MEEKER I Even if you are apolitical like me, now is the time to pay close attention to decisions being made by Rio Blanco County Commissioners regarding upcoming budget cuts for our county. These are likely to be significant cuts of personnel or services or both and will likely have long lasting impact.
A huge shortfall of county income is expected for 2021 and probably longer. You can read the specific statistics at the county website https://rbc.us/DocumentCenter/View/2426/2021-Budget-Discussion-8_31_20, but the bottom line is about $2.5 million dollars less income than 2020. A combination of declining oil and gas revenue, decrease in state funding, less property tax income and other factors make budget cuts essential.
The looming question is where and how to cut. On Monday, a contentious commissioner meeting was held for public comment about moving our local dispatch center out of Meeker to state control. One hundred percent of the speakers spoke passionately against this possibility including dispatchers, current, past, and from local communities along with first responders, sheriff’s officers, and many citizens whose loved one’s lives have been saved due to swift dispatch/responder support.
Just as our little community is unique and remote, our dispatch service is local, knowledgeable of remote landmarks, our strangely numbered county roads, and awareness of the huge distance across the county for responders to get there. One of the most emotional testimonies was a sample recording of a panicked caller who had no idea where he was or the county road number. That could be me too! With persistent questions about what the caller could see, a location was identified because of the local wisdom of our county dispatchers.
The commissioners backpedaled, saying the meeting, called late Friday for 8 a.m. Monday morning was a miscommunication. Let’s hope their communications with the public about budget matters improve. Still, without official notice in the newspaper of this meeting, Facebook postings and citizen communications caused around 100 people to show up, most of whom spoke to great applause.
At this meeting, I learned the county is considering various options for budget cuts and has already asked every department for a 5% cut. Should that step be approved, it would still leave a $1.5 million deficit. Cuts to health insurance, furlough days for all employees, and similar options are under study.
Some community speakers pointed out that looking at these issues long term is also important. And some looked backwards stressing the huge investment made in the new county building, state-of-the art dispatch center, and exceptional staff training. Some volunteered to become an advisory committee.
Bottom line: lots of tough and emotional decisions are underway that impact every county resident. To stay informed or have a voice you can:
• Check the public notices in the paper each week for agendas and other business.
• Check the county website for budget information at https://rbc.us/160/Budget-Finance
• Attend public meetings and speak out, which the commissioners encouraged .
• Review a recording of the meeting available by contacting the Clerk & Recorder’s office at 970-878-9460.
• Contact your county commissioners directly:
Jeff Rector
[email protected]
Si Woodruff
[email protected]
Gary Moyer
[email protected]
By KAYE SULLIVAN | Special to the Herald Times
