December 27th Commissioners Meeting

The Fremont County Commissioners spent less than 20 minutes dealing with a very brief agenda for their regular board meeting. The only official item of business was Resolution #2005-78 which adjusted various line items in the 2005 budget. The resolution appropriated additional sums of money to defray expenses in excess of amounts budgeted. The budget amendments changed the totals to $14,160,167 which represented a change in additional appropriations of $1,909,695.

County Finance Director Dana Angel said rather than a matter of additional spending, for the most part the amended appropriations were due to grant monies that the county received during 2005 and the budget amendment has to be made so those funds could be spent. For example $242,000 in additional appropriations in the Emergency Management budget was due to a HomeLand Security grant; there was a $100,000 pass through grant for the Riverwalk trail extension for the City of Cañon City and the Cañon City Recreation District; and another $580,968 also was a flow through grant in the county budget in Cotter Natural Resource Damage Recovery funds for park and trails projects.

District 3 Commissioner Ed Norden repeated a reminder at the meeting of a public hearing set for 10 a.m. at the board’s January 10th regular meeting on proposed increases in zoning and subdivision fees through the Planning and Zoning office. It’s estimated the fees would raise an additional $81,000 in revenue that would pay for the actual cost of providing services to the various developers, contractors, and citizens who submit zoning and subdivision applications.

Commissioners Host Legislative Discussion

The Fremont County Commissioners hosted a meeting with area legislators on December 19th to discuss issues of concern impacting local government and issues that local officials would like to see addressed during the 2006 Colorado Legislative Session. Attending the two hour informal discussion was State Senator Ken Kester, and State Representatives Keith King, Tom Massey, and Buffie McFadyen. In addition to County Commissioners Larry Lasha, Ed Norden, and Mike Stiehl; other officials attending included Fremont County Human Services Director Steve Clifton, Human Services attorney Rocco Meconi, and Human Services Finance Officer Linda Smith; County Finance Director Dana Angel; Florence Mayor Cindy Cox; Cañon City Mayor Bill Jackson; Florence Councilmen Edgie Walrath, Paul Villagrana, Ron Hinkle, and Kevin Bradley; Florence City Manager Tom Piltingsrud; and Cañon City Administrator Steve Rabe.

Clifton detailed the County’s concerns over the amount of money state government contributes towards Human Services administrative costs and the fact that the county has severely drawn down its’ Human Services contingency monies in 2005 and 2006 to balance the budget. Meconi talked about a bill being sponsored by Representative Massey in the coming session intended to amend the Colorado Children’s Code to do away with costly jury trials in dependent and neglect cases. He also said the bill would seek to amend language giving county human services departments, which have been provided custody of a child, to intervene and have rights to a hearing to review a magistrate’s decision in a child placement order.

The Commissioners also raised concerns about the fiscal impact to counties from the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA). Commissioner Ed Norden said the county is facing costs in excess of $300,000 to comply by placing electronic handicapped voting machines in every polling place. He said the Commissioners are considering using three or four polling centers in the county. Fremont County Clerk Norma Hatfield is among those encouraging legislation to permit mail balloting in all general elections. Senator Kester and Representative King said they would oppose all mail balloting expressing concern that it increases the possibility of voting fraud.

Other topics included possible legislation to exclude distribution of specific ownership taxes to governments seeking voter approved bond issues, Department of Corrections inmate work crews, construction of Colorado State Penitentiary-II, and state spending issues stemming from passage of Referendum ‘C’.

Commissioners Adopt 2006 Budget

The long and arduous process of finalizing a 2006 Fremont County budget came to a conclusion December 13th when the Fremont County Commissioners unanimously approved resolutions adopting a budget, appropriating the necessary funds, and establishing the property tax mill levy for the budget. The Commissioners praised the work and sacrifices elected officials and department heads made in developing the budget while cautioning citizens that while employees will work hard to maintain the level of service, budget cuts could impact some services. Those budgets expected to see the most impact are the Sheriff's Department and the Road and Bridge Department.

The Commissioners said that after a recent meeting with Sheriff Jim Beicker they did decide to restore $40,000 to the Sheriff's budget to help meet critical needs. Among 2006 expenditures restored for the Sheriff is $5,000 for membership in the Colorado County Sheriffs' Association, $8,100 to participate in a statewide pool that counties drawn upon to fight wildfires, money for ammunition for officers' training on the firing range, and $14,000 for the training budget. The Commissioners said they hope to allow the Sheriff to spend another $8,000 for training purposes in 2006 but that will still be short of the amount sought by the Sheriff.

Among Sheriff's budget cuts that remain is $84,000 for two positions eliminated by attrition.....a sargeant's post in the jail and a clerk who greets the public at the front window. $3,000 was also cut for program materials for the anti-drug DARE program in Penrose, Florence, and Cotopaxi schools, and over $5,000 in kitchen supplies.

Sheriff Beicker is on record as saying that in order to save money on fuel and to extend the life on an aging fleet of patrol cars, deputies are being directed to cut back on patrol miles traveled throughout the county.

The Fremont County Road and Bridge Department will also see the impact from deep budget cuts in 2006. Six positions will not be filled. The Commissioners note that in 2005 as those positions came open and were not filled, the road foremen were able to use those salary savings on other needs such as gravel purposes. But in 2006 the Commissioners say that won't be possible because the money for those six positions has been cut entirely from the budget. Even with those cuts, the Road and Bridge Department will have only minimal money to buy gravel and maintain roads. For the third straight year there will be no money available for new paving or chip sealing. The only asphalt and chip sealing money to be spent will be state gaming impact grants that must be used exclusively on High Park, Garden Park, and Phantom Canyon Roads which lead to Cripple Creek.

The Commissioners did announce that the 2006 budget allows the county to keep a commitment to its' employees to fund the second year of a three year salary plan. A survey in 2004 showed Fremont County employees' salaries were far below the market level for comparable jobs. The Commissioners said they feel it is important to fulfill the pledge for the second year of the salary plan so the county doesn't fall further behind. The fiscal impact on the 2006 budget from the pay plan amounts to a 3.63 percent budgetary increase.

The Commissioners say that as the cost to run county government continues to grow, the revenues to finance that growth are not keeping pace. In fact the Commissioners say that TABOR revenue limits will actually mean that many people will pay less property taxes to the county in 2006. Fremont County's assessed valuation on which property taxes are calculated has increased by nearly 11 percent. But because the TABOR amendment limits revenue growth to 5 percent, that means the cost of running county government is actually spread out among more people and thus a lower property tax bill for many. In addition those TABOR revenue limits will prevent Fremont County from collecting its maximum 12.92 mills of property tax. The 2006 total mill levy of 12.48 mills means taxpayers will be getting a TABOR refund. They won't actually get a refund check from the county but the temporary tax credit means they will be able to pay a lesser amount in property tax to fund county government.

The Commissioners say they plan to address the budget and revenue issues in more town hall meetings starting in January in an effort to find a solutions to financing the growing needs for the Sheriff's Department, Road and Bridge Department, Human Services, and the many other county departments.

Public Hearing Set for Proposed New Zoning Fees

The Fremont County Commissioners will conduct a public hearing at their January 10th board meeting on proposed increases to the fee schedules for zoning and subdivision applications and services through the Fremont County Planning and Zoning Department. The proposed fee increases stem from a comprehensive study of time and services that the staff in the Planning Department performs in connection with each application. The study was conducted over the past several months by Eric Parish of Public Resource Management Group (PRM) of Denver.

The study was conducted to identify the true cost of fee related activities ensuring a clear relationship between the cost of the service and the fees that are charged. PRM looked at actual costs of time spent on applications in the Planning and Zoning Office in fiscal year 2004 and looked at 2004 and 2005 volumes of activity in the office. The fee schedule as proposed by the Board of Commissioners is intended to reflect a rate of 90 percent of the actual costs shown in the study. The Commissioners chose a 90 percent cost level to allow for any minor discrepancies in time calculations.

The Board of Commissioners believes the fee increases are necessary because it’s important that developers, companies, and individuals who create the demand for subdivision and zoning services are the ones who pay the cost of the county providing those services.

The proposed fee increases are expected to generate an additional $81,000 in revenue for the Planning and Zoning Department budget in 2006. The Commissioners say that means the additional revenue from fees will free up tax dollars in the general fund which can be used to provide services that benefit all taxpayers.

The proposed fee schedules for both zoning and subdivision applications are available for public review on the Fremont County website’s Planning and Zoning Department page at www.fremontco.com. Click on the link for ‘Proposed Zoning and Subdivision Fees’ or on ‘News Release’ to review the lists. Copies for review can also be obtained at the Planning and Zoning Department in Room 210 on the second floor of the County Administration Building at 605 Macon in Cañon City.

December 13th Commissioners' Meeting

The Fremont County Commissioners approved a bid award for extension of a trails project in Canon City at the board's regular meeting. The City of Canon City and the Canon City Recreation and Park District are the two principal entities involved in the trail extension, but the County was the applicant to the Colorado Department of Transportation for the federal grant money that is funding the project. The Commissioners awarded a contract to the low bidder, Avalanche Excavating of Canon City, in the amount of $628,738. A contract for the work will not be signed until the work plan receives C-DOT approval and after the Canon City Council approves a $60,000 fund transfer to help pay for the work. The project will extend the Arkansas Riverwalk trail beneath the 9th street river bridge and westwards to a foot bridge across the river to connect to Santa Fe Depot at the River Station. Because the bids exceeded money available, work to extend the trail beneath the 'Black Bridge' under the railroad will be completed by the City and the Rec District instead of the contractor. The County is contributing $10,000 in lottery funds to the project.

The Commissioners Tuesday also approved a 2006 contract to continue participation in the Upper Arkansas Area Council of Governments' Regional Recycling Program. The final contract amount will be $29,353. Commissioner Mike Stiehl said it appears surcharges on dumping at the Phantom Landfill and local transfer stations now exceed the amount needed to pay for the recycling program and that more markets are being developed to return some revenues for recycled products.

The Commissioners approved another $6,000 expenditure to help pay for the North Canon Sewer study. With many septic systems failing north of Canon City, the Fremont Sanitation District and the County Commissioners agreed to finance a study to extend sewer service north. The extra $6,000 will pay for the cost of expanding the study area from 1,742 acres to 2,113 acres. a $13,000 state mineral impact grant is being matched by $11,550 from the sanitation district and $10,450 from Fremont County.

In other business at the December 13th regular meeting the Commissioners:

• Reappointed Danny DeGeorge and newly appointed Ryan McCallister to the Fremont County Tourism Council for three year terms. McCallister replaces Peg Piltingsrud of Florence who did not seek reappointment.
• The Commissioners commended her for her service.Reappointed Kathy Kunselman, Marie Adams, Patsy Michaud, and Phil Quattlebaum to the Fremont County Fair Board.
• Appointed Edgie Walrath of Florence to a five year term on the John C. Fremont Library District Board at Florence.
• Received oral reports from Ann Oatman-Gardner on the Fort Carson-Pikes Peak Sustainability Project, from J.R. Phillips on revisions to the Fremont County Noxious Weed Management Plan, and from Bryce Nelson about the Fremont County Civil Air Patrol activities.

The Board of Commissioners also announced a special meeting for 9:30 a.m., Tuesday, December 20th, for the purpose of certifying mill levies to the state for all Fremont County governmental entities which collect property taxes.

Fremont Tourism Council Seeks Web Site Proposals

The Fremont County Tourism Council is seeking proposals from qualified companies to market their website on their internet. Presentations to the board will take place at a special meeting this Wednesday, December 14th, at 8 a.m. in Room 206 of the Fremont County Administration Building. Each presenter will be allowed 45 minutes.

Qualified companies will provide a proposal based on natural search engine strategies, ppc search engine strategies, website hosting, analytics and tracking, online advertising management, ppc budget management, ongoing maintenance, designing of the site to accommodate paid banners, buttons, links, placement of ads on other web sites, and linking strategies to other web sites.

For further information or to schedule a presentation at the Tourism Council’s special meeting, contact Council Chairperson Vicki Casey at 275-5149 no later than 1 :00 p.m., Tuesday, December 13th.