budget by $12 million and counting. Other factors include inflation and the ever-present list of state mandates that must be carried out. However well-intentioned, these mandates generally do not come with funding.
As stewards of your tax dollars, we ask you to vote “Yes” on Question 1A in the 2025 ballot. The county has not raised its sales tax in 43 years. It’s time.
Finally, we wish to address the fact that the county manager search did not result in a new hire. We thank Mr. Cattles for applying; the arrangement did not work out. The BoCC will ensure that leadership within the organization remains strong during this period.
The La Plata County Board of County Commissioners is Marsha Porter-Norton, chair; Matt Salka, vice chair; and Elizabeth Philbrick. Reach them at 382-6219.
