The Montezuma County Board of County Commissioners held a special meeting at 11 a.m. Thursday to talk budget with the Sheriff’s Office, which is on track to overspend this year.
Sheriff Steve Nowlin asked for a supplemental budget request to the permanent salary line item in the amount of $172,000 for wages and another $67,000 for benefits.
Nowlin said that if approved, there will likely be unspent money from that amount. If denied, he’ll be forced to furlough employees.
“Why have you overspent?” Commissioner Jim Candelaria asked at the meeting.
On Dec. 28 last year, the approved budget for the Sheriff’s Office was $1,330,000. Some time after that, the budget was reduced to $1,223,000, Nowlin said.
“It was changed. I’m not sure when or how that happened,” Nowlin said.
In the meantime, the department hasn’t made any new hires and there have been reductions in line items across the board, Nowlin said.
But each month, every department head in the county is made aware of its spending and financial situation. In March and April this year, Candelaria said, Nowlin was notified that he was on track to overspend.
Faedra Grubbs, a county finance officer at the meeting, echoed that point. She said it was clear by June that the Sheriff’s Office was projected to be over budget.
“It’s irresponsible to continue, knowing you’ll overspend … it should’ve been taken care of a long time ago,” Grubbs said.
She went on to say that the problem is they had budgeted for 67 positions at the Sheriff’s Office with a 5% raise.
That 5% raise was approved for all county positions, Candelaria added, but some positions at the Sheriff’s Office got much higher raises than that.
“Why did some positions get a 24% raise?” Candelaria asked.
“That’s why you’re over budget,” Grubbs said.
Candelaria also said the department is servicing areas outside what’s required, like the school district, the annex building and the town of Dolores.
Nowlin said they’re operating with well under the previously budgeted 67 full-time employees. To curb costs, the department is working on contracts to provide services in the town of Dolores and the Ute Mountain Ute tribe, too.
Nowlin said the Sheriff’s Office usually has a contract with the town of Dolores, but didn’t this calendar year because the county commissioners could not agree on the terms.
In a meeting on Aug. 14, 2023, a $250,000 contract with the town of Dolores was first brought to the commissioners’ attention. It was voted on and approved that evening by the Dolores town board, and tabled at the county meeting.
On Sept. 5, 2023, the $250,000 contract was brought back to the county commissioners to approve.
“This is not what we negotiated at all,” Candelaria said at the 2023 meeting. “I’m not willing to sign it. The county is paying a lot for law enforcement in Dolores again.”
And so it was not signed.
Nowlin said he’s negotiating a $275,000 contract with the town of Dolores, in addition to one with the tribe. There’s also leftover grant money – roughly $58,000 – they’ll put to salaries in the meantime.
Commissioner Gerald Koppenhafer said they ought to have an expert come in and look at the Sheriff’s Office finances to find out exactly how much money it takes to run it.
“I don’t know how much it takes, but this county needs to find out,” Koppenhafer said.
Grubbs said that if they amend the budget in the amount the sheriff requested, they’ll have to dip into reserves since the rest of the county is on track to spend its budget.
It’s possible the move would force the county to overspend in its general fund, Grubbs said. It might also impact the proposed budget for 2025.
Grubbs also said the cumulative $239,000 Nowlin is requesting doesn’t take into account the Law Enforcement Authority, which is a fund that a countywide mill levy fills each year.
That money can be reimbursed to the general fund to pay for most everything in the Sheriff’s Office – its personnel, equipment, maintenance and more. At the beginning of this year, that fund nearly totaled $537,000.
The commissioners did not decide whether to accept the amendment to the 2024 budget today. They will have another special meeting on Nov. 12 at 10 a.m. to resume the conversation.
“We’re on a path of destruction here. We’ve got to fix all of this,” Candelaria said.
