Rio Blanco County Commissioners, administrators, staff and volunteers met over the course of two weeks totaling 20+ hours of meetings to discuss the proposed 2024 budget.
COUNTY ATTORNEY
The County Attorney is Don Steerman, whose office provides legal counsel in connection with litigation, administrative proceedings, settlement discussions and similar proceedings. Additionally the office also provides counsel to the Department of Human Services for child and adult welfare services and child support enforcement. The proposed budget for 2024 is up $3.9K to $231K total. Following litigation in 2023 the county has budgeted $71K additional under purchased services from contingency funding to account for attorney fees given potential for additional litigation which Steerman said could require significant time and resources. Contingency funding for such legal challenges could include the hiring of expert witnesses, especially for cases involving VA appeals. County staff noted the budgeted amount from contingency funds could decrease since the allotted amount has not been used in prior years.
The attorney’s office has also assumed responsibilities previously under the Department of Human Services (DHS) which could incur additional cost.
ROAD AND BRIDGE
The Road & Bridge Department is responsible for 931 miles of roads and 68 bridges through maintenance and construction including snow and ice removal, road repairs and traffic control. Proposed revenues will increase by approximately 11% to $9.22M due to a rise in property taxes and intergovernmental revenues. Proposed expenditures are up by approximately 19% ($12.8M) due to a 346% ($1,039,615) increase in “supplies” and a 33.7% ($910,437) increase in “Projects.” Reasons for these increases discussed during the meeting include increased operational costs for fuel and general maintenance, equipment replacement for vehicles and heavy machinery, planning for major projects and administrative costs.
FLEET MANAGEMENT
The Fleet Management Fund is an internal service fund providing user departments within the county with all service, repair and life cycle maintenance to vehicles and equipment.
Proposed revenues will increase by 13.6% to $3.13M in 2024 to maintain the fund’s balance, ensuring it maintains six months of working capital. The fund has been depleted year-over-year due to increased costs for items like fuel and diesel and decreased revenues due to a tendency for other departments to cut fleet management when instructed to tighten budgets, a “changed environment” where employees are less likely to use county vehicles, or to attend meetings/trainings in person when online/virtual attendance is available. Based on these factors and with some fee adjustments, projected expenditures are down by 0.2% or $5.8K. Revenues are up 13.6% to $3.1M with an increase noted under interfund charges projecting 2023 revenues (+$363K) and a $300K transfer from the General Fund.
SOLID WASTE
The Solid Waste landfill is a self-funded department whose operation is highly regulated by state and federal agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Safety and Health Administration, Colorado Department of Health and Environment and laws such as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (TSCA) the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). For FY2024 Projected revenues are down 19% to $943.5K and proposed expenditures are down 19% to $888.79K. Charges for services represent more than 95% of department revenue and are projected to decrease from $1.03M to $930K despite increases to specific items relating to special wastes. Staff noted the need for revenue adjustments to be made since certain revenue items for 2023 are coming in well over projected amounts. Department staff noted that in addition to an increase in residential use of the landfill, they have seen continued activity from commercial entities utilizing the landfill for special waste, particularly oil and gas operators. Examples include K&K who is on the first of five phases of a cleanup project for Williams Oil & Gas. Chevron’s cleanup project which was supposed to conclude within five years is being pushed further because of “major contamination in that field” according to department staff who described various other challenges for completing cleanup projects such as a shortage of trucks/drivers to move large quantities of contaminated materials.
Next week we will cover the remaining departments.
You can access the county’s latest proposed budget accessible as of Oct. 16, 2023, at https://rbc.us/160/Budget-Finance by clicking “View Most Recent Budget” at the bottom of the page. Due to changes proposed during budget workshops, departments turning in proposed budgets after the 16th and the possibility of additional budget changes before Nov. 17, some of these numbers will not reflect final totals.
