La Plata County cannot continue 21st century operations on a 20th century budget, county officials said at an Indivisible Durango meeting last weekend.
Commissioners Marsha Porter-Norton and Matt Salka joined county Assessor Carrie Woodson, Sheriff Sean Smith and District Attorney Sean Murray at the Durango Public Library to talk about the county’s budget plight and the need for additional revenue to maintain services.
Commissioner Elizabeth Philbrick was absent due to a family medical issue.
Porter-Norton said La Plata County has not raised its sales tax since the 1980s.
“If you look at our draft budget, we’re very much in a process of planning for the worst and working our behinds off for the best,” she said.
The best outcome the county hopes for is the passage of a 1% sales tax increase that would generate about $18 million annually on top of the $27 million generated by existing sales taxes.
The Durango Herald reported last week that the county has proposed a $119 million budget in expenditures, a 12% decrease from the $136 million approved this year.
It expects to earn $102 million in revenue next year, a less than 1% increase.
For years, La Plata County has relied on the gas industry for a significant chuck of its property tax revenues, but that is on the decline to the tune of a 46% loss over 15 years.
“That is due to oil and gas that propped us up for years and it’s due to the assessment rates being cut,” Porter-Norton said, adding that rate is not sustainable.
She said the additional revenue from the proposed sales tax would contribute to new road maintenance projects, building and fairgrounds upgrades, the return of county services, and bringing departmental operations up to speed.
That includes the La Plata County Public Health Department, which faces significant funding cuts from the state and federal governments.
In a fast-paced PowerPoint presentation, Porter-Norton broadly outlined how revenues would be distributed across county departments and services: sheriff’s patrols, emergency services, and wildfire response and mitigation; road and bridge maintenance; response and preparation for natural disasters; deferred buildings maintenance; and essential services for seniors, veterans and vulnerable families.
She said the average cost of the proposed sales tax increase to taxpayers across the county would be $23 per month, which she acknowledged is significant to some residents ‒ and the county doesn’t take that lightly.
When one resident asked why the county can’t charge tourists more through a lodgers tax, Salka said a lodgers tax “would not even touch a small percentage” of the revenues a sales tax would generate.
Under the proposed sales tax increase, however, visitors and tourists would contribute 33% of the prospective revenues, according to the presentation.
If voters reject a 1% sales tax increase, cuts could occur ‒ some of which are already occurring ‒ to a number of programs, she said, including: alcohol detoxification through Axis Health System; ambulance licensee; patrols; rodent and predator control; wildlife education; broadband internet development; or contributions to affordable housing programs.
“These are the kinds of things that we are investing in, because it helps health, safety, and welfare and quality of life, and we’re not going to be able to afford it anymore if we don’t get this structural deficit figured out,” she said.
Departments could face staff reductions as well. She said the county wants to pay its employees a living wage, which also helps ensure better service to the public. It also needs to offer competitive benefits packages, at a time health care costs are rising.
Smith, recounting statements he’s heard from residents who say they might support one department’s services but not another’s, said much of the county’s work is interconnected.
“An elder abuse case or a child abuse case typically starts with my office or with the Human Services Department and we both have to be involved,” he said. “If my officers go out on the investigative side, we have to have a place for child placement and all those things. That’s what human services does.”
Sheriff’s Office vehicles are equipped with defibrillators and deputies often beat paramedics to the scene of a heart attack because they are already out on the road. But if the Road and Bridge department ‒ which faces an annual budget deficit of about $10 million ‒ hasn’t plowed the roads because it lacks appropriate funding, neither sheriff’s deputies nor ambulances are going to reach accidents in a timely manner.
“We can’t be in a position where we’re picking and choosing what we want the government to do under their statutory, mandated requirements. We have to realize that it all works because it all works together, and that’s what we’ve got to support,” he said.
The elected officials said state law prohibits them from using county resources to advocate for or against passing the November ballot measure 1A that proposes the 1% sales tax increase, and they are asking residents to help educate their neighbors about the need for more revenue.
Salka said a sales tax committee of about 20 members has formed and is ready to deploy where needed to discuss the issue.
“(We) really need some funds” to pay for mailers, radio ads, yard signs and other campaign materials, he said. “... What we need is people to become more aware and to reach out to us so we can engage with them.”
The officials encouraged people to visit onecentlaplata.com to learn more about the issue and to contact the sales tax committee about opportunities for further discussion.
cburney@durangoherald.com
