The Montezuma County Board of County Commissioners decided to postpone making a decision on the Sheriff Office’s supplemental budget request and will resume the hearing at their meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 17.
The idea is to hold off until the county has a better idea of its expenditures in the general fund, something that won’t be clear until the end of the year, said Montezuma County Administrator Travis Anderson.
“We’re trying to figure this out with you,” said County Commissioner Jim Candelaria.
In the meantime, Candelaria said the Sheriff’s Office employees need not live in fear of losing their jobs; “life will go on,” he said.
The Sheriff’s Office will continue working with the county finance department to figure out what to do about the overage and adjust the budget in 2025, since the department is on track to overspend by $306,000 next year.
Last week, the county commissioners underwent an all day training to get a better idea about the statutory requirements for that department and others. Statutory requirements are things they must fund.
Prior to that training, Candelaria emphasized how the county “should only be funding needs, not wants.” And to do that, they need to know the “needs,” which is why they did the training.
Candelaria said it was a great refresher in defining those needs for all departments, not just the Sheriff’s Office.
To get a better idea of the Sheriff’s Office’s assets the commissioners opted to send a letter requesting the titles of all its property at their meeting on Nov. 19.
They also agreed to hire a third party to conduct an expert financial and budget analysis to determine exactly how much money the Sheriff’s Office needs to function, something Commissioner Gerald Koppenhafer suggested when Sheriff Steve Nowlin first said they were over budget.
Sheriff Steve Nowlin was not at the previous two meetings, so Undersheriff Tyson Cox spoke from the podium.
“We’ve cut back all spending,” Cox said at the Nov. 12 meeting.
The conversation began at a special meeting on Oct. 31, where Nowlin asked for $239,000. Of that, $172,000 would be for wages and $67,000 for benefits because the department is on track to overspend this year.
The overage is from wage raises, so “it keeps giving into 2025,” said Cox. “We’re trying to figure out how to offset that.”
Cox reiterated that Nowlin is negotiating contracts with the town of Dolores and the tribe for security at the casino, money they won’t see until 2025.
Candelaria said to accept the request would be rewarding “bad behavior,” especially “after several checks and balances to not do that.”
At the Oct. 31 meeting, Candelaria said Nowlin was notified he would overspend back in March and April this year.
At that meeting, a county finance officer, Faedra Grubbs, added that it was “irresponsible to continue, knowing you’ll overspend.”
“He (Nowlin) knew he would go over, this irritates me to no end,” Commissioner Gerald Koppenhafer said.
“I understand your frustration,” Cox said.
In the event the budget request is denied, the Sheriff’s Office will be forced to furlough employees, and it’s likely those employees would find other jobs, Cox said.
Cox said, if that happens, the department would “lose top talent” and be forced to retrain replacements, which is expensive to do.
Candelaria said they don’t want anyone to lose their job, so they’re working on fixing it.
