Term limits for some county officials will be on Nov. ballot
RBC | Commissioners passed a resolution Tuesday in Rangely to approve re-establishing term limit questions to the November ballot for the offices of assessor, clerk and recorder, county commissioner, coroner, sheriff and treasurer to two consecutive terms of office. Only the elected office of surveyor will not be included on the ballot. Voters will decide on each office individually.
In 1994, an amendment to the state Constitution imposed term limits on all county officials with the option for counties to vote to remove those term limits later. A vote to waive term limits for all county level officials failed in 1996, then passed in 1999.
The last time reinstating term limits was proposed for the county was in 2018, also by Meeker resident Mike Sizemore, who stated at the time, “The people that started our democracy never intended for career politicians. They were business owners who could bring good business sense to government. County level jobs are really good jobs with good benefits. There are plenty of people available that are more than qualified. They should have the opportunity to have those jobs. We should never have a 20 year sheriff or 30 year assessor. There’s just too much potential for abuse.”
The commissioners at the time — Jeff Rector, Si Woodruff and Shawn Bolton — opted not to take action on term limits for the 2018 general election.
In other business, the commissioners:
• Approved letter to U.S. Fish and Wildlife regarding habitat redefinition.
• Approved a Communications Use Lease with BLM that will bring broadband service to the landfill.
• Moved to approve transferring the Human Services Account Tech Position from Human Services to Budget and Finance.
• Approved a contract with Phoenix Industries for the Rangely Airport drainage improvement project for $172,540. The cost will be reimbursed by the Federal government.
• Approved a revised Memorandum of Understanding for funding the Rio Blanco County Historical Society to reflect a 5% decrease.
• Approved the event plan for Rangely’s Rockin’ Bull event at Columbine Park on Sept. 9.
• Moved to approve a Rio Blanco County Social Media Policy to apply to all of the county’s social media accounts.
• Went into executive session to confer with the county attorney. Commissioners will be in executive session all day Wednesday, as well, for negotiations.
Work Sessions
The commissioners held a budget workshop with Finance Director Janae Stanworth to discuss additional areas where the county could trim the budget in the face of cuts to assessed property valuation. Some potential areas discussed Tuesday were the travel budget for commissioners, and ways to trim the cost per meal for White River Roundup (the senior nutrition program).
The board heard a proposal from Jim Nall, who said the Colorado Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration “want to put some extra effort” on county roads, acknowledging a need for better safety. According to Nall, 40% of all traffic is on county roads. County roads 5 and 8 have been identified as suitable for a safety study. The commissioners said they would review Nall’s proposal and discuss it further at the next meeting.
Barb Bofinger, Human Services Director, updated the commissioners about her department. From July 2019 through June 30, they averaged 15.5 referrals per month for child welfare, and an average of two referrals per month for adult protective services.
In two weeks, the department will be down to one caseworker for the entire county. Bofinger said they are hoping to hire new staff before that happens.
Human Services has also seen an increase in participation at White River Roundup (Chuckwagon and Radino). Seniors like having their meals delivered, Bofinger said. Radino is averaging 452 home-delivered meals per month since COVID started, and Chuckwagon is averaging 579. “That is an increase,” Bofinger said. “A number of them never participated when it was at the congregant sites. We’ve offered pick-up [options], but they aren’t interested.”
By NIKI TURNER | [email protected]
