About once a month, the elected leaders of the Town of Pagosa Springs — the Town Council — sit down at a table with the elected leaders of Archuleta County — the Board of County Commissioners — and discuss items of mutual interest and concern. One such meeting took place yesterday, July 24.
Five of the seven Town Council members were in attendance. The Town Council members receive a small stipend for their services in guiding the Town government, but basically, they are volunteers. The day-to-day work at Town Hall is handled by Town Manager Andrea Phillips and her staff.
One of the three County Commissioners — Ronnie Maez — was in attendance. The County Commissioners earn about $70,000 per year, plus benefits, and they attend a handful of meetings each month, leaving most of the actual work to County Administrator Bentley Henderson and his extensive staff.
Yesterday, July 24, the elected leaders had several topics on the agenda.
I. SHORT TERM RENTALS STATUS
II. BALLOT ISSUE UPDATE
III. PARKS AND RECREATION SURVEY DISCUSSION
IV. CAPITAL FACILITIES AUTHORITY DISCUSSION
V. UPDATE ON JOINT STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
a. Housing
b. Early Childcare and Education
c. Broadband
VI. OTHER ITEMS OF MUTUAL INTEREST
We’ve covered most of these topics in various Daily Post articles over the past year… and the conversations yesterday produced very little in the way of new information, beyond what we’d heard in previous discussions.
For example, we wrote about Short Term Rentals here.
We wrote about the Parks & Rec Survey here.
We wrote about ‘Joint Strategic Priorities’ here.
But one of the discussions turned out to be rather interesting, in the sense that it was nearly identical to a conversation that took place almost exactly a year ago, in the same room, during a similar joint meeting between the Town Council and the BOCC.
But not entirely identical.
We can begin with the only County Commissioner in attendance, Ronnie Maez. Mr. Maez briefly summarized the tax increase proposal that the BOCC might place on the November ballot — perhaps a one-percent sales tax increase? — to fund a new Sheriff’s office and jail facility.
Commissioner Maez said he believed the proposal would be almost identical to the jail proposal that failed at the polls last year, except that it might cost about $2 million more than last year. (I get shivers, knowing that we’re at the end of July, and the BOCC still doesn’t know how much this project would actually cost.)
He then proposed that, if the voters did not approve the requested tax increase, the BOCC might go ahead and build a jail anyway, using funds that currently go towards road maintenance and other County services.
“Last year, everybody was wanting to know what our Plan B is. And in my opinion, Plan B is not what I want to do, it’s what we may have to do. We may have to cut back from within our County, cut back maybe on what we have to do on road maintenance, on some areas, so we can possibly look into building something really small but adequate.
“Not adequate enough; we will still have to outsource prisoners. But we’re going to have to look at what we can cut out of our budget, to build something that we need.”
The BOCC is looking at some type of sales tax increase to be dedicated solely to the County. Perhaps a sales tax similar to the one-percent increase proposed last year? We don’t know yet.
As some of our readers will recall, the Town Council passed a resolution last year, urging the BOCC to pursue another funding option — instead of a sales tax increase — because the Town and County have traditionally shared, equally, in our community-wide sales tax. But the Town’s annual budget is funded almost entirely by those sales tax revenues, while the County government is funded mainly through property taxes. The proposal discussed by Commissioner Maez was a sales tax increase that would not be shared with the Town.
We then heard from Town Council member Tracy Bunning.
“I’m in the same position that we were a year ago.
“Your plan hasn’t changed. You haven’t presented an alternative plan for the structure. And I’m in the same place I was last year. I think, if you go after a sales tax increase, that jeopardizes the Town’s future financial stability.
“If you get a one-percent increase that’s not shared with the Town, then if we had some type of emergency within the next five years — or within the next 14 years, when your proposed tax would sunset — we’re not going to have that option any longer. We would have a battle getting another one percent for another worthy project.
“I understand, the jail is not just something you guys dreamed up, as a way to spend money. I know it’s necessary, something that needs to be done. But I’m of the opinion — and this is just me speaking, [the Council] hasn’t had a meeting on this issue — but from my point of view, I think we would be remiss in publicly supporting your project, if it’s funded by sales taxes.
“I just think it’s putting the Town at too much risk.”
Commissioner Maez said he could see Mr. Bunning’s point of view — but he argued that the voters would not approve a property tax increase, even for a worthy project.
In previous meetings, the three County Commissioners have consistently expressed the opinion that Archuleta County taxpayers overwhelmingly favor sales tax increases over property tax increases. The BOCC seems to believe that local residents view a sales tax as something funded largely by tourism dollars.
Of course, that’s not actually the case — as we’ve discussed, for example, here — but as they say, ‘perception is reality.’
Prior to this year’s mill levy increase for the Pagosa Fire Protection District, the most recent Archuleta County tax increase approved by the voters was Ballot Measure 1A, in 2006. The voters have never approved a sales tax increase since I moved here in 1993. Most recently, the Town voters rejected a proposed sales tax increase aimed at funding a community recreation center. That was in 2014.
Bill Hudson began sharing his opinions in the Pagosa Daily Post in 2004 and can’t seem to break the habit. He claims that, in Pagosa Springs, opinions are like pickup trucks: everybody has one.