Montrose - Daily Press

Daily Press Editorial

Montrose County is faced with a financial crisis as county commissioners try to trim $550,000 from this year’s budget, part of a $2.2 million shortfall created by the sun setting of the county’s sales tax this last July.

In September, the Board of County Commissioners voted to pass a resolution to put question 1A on the ballot this November. 1A, if passed, would authorize the county to “collect, retain and spend all revenues, including grant funds and impact fees, it receives” after the new year, with the exception of property tax revenues.

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The ballot issue would release the county from the handcuffs put on by the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. Because of TABOR, the county cannot keep up with the fast growth of Montrose.

Funding sources such as private and state grants, impact fees and booking fees at the jail count against the TABOR revenue cap. The measure would lift those restrictions and give the county some budget flexibility.

This is why we support 1A:

With the call by citizens to make growth pay its own way, 1A will provide an avenue for Montrose County to accept and expend funds derived from impact fees for new developments.

By generating revenue from impact fees, state grants and other non-property tax revenue sources such as prisoner booking fees at the jail, the county can increase its revenue with the least amount of impact on residents.

It will not raise property taxes.

It will help funding for public safety, i.e., the sheriff’s office, which currently faces burgeoning budget cuts.

It will help funding for the Road and Bridge Department. The road and bridge mill levy currently generates roughly $50,000 from property taxes for the department, which received the majority of its funding from the Highway Users Tax Funds (HUTF), approximately $3.5 million or 50 percent of what the department needs to just maintain 1,368 miles of roads in the county.

While the county still has a long way to go in dealing with its current budget woes, and 1A is certainly not a cure-all, we believe it can help the county steer through the crisis and provide a level of service we’ve come to expect with recent growth in the area.

We encourage a yes vote for 1A.

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