RBC | In a special meeting Monday, Aug. 25, the Rio Blanco County Commissioners enacted a hiring freeze for the county, effective immediately and continuing through the end of the year. Exceptions must be approved by the commissioners.
“The intent of this is so that we don’t have to fire anybody on the first of January,” said Commissioner Doug Overton. “The reason we’re doing this is because we have a $600,000 increase in health insurance.”
On top of the rising cost of health insurance, the county is facing potentially significant funding cuts from the state and federal governments for programs, and the county’s valuation — which impacts property tax revenue — is also expected to be down.
The commissioners also discussed a survey for county employees to review health insurance options, and approved purchasing $17K in bridge decking for the CR 202 bridge (southwest of Rangely, connecting county roads 2 and 102).