1-Color
January 30, 2014 Elbert County, Colorado | Volume 119, Issue 1 A publication of
elbertcountynews.net
Secretary of state to intervene in ruling Gessler’s office to oppose judge’s decision to fine commissioner By George Lurie
glurie@coloradocommunitymedia.com A spokesperson for Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler has confirmed that Gessler’s office will attempt to nullify a recent ruling by an administrative judge who fined Board of County Commissioners Chairman Robert Rowland $1,000 for
violating Colorado’s Fair Campaign Practices Act. “We are planning to intervene in the case,” Andrew Cole, a spokesperson for the Secretary of State, said on Jan. 24. “The judge directed the commissioner to personally pay the fine to the county, which is not what the constitution directs,” said Cole. “In addition, we have some broader First Amendment concerns with the ruling and what it could mean for elected officials going about their work.” Rowland said he was encouraged by the Secretary of State’s support, adding, “I am a long way away from writing that check.” Cole said lawyers in the Colorado At-
torney General’s office are currently working on Gessler’s response to the judge’s controversial ruling, which was issued on Dec. 24. On Jan. 16, the BOCC held a special meeting during which commisRowland sioners voted 2-1 to appeal the judge’s ruling — with Commissioners Rowland and Kurt Schlegel voting in favor of the appeal and Commissioner Larry Ross casting the dissenting “no” vote, arguing an appeal would be an additional drain on county resources.
“It’s kind of a fluid situation right now but my objective is to file the appeal before the end of January,” said County Attorney Alex Beltz, who explained that filing an appeal “effectively stops the clock” on the judge’s deadline for Rowland to pay the fine. Since the ruling was made public Jan. 4, Rowland said that he has also heard from a number of other county commissioners around the state, as well as from the CCI — Colorado Counties Inc., a statewide nonprofit which supports county commissioners, mayors and city and town councilmembers. Ruling continues on Page 9
2012 budget audit done
ROOM TO ROAM
Treasurer: Freeze order could be lifted this week By George Lurie
glurie @coloradocommunitymedia.com
Kelly Shepherd and her 10-year-old quarter horse Louie had Sundown Arena to themselves on Jan. 22. Shepherd owns the cavernous enlcosure, which is located on Road 37 just north of State Highway 86. Frustrated by what she describes as “obstacles the county keeps putting that get in the way” of her plans to use the arena for commercial purposes, Shepherd has put the building — and the 20 acres it sits on — up for sale. Asking price: $850,000. Photo by George Lurie
Wildfire mitigation efforts unveiled Key recommendations by governor’s task force absent By Vic Vela
vvela@coloradocommunitymedia.com Gov. John Hickenlooper and state lawmakers unveiled a package of bills on Jan. 23 that is “aimed at improving Colorado’s ability to mitigate and fight wildfires.” However, Hickenlooper and legislators spent most of a Capitol press conference answering questions having to do with wildfire mitigation options that are not part of the eight bills that were introduced.
The bills do not include key recommendations made by the governor’s own wildfire task force committee, including ones that place fees and building code mandates on Report homeowners who reside in areas where a high potential for wildfires exists. And the package does not address the creation of a state firefighting fleet. The governor’s office says the issue needs more work. But a Republican lawmaker who is sponsoring his own air tanker legislation said at the same press conference that the
time for a wildfire fleet is now. “I believe that wildfire is a clear and present danger to Colorado and we need to take action,” said Sen. Steve King, R-Grand Junction. The governor insists that the bipartisan pieces of wildfire legislation that were introduced on Jan. 23 will go a long way in combatting a growing threat facing the state. “I think with this year we will continue to raise the ante and try to dedicate more resources up front to try to get to these fires sooner,” Hickenlooper said. The bills deal with a variety of areas aimed at wildfire prevention. They include giving the governor the ability to provide financial assistance without a federal disaster declaration; and allowing county governments more autonomy in putting bans on agricultural burning during periods of high fire danger and to clamp down on summer fireworks. Bills also deal with the creation of the wildfire information and resource center
Capitol
POSTAL ADDRESS
Printed on recycled newsprint. Please recycle this copy.
WIldfire continues on Page 10
An outside accounting firm has completed its work on the 2012 Elbert County budget audit and the Board of County Commissioners has scheduled a “special meeting” on Jan. 27 at 10 a.m. during which the long-overdue document is expected to be approved and then submitted to the state before month’s end. In November 2013, after the county missed multiple deadlines to file the state-mandated document, the Office of the State Auditor froze more than $102,000 in county tax revenues, ordering Elbert County Treasurer Rick Pettitt to “hold all funds generated pursuant to the taxing authority … until you are notified in writing by this office.” By law, the 2012 budget audit was supposed to have been filed with the state no later than July 31, 2013. BOCC Chair Robert Rowland blamed the snafu on the county’s former finance director Stan Wilmer, who was fired in October 2013. The decision to bring in an outside contractor to finish the audit cost the county nearly $90,000, according to Commissioner Kurt Schlegel. Rowland said some of that expense has been “recouped” by not having to pay Wilmer’s $70,000-ayear salary. The state’s Department of Local Affairs, which can freeze repayment to counties of property taxes if the county does not comply with statemandated annual filing deadlines, is expected to release the frozen funds before the end of January. “It usually only takes the state a day or two to release the funds once they approve the audit,” Pettitt said. The accounting firm of Eide Bailly performed the work necessary to complete the 2012 audit. A similar situation occurred in 2012 when the county also missed repeated deadlines to submit to the state its year-end 2011 audit. In that case, the state froze more than $117,000 in county property tax revenues for nearly two months until the report was received by the auditor’s office. At a Jan. 14 study session, Rowland vowed: “This is going to be the last time the county finds itself in this position.”