{"id":15538,"date":"2025-11-25T17:38:01","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T00:38:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/dolores-is-finalizing-sheriffs-contract-proposal-for-next-years-services\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:48:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:48:13","slug":"dolores-is-finalizing-sheriffs-contract-proposal-for-next-years-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/dolores-is-finalizing-sheriffs-contract-proposal-for-next-years-services\/","title":{"rendered":"Dolores is finalizing sheriff\u2019s contract proposal for next year\u2019s services"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Montezuma
Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin leads the procession of MCSO officials into the gym for the memorial service.<\/span>Terrance Siemon\/The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Dolores plans to finalize a law enforcement services contract with Montezuma County and the Sheriff\u2019s Office for 2026 at a cost of $143,000 for one deputy instead of two.<\/p>\n

The town currently pays $274,000 for two deputies under the 2025 agreement.<\/p>\n

The updated contract, discussed at the town board\u2019s Monday workshop, follows months of negotiations between town and county officials. An initial $286,000 proposal was presented, but in October, Dolores officials said they could only afford half and proposed funding one deputy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe sat down to do the budget with the board and said, \u2018This is what we have to work with,\u2019\u201d Dolores Town Manager Leigh Reeves said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, we would not have any leeway to do anything else. Part of it is when our taxpayers pay the county, part of that is the sheriff\u2019s, so we have paid some of it already,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Reeves told the board the contract was rewritten so each entity is responsible for its own liability.<\/p>\n

The contract still needs signatures from the Dolores Town Board, commissioners and sheriff. If approved at the board\u2019s regular meeting Dec. 8, it would move to the sheriff and county commissioners for final approval.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re cutting and pasting stuff as you go \u2013 this is a nice clean version,\u201d Reeves told the board Monday, noting the sheriff\u2019s office will likely be \u201cgood with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The contract was originally scheduled for a vote earlier this month but was removed to edit liability language and remove overtime pay from the town\u2019s responsibility.<\/p>\n

Reeves said the overtime rate was one outstanding detail. It originally stated the town would pay the county $75 per hour for work beyond 40 hours per week.<\/p>\n

What the contract requires<\/div>\n

Under the proposed contract, the sheriff would provide:<\/p>\n

Forty hours per week of directly committed services in Dolores.Investigation of traffic accidents, according to state statutes.A monthly written report detailing calls, patrol hours, investigations and traffic enforcement.Enforcement of town ordinances.Background checks for liquor and marijuana licenses or renewals.Evidence collection and storage.Monthly updates from the sheriff at town board meetings or when requested.Provide and supply all labor, supervision, supplies and equipment necessary to maintain the service.<\/div>\n

In return, Dolores must:<\/p>\n

Pay the county $143,000, billed quarterly.Pay for any municipal-level jail bookings.Prosecute its own municipal cases.Provide office space to the Sheriff\u2019s Office, valued at $1,000 per month.<\/div>\n

If approved, the contract takes effect Jan. 1 and runs through the end of the year, with annual renewal possible.<\/p>\n

Board concerns involve county funding and sheriff staffing pressures<\/div>\n

Trustees expressed frustration Monday over county funding allocations.<\/p>\n

One trustee said sheriff staffing remains thin even though the town contributes to the county\u2019s general fund instead of paying the Sheriff\u2019s Office directly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the only thing that bums me out,\u201d Trustee Linnea Peterson said. \u201cThey are woefully underfunded.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reeves said the town cannot resolve countywide pay or Sheriff\u2019s Office hiring issues through contract changes.<\/p>\n

A March 2025 organizational and budget analysis by consulting firm KRW Associates said Dolores\u2019 long-standing law enforcement contract with the Sheriff\u2019s Office and county collapsed in 2024. The report cited communication problems that stalled the agreement and contributed to the Sheriff\u2019s Office budget shortfall.<\/p>\n

The sheriff proposed a $250,000 contract, $30,000 more than the previous year, and that version was signed by the town and the sheriff.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sheriff indicates he worked for several months with the Dolores city manager, a town board member, the town attorney, county manager and the board of county commissioners to develop a proposed contract for $250,000 \u2026 He felt justifiable and recovered the costs to the MCSO,\u201d the report read about the 2024 contract.<\/p>\n

When the document reached county commissioners, they increased the amount to $375,000 to cover firearms, ammunition, body cameras, uniforms and other costs.<\/p>\n

Dolores and the sheriff did not approve or sign that revised contract, leaving the town without an agreement in 2024. KRW recommended earlier negotiations and clear itemized cost accounting in future years.<\/p>\n

For 2025, the amount was lowered to $274,000. That agreement itemized responsibilities, not expenses.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this process, it does not appear there was a clear accounting justifying the contract amount and the rationale communicated. We believe there was a clear justification for the board of county commissioners to request a specific accounting of the cost of the services being provided,\u201d the report read.<\/p>\n

If no contract is in place, the Sheriff\u2019s Office still provides basic emergency dispatch services to the town.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

approved, the board will propose one deputy at $143,000<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15539,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-15538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15538"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15538\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77153,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15538\/revisions\/77153"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15538"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=15538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}