Part one of a two-part series

RIO GRANDE COUNTY—The sheriff, deputies and members of the public informed the Rio Grande County Board of County Commissioners that they are not thrilled with the way the sheriff department’s budget has been handled.

A room full of community members, law enforcement and elected officials attended a public comment session of the board of county commissioners on Thursday, Nov. 30. The public comment period was for comments on the 2018 budget but the main focus became Rio Grande Sheriff Office’s (RGSO) budget.

Budget overview

The meeting began with County Administrator Roni Wisdom offering a brief outline of the overall 2018 county budget. “This budget process was not done in a vacuum by any sense of the imagination. We had a lot of support and input from all of our department heads. We start this process in August and there’s several different renditions as we work our way through this. It’s required statutorily that we have a balanced budget so that’s what we work on,” said Wisdom.

“The total of this budget for 2018 is $22,228,087. This is an increase from our 2017 budget of about 7.6 percent. Our revenue comes from property taxes and that’s $2,889,545; local revenue from charges for services and sales taxes come to about $1.5 million; intragovernmental such as grants we receive to run our programs is right at $15 million, and then this year we will have to dip into our funds and reserves to reach the total budget,” she said.

Wisdom then shared significant items to the budget. The commissioners approved a three percent cost of living salary increase for all employees of all departments. Wisdom explained two main reasons for the increase is due to insurance requirements from the Affordable Care Act and due to having to move ranges forward to meet minimum wage.

“A two percent merit increase is also being offered to all employees on their anniversary upon a satisfactory review,” said Wisdom. A five percent increase to health care insurance will also be picked up by the county, not by employees.

The commissioners are also looking to increase staff numbers for certain departments. “A fiscal officer to be split between public health and administration, a dispatch/jailer, a deputy, two clerks and two part-time employees at the jail will become full time,” explained Wisdom.

Capital improvement and expenditures for 2018 were also reported. The departments of social services, road and bridge, clerk and recorder, treasurer, assessor and administration are all receiving funding for equipment upgrades.

The sheriff’s department received budgeted money to purchase another transport van and another sheriff’s truck. There is also a line budgeted item in the amount of $110,000 for the hiring of a jail nurse or a related program due to increasing costs of inmate health care and similar issues that have recently occurred at the county jail.

Sheriff’s budget

Commissioner and Board Chair Karla Shriver then presented a review of the sheriff’s budget. Shriver first informed the public that the budget message is published every December and can be accessed back to 2008. She encouraged all citizens to review these messages.

She then said she suspected many of those present were there due to a Facebook post and email that has been circulating alleging the sheriff’s office is underfunded and that deputies have not received a raise since 2003. Shriver also informed the public that underfunded courthouses and jail systems are a statewide issue not just in Rio Grande County, and a main difference was other counties have different revenue streams to address it.

Shriver shared that in a previous commissioner meeting Sheriff Brian Norton met with the commissioners and requested an immediate increase for his department. The request was tabled on Oct. 11. Under state statute the county had to have a preliminary budget in October. The commissioners and Norton have had subsequent work sessions on the issue. She reiterated that meetings with Rio Grande Hospital, Alamosa County and RGSO has resulted in the decision to provide $110,000 for a jail nurse due to the mental health issues at the jail, which is being felt throughout Colorado.

Shriver said that discussions between the board and the sheriff have sometimes included the cost saving measure of using 911 services rather than having a separate and individual dispatch line as RGSO currently does. “The cost is based on the number of calls. If there’s not a lot of calls or traffic stops then the numbers are down... On Nov. 7, I sent an email to the sheriff’s office asking for call reports for 2014, 2015, 2016 and the year to date 2017... the reports detail the types of calls...as of yet the commissioners have not seen those reports,” she said.

According to the county commissioners the RGSO department’s budget as presented is $2.3 million.

The comments and posts circulating regarding the deputies not receiving a salary increase since 2003 were then addressed by Shriver. Through research she found approved salary increases by the board of county commissioners. For most years there was either a cost of living salary increase approved or a merit-based pay increase. The years of 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011 and 2016 did not see increases out of the 13 years reviewed.

Shriver explained the merit increases are not automatic, a supervisor must approve and ensure merit-based pay. For example, if a deputy deserves a merit-based pay increase it is up to Norton to file the necessary paperwork. Cost of living increases are automatically added to paychecks of county employees. “Again, if the supervisor does not fill out the paperwork for merit increases, then this department does not know that it should be authorized. The sheriff’s office is the only department that does not submit employee evaluations,” she said.

“I’m sharing this information because the comment that the deputies have not received raises since 2003. That is not the case. There have been raises for cost of living...on the merit that would have to be authorized by the supervisor. If the supervisor did not authorize, then they probably didn’t get the raise, but that is not the commissioners’ fault,” said Shriver.

Shriver then compared revenue brought in by RGSO to other county sheriffs throughout the Valley. She reminded attendees that RGSO has the ability to bring in revenue for their department and the county. Shriver also questioned why RGSO’s needs seemed to be greater than other comparable departments.

Another issue that Shriver discussed and suggested could bring in revenue is concealed carry permits. Sheriff Norton and his department have traditionally not charged citizens for concealed carry classes and only charges $15 for permits. “If I wanted a permit, yeah, I’d want it free, but think of the rest of the county that doesn’t want it. They are underwriting that class. So is there a way to generate income through that class? Right now it’s free,” said Shriver.

A number of concern to Shriver is the amount being paid by Valley counties for law enforcement services. She said that overall taxpayers are paying around $16 million throughout the Valley and that in one year Rio Grande County taxpayers paid around $4 million.

The lack of an undersheriff was also brought up. Shriver said she has had discussions with the sheriff; in the budget there has been a line item for an undersheriff but to her knowledge advertising for one has not happened. “The sheriff has made requests for some investigators. Last year we put in $10,000 towards a K-9 unit. Well that didn’t last very long. So we moved that money towards an undersheriff to increase that salary and hoping they would have investigative skills. That’s also in this budget.”

Shriver also questioned if the deputies are being efficient during work hours and mentioned complaints she has received. She alleged that RGSO is in the MVPD police report constantly, and that the deputies also have been seen at the fire department or parked outside of buildings talking. Shriver also said she has received complaints from people in the Sargent area complaining of speeding and running stop signs, reporting it to RGSO and not receiving adequate response. Shriver also brought up an accident on Highway 160 where three sheriff’s vehicles responded but questioned why an inmate transport van also responded. “This is what’s going on. So to me the question is, are we monitoring the allocation of our resources?” said Shriver.

Shriver also mentioned added benefits that deputies receive such as uniforms and vehicles. She stated no other departments receive these benefits.

At these comments some members of the public and deputies became offended. One shouted that it did not make any sense to call a sheriff’s vehicle a benefit since they were deputies and would respond as such. A deputy informed Shriver that the transport van had responded because a person involved in the accident was pinned under a vehicle and was about to die.

After Shriver was done with her comments the floor was opened up for comments from the public. A special meeting was also scheduled for Monday, Dec. 4. Please see related article on page (XXXX).