A combination of factors including reduced residential property taxes and an oil and gas bust has spelled trouble for La Plata County in 2017, and commissioners say they will meet the challenge with internal cost savings and possibly taxes on the marijuana industry.
County commissioners delivered the annual state of the county address Monday evening, summarizing the achievements and shortfalls of 2016 and the goals for the year ahead before an audience of fewer than five residents.
The county budget was $104.7 million in 2016. For 2017, the county approved a $77.5 million budget, reflecting a 26 percent decrease. The county expects to collect $15.4 million in property tax this year, compared with nearly $19 million last year.
Taxpayers can expect to see less investment in capital projects this year and next, as well as diminished levels of service, said Commissioner Brad Blake, who was board chairman in 2016.
“While we can trim small amounts here and there, major savings can come from only two places: service-level reductions and employee-related spending. The two are inextricably linked,” Blake said. “We have 415 full-time equivalents and each is committed to serving our community. La Plata County cannot provide the services that we are obligated to deliver and those things that our residents have asked us to provide without our staff. Personnel makes up nearly 42 percent of our total budget, and that translates directly into what we deliver to our residents.”
The monetary situation is further challenged by the Gallagher Amendment, a 1982 state ballot initiative that gives Colorado homeowners a tax break. Because of it, the residential assessment ratio is expected to drop from 7.96 percent to 6.56 percent this year, which means property tax receipts are expected to drop by $1.4 million in 2018.
Moreover, severance tax receipts received from the state, which is reliant on oil and gas activity, has fallen 69 percent for the county between 2015 and 2017.
Commissioners said the financial crisis could equate to, as examples, longer time for a response from emergency officials, diminished quality of road-related services such as snowplowing, or longer wait times at the county clerk’s office or motor vehicle department.
To achieve the goal of coming up with $1 million in savings this year, La Plata County established a bottom-up program in which employees at all levels look for ways to reduce spending. The county may also seek a use tax on vehicles purchased outside the county but registered locally, as well as an excise tax on marijuana cultivation.
Amidst a bleak financial outlook, Blake cited some accomplishments in 2016 and early 2017, including the recent completion of a remodel to the La Plata County Courthouse. With help from a $1.9 million state grant, renovations will enable the county to house county attorney offices, the U.S. District Court, probation offices and 6th Judicial District offices.
“It transformed the building into a regional justice center,” Blake said.
With another $1.9 million state grant, the county completed a mill and overlay project on three miles of County Road 318. The money will also fund a project this year to improve County Road 517 in Ignacio.
A complete overhaul of the county land-use code is well underway and will be completed early 2018.
“Efficiency happens from the policy level all the way down to the nuts and bolts of county government,” Blake said. “In 2016, we realized our land-use code was working against this goal, both for county staff and for people wanting to build a business or residential development here. When the code is finished, it will decrease the time and expense of the county’s planning process.”
Commissioners also commended the county Department of Human Services, which was recognized by the state in January for its efficiency processing child welfare assessments as well as the food assistance program.
“The state of La Plata County is strong, even though we face many challenges today and in those to come,” Blake said. “I am confident in our ability to meet those challenges with innovative thinking, community dialogue and a commitment to this diverse county that is so full of potential. We have endured greater challenges in the past and come out leaner, stronger and smarter. I have no doubt that our efforts now will produce the same results.”
Few residents attended Monday’s presentation, though Kayla Story Patterson of Bayfield requested that county officials consider cost-sharing partnerships with the community, such as sharing snowplowing responsibilities.
Colton Black of Hesperus also asked in which departments the county would cut staff.
Commissioner Julie Westendorff said the county has not made any such plans, but if staff reduction was necessary, commissioners would seek public input.
jpace@durangoherald.com
