Many of us who have lived in beautiful Montezuma Valley since before the crime and population explosion that began in late 2020 have become disenchanted with how our county leaders are performing. We have relatives and friends working in the construction industry and, although we all want our local businesses to create good jobs and be successful, they appear to be receiving a level of favorable treatment that most of us can’t get.
Most Montezuma County residents do not want the unmitigated growth we’ve recently experienced because huge population increases bring a degraded quality of life, exploding crime – including violent crime – and the loss of the beautiful rural character of the county that is a principal requirement of our land use code.
To compound these problems, commissioners cut the Sheriff’s Office budget by 21% over the last two years. You read that right! While crime, population and many county department budgets are exploding, commissioners cut the part of the budget that may be most critical. They also cut the veterans’ budget 34%. Astonishingly, when Sheriff Nowlin was asked by a commissioner if he could fulfill the statutory requirements of his office after getting his budget slashed again, the sheriff meekly responded that he could. Really?
This is the same person who routinely tells anyone who will listen that he does not have the manpower to control crime. The exploding crime numbers prove he doesn’t understand what it takes to get control of the situation. This is not the fault of the rank and file. We currently rank as the third-worst county in the state for crime. Cutting the sheriff’s budget, while obliterated by crime and unmitigated growth, makes no sense, unless it’s all part of a well-coordinated plan.
While busily hacking budgets, commissioners increased budgets for the following departments: commissioners 11%; county clerk 31%; treasurer 27%; assessor 42%; attorney 23%; maintenance 29%; administration 58%; natural resources/public lands 121%; and information technology 90%.
The commissioners are now suggesting they can only provide for our safety (their most critical responsibility), if citizens will give more money in the form of a new “safety” tax. Are you getting the pattern here?
They decimate the sheriff’s budget, wait until the last day of the business year to address the inevitable problems because of reduced property tax revenue, then announce that a new tax is needed, if we want a safe Montezuma County.
Now, we learn that the expected property tax revenue reduction will be more than offset by huge increases in county property values, which means we will spend more of our hard-earned tax money. Sounds like a manufactured false choice of our safety for more money.
This is not how to transparently run the county. Why not focus on the people who live here now and stop actively creating conditions for even greater population increases? We don’t have the jobs to support them.
The next time you hear commissioners use the concocted term “workforce housing, just remember, it’s a ruse. Their priority has been to massively increase low-income housing using federal grant dollars that do not have to be repaid. Your money.
It’s time for major changes in how this county is run. Commissioners need to give honest representation, laser-focused on those who reside here now, or step aside and let some new blood get the job done.
David Dove is an author, researcher, employer and full-time resident of Montezuma County since 1990.
