RBC | Rio Blanco County Commissioners approved a “County Department Restructuring Plan” this week. The plan outlines a new organizational structure that creates new categories, combines certain departments and defines responsibilities for all department heads and staff that report to the board. Department heads discussed the plan in detail during a work session Tuesday, noting key benefits for “cross-training” opportunities, long term succession planning, more accurate job descriptions and more. The plan, which does not affect elected offices (like the County Clerk, Surveyor, Sheriff, Assessor, etc.) lists seven department categories with working titles:
- CSU Extension
- Public Works
- Emergency Management
- County Administration
- Operations
- Community Development
- Community Resources
The board voted to approve the plan this week to “get the ball rolling,” which will include moving office locations as needed, updating signage in the county building, assessing salary schedules for new and shifting positions and restructuring the budget. The changes will officially take effect on Jan. 1, 2023, following the 2023 budget cycle. Budget and Finance Director Janae Stanworth said the proposed 2023 budget, which will reflect the restructure, will come out on Oct. 12, with budget workshops set for the weeks following.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Community development will include the Building, GIS/Planning and Natural Resources departments. GIS Director Leif Joy was unofficially nominated Tuesday as the director of Community Development, though he didn’t confirm an intention to step into the role. Building Department Director Matt Franks said the shift would be straightforward, since the three departments already work together. Part of the change will involve moving Natural Resources Director Eddie Smercina to the same floor as the other two departments. Smercina said he’ll continue his role as Emergency Manager, but will track his time separately, and report directly to the board of commissioners.
ADMINISTRATION/COMMUNITY RESOURCES
County Administration will encompass the Attorney, Human Resources and the Budget and Finance offices. Moving forward, Budget and Finance will also include the Sales and Use Tax Department. Don Steerman will act as director of the broader County Administration category, which he said would be “easy.”
Steerman is also taking on the same role for another set of departments under the name Community Resources which includes Public Health, Department of Human Services, Veterans and Senior Nutrition. Steerman said he could function in the role due to his experience working with DHS as county attorney. He said DHS would require most attention for now “to get it where it needs to be,” due to a wave of resignations.
As head of all departments under the community resources umbrella, Steerman would be responsible mainly for contract changes, personnel matters and employee evaluations. He emphasized that he doesn’t see any reason for major changes in any of the departments, and other than resolving existing issues with DHS or providing support he already offers as county attorney, he “wouldn’t be getting into the middle of their programs.”
PUBLIC WORKS
The Public Works department will include Fleet Management, Road and Bridge, Solid Waste Landfill, Weed and Pest, Meeker Fairgrounds and the Fairfield Complex. In conjunction with the change, Fairgrounds Director Boyd Richardson and Fairfield Complex Director Bruce Bair requested to add a shared full-time employee to help manage both areas fill in as needed.
OPERATIONS
Operations will include IT/Communications and Facility Management, both Meeker and Rangely airports and Columbine Park. Facilities director Eric Jaquez said he would step up as head of the combined Operations group. He specified Tuesday that the restructuring will help in defining and being transparent about where responsibilities for airports lie, but added that it will not change existing management of the airports. As an example, the Rangely Airport will still be managed by CNCC.
CSU/EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
Stanworth noted that CSU Extension stands apart from other departments due to a memorandum of understanding between the county and Colorado State University. In a similar situation, the Emergency Manager position is partially funded by state/federal funds. For this and other reasons, EM will continue to report directly to the Board of Commissioners.
REGULAR MEETING
The board approved a sales order from GLDS Software so the county can take on the customers of Visionary Broadband, which is leaving the county’s fiber network. Communication/IT Director Trevor Nielsen explained that the new software is needed for the staff to manage work orders, subscriber info, onsite management, training and more. The purchase will cost $147K, paid for by $98K of capital outlay from the Communications budget and the rest from the contingency budget. It will also incur a monthly upkeep fee of $2,860.
COMMISSIONER UPDATES
Commissioner Ginny Love said she attended multiple policy related meetings, including one about the Grasslands Act which she said had “concerning language for the livestock industry.”
Commissioner O’Hearon said she attended department meetings and met with Colorado Department of Human services to discuss “how we can move forward” including possibly getting assistance from the state. She also said she planned to ask “previous employees that used to work for RBC years ago” if they’d be willing to step in cover “until a new caseworker is up and running.”
Commissioner Gates, fresh from vacation, announced that the proposed law enforcement training facility has “made it to subcommittee” and that both Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper were in “big support” of the project. If passed in the federal budget, Gates said the $350K allocation would be available “roughly next summer” to help turn the RBC jail into a specialized training facility.
By LUCAS TURNER | [email protected]om
