RANGELY | Town Budget
The Town of Rangely held a work session to discuss the 2019 budget which includes a 3 percent raise for employees along with the option of additional “merit raises” to be determined by supervisors. The anticipated additional expense is around $50,000 for the town’s 31 full-time employees.
The preliminary budget must be approved by Oct. 15.
They discussed the fees the town receives from municipal code violations including police department tickets, receiving around $12,000 last year. The majority of the money for violations goes to the state or county court system.
TOWN MANAGER REPLACEMENT
When former Town Manager Peter Brixius resigned, the board was faced with Ordinance 690 which required the vacancy be filled within 90 days. They decided to remove the provision, leaving no specific time limit on hiring that position. They also changed the housing requirements for the position continuing to allow the manager to reside outside of town limits, but within school district boundaries.
The town has received 11 applications for the manager position. The board will now review the applicants and narrow the field for interviews after the application closes later this week.
INTERIM TOWN MANAGER UPDATE
Interim Manager Lisa Piering said the town is working with the county via Blueprint 2.0 to bring in Colorado State University graduate students who will work on designing a trail system and exploring how to make Main Street more walkable and appealing. Piering is looking at a DOLA grant which would cover 40 percent of the design costs.
ACLU LOITERING ORDINANCE CHALLENGE
The Town of Rangely, along with a variety of other communities, received a letter from the Americans for Civil Liberties Union, challenging the town’s municipal code against loitering and begging, claiming it is a violation of the First Amendment and, “unfairly targets poor and homeless persons.” The letter formally requests a repeal of the ordinance.
CIRSA, a membership based insurance pool, will cover the first five hours of attorney consultation time as the town decides how to rework the codes. Town Manager Lisa Piering said that the police department has very few instances of violation.
OTHER BUSINESS
– The Gas Department received the American Public Gas Association’s 2018 Safety Award.
– Elaine Urie, who is remodeling the old Ace High building on Main Street, approached the board to discuss her concerns about the transition between building inspectors and how to obtain a certification of completion. Urie requested the town pay for third party inspection fees that she had to cover because they didn’t have an inspector. The board agreed.
– The town agreed to spend no more than $10,000 on the 2018 Shop ‘N’ Dine program which gives vouchers to use at local businesses based on qualifying receipts for the month of November.
By JEN HILL | [email protected]
