County Commissioners approve 2020 budget

POMEROY-The Garfield County Commissioners approved the budget for 2020 at a public hearing at 10 a.m. Monday morning, December 30, 2019, at the Garfield County Courthouse board room, and signed Resolution 2019-33. The Supplemental Budget Hearing was also approved and signed as Resolution 2019-34.

Grant Morgan, County Engineer and Director of Public Works, reported to the commissioners what he has learned through emails and a meeting of the County Road Administration Board (CRAB) regarding expected funding cuts resulting from implementation of I-976. The initiative is intended to reduce the price of car tabs, but is expected to have effects on the funding for many state funded projects. He expects that Garfield County will receive a reduction of about $133,000 for road maintenance, which includes expenses for snow and ice removal, the over-time pay for plowing, and snow removal equipment. He also expects there will be a 20% reduction in grant funding from the State. However, Morgan said “we will be prepared” and that the public should be ready for what those cutbacks will create. He specifically referred to the county “Snow Plow Policy,” which “will drive us back about 10 years” to a level of service not seen in recent years. “We will do what we can,” he stated, but people’s expectations have changed over the years, and they may be disappointed. “We won’t plow an inch of snow,” he added.

Morgan thinks the state will protect transportation for rural areas, but the needed funds will most likely be pulled from other areas such as road maintenance and highway projects.

In other business, Fred Zack, attending the meeting as a member of the public, asked the commissioners if the Garfield County Hospital District (GCHD) has been in touch with them regarding a contingency plan for the possibility of the special levy failing once again in April. Commissioner Wynne McCabe responded that the GCHD is forming a committee of community members to brainstorm ideas and solutions, and added that he has been asked to be a part of the committee.

Commissioner Bob Johnson made a motion to nominate Commissioner Justin Dixon as the chairman of the County Commissioner Board for 2020, and Commissioner McCabe seconded it. Dixon was then elected the chairman for the next year.

At the next meeting on January 6, 2020, the commissioners will open bids for a new roller for the County Roads Department, and they will meet with Jack Knudsen and representatives of McKinstry regarding the heating and air-conditioning system repairs and improvements that were made during the past year. The commissioners are hoping that they will also report their findings about what was done incorrectly with the system to cause such substantial problems.