La Plata County is beginning 2016 with many changes, most notably in office locations. During the past two years, the Board of County Commissioners has been working with county staff to develop a comprehensive facilities strategy based on the needs identified in the 2012 Facility Master Plan.
Driven by the opportunity to house the U.S. District Court and federal probation offices here in Durango, and the need to expand space for 6th Judicial District Court functions, the county moved offices into a new administration building at 1101 East Second Avenue last June. This renovated facility provides a more accommodating board public meeting room, offices for the commissioners and administration, consolidation of the finance department in one location, space for the assessor’s office, a much-needed training room and continuity of operations for essential county functions during emergencies.
As part of the facility planning process, many options to address organizational space needs were considered, and the board determined that using existing facilities was more cost-effective than new construction. Consequently, the board authorized purchasing facilities at 211 Rock Point Drive and 10 Burnett Court in the Durango Tech Center. In December 2015, the building, planning, code enforcement, emergency management and weed departments moved into 211 Rock Point Drive. This move consolidates community development services into one convenient and highly functional location that allows for better access and easier parking for customers.
The Department of Human Services moved to 10 Burnett Court in January. This move addresses long-standing facility and programmatic needs for the department, and the building is ideally suited for DHS’s purposes now and into the future. DHS clients will benefit from consolidated services, convenient access and ample parking. Additionally, these moves have helped to alleviate parking congestion in the downtown Durango area and for residents on Third and Fourth avenues near the Courthouse.
The county’s ability to address these facility needs was made possible by its wise stewardship of financial resources over time. The practice of using property taxes related to gas production over the year 2000 baseline allowed for funds to be set aside exclusively for such capital projects. At the end of 2014, the county had reserved approximately $26 million to address facility and other capital needs. In 2015, these funds were used to purchase and remodel the County Administration Building and to acquire 211 Rock Point Drive. In 2016, they will be used to purchase 10 Burnett Court and fund the Courthouse remodel.
The upcoming Courthouse remodel will assist the county in addressing its statutorily mandated responsibilities to the 6th Judicial District and will also provide courtroom and office space for the U.S. District Court, U.S. Probation and U.S. Marshal’s Office. La Plata negotiated a 10-year lease agreement with the federal courts to pay for tenant improvements and rent for $236,700 per year. This relocation of federal court functions downtown will promote economic vitality and increase access to justice for victims, witnesses and all those involved in federal proceedings. It will also assist the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute tribes who use federal court proceedings to adjudicate a variety of tribal matters.
One of the board’s organizational priorities is to enhance services and improve efficiency through technology. Soon, we will launch a new county website with more opportunities for engagement and better access to our services. To help streamline the process for building and planning projects, the county created a public portal – Community Development Services Online – which allows residents to complete many tasks quickly and conveniently from their mobile device or computer.
Updating the 2001 Comprehensive Plan has been a major goal of the commissioners, and considerable progress was made in 2015. The Planning Commission has held public meetings on the first Thursday of each month to review changes and progress on the Comprehensive Plan update, and these updates are available for public review on our website. The meetings will continue through 2016, and we encourage community members to actively participate in this important endeavor. Meanwhile, we continue to refine, update and streamline the county’s land use permitting system through code updates and process changes. Those efforts will extend into 2016.
La Plata County continues to maneuver through challenging financial times. Because of prudent financial management in the past, the county has managed a “soft landing” from the great recession. Property tax revenue is expected to increase by $1.8 million in 2016, but we believe this increase will be short-lived as much of the county’s property tax base is related to natural gas production. County Assessor Craig Larson reports that natural gas property tax revenue is expected to decrease significantly again in 2017 as a result of current declining production and low prices. He estimates tax revenues from natural gas could drop from 41 percent of the county’s total property tax revenue in 2015 to 30 percent in 2017.
For 2016, county revenues are projected at $79.9 million – a 16.4 percent increase over the $68.7 million anticipated in the 2015 budget. The 2016 budget has $60 million in proposed operating expenditures and more than $44 million in proposed one-time expenditures that include road and bridge improvements, the purchase of the new Human Services building, as well as contingencies. The county’s fund balance will pay for these items, which is the intended use of the fund.
Safe roads and bridges for residents, school buses and emergency vehicles are a critical obligation of La Plata County and are important to our local economy. The county has a backlog of capital public works projects, in part the result of past rapid growth that exceeded our ability to fund needed improvements, but also from the dramatic decrease in property tax revenues (nearly 50 percent) since 2010. As a result, road and bridge maintenance has been reduced and is not keeping pace with current or anticipated needs, particularly in light of the county’s population growth. We must address revenue shortfalls to ensure adequate funding to meet the growing demands placed on our local transportation system.
Road and bridge capital projects are costly. From 2002 to 2014, the county invested approximately $40.7 million in capital road and bridge projects – an average of $3.1 million per year. During that period, approximately $16.3 million, or 40 percent, was funded by grants. However, based on the Long Term Finance Committee’s forecast, an average of $5.2 million is needed each year to maintain existing infrastructure and to make even modest improvements to our road and bridge infrastructure.
Commissioners convened a Fiscal Sustainability Steering Committee last June to advise on how best to address capital improvement and operational needs while maintaining a structurally balanced budget and preserving the county’s long-range fiscal sustainability. The committee met seven times to review and discuss the Long Term Finance Committee’s fiscal sustainability and capital improvements analysis, various revenue and expenditure forecasting models, the county’s 10-year capital improvement plan, road surface condition reports, projected road and bridge capital and maintenance needs, growth trends and projections, polling and past election results. They presented the board with three recommendations: to ask the voters for a mill levy increase; to implement impact fees and to consider implementing a use tax. Additionally, the committee recommended that any revenue raised should be dedicated exclusively to the road and bridge fund. In November, a proposed mill levy increase was defeated by 492 votes. While this was disappointing, La Plata County will continue to explore options for increasing revenue, including grants, a possible use tax and other fees. However, these are not expected to generate funds sufficient to meet the needs for county roads. We must find a way to bridge the gap.
Finally, we would be remiss if we did not mention the impact of the Gold King Mine spill on our community. This devastating spill contaminated the Animas, San Juan and Colorado rivers as it traveled through Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and the Southern Ute, Ute Mountain Ute and Navajo reservations. More than 80 county employees worked on the initial response, and commissioners continue to work with neighboring counties, tribes and state and federal government agencies to ensure a long-term solution to contamination of the Animas River.
We believe that citizen engagement is essential to good government, and we welcome and encourage your active participation in meetings, surveys and other opportunities for you to communicate your interests and concerns to us to aid us in making decisions on your behalf.
While we have many challenges on the horizon, there are opportunities as well, and we are confident and enthusiastic as we look to our future. We continue our efforts to be a lean and highly effective organization, and our committed and innovative workforce serves the residents of La Plata County with care and excellence. As your elected commissioners, we look forward to working with community members and our staff in the coming year as we strive for creativity in problem solving, excellence in service delivery and a continuing commitment to quality.
Brad Blake, chairman, Julie Westendorff, vice chairwoman, and Gwen Lachelt constitute the La Plata County Board of Commissioners. Reach them at 382-6219. This report was delivered by Commissioner Lachelt, board chairwoman in 2015, at Tuesday’s business meeting.
