{"id":16392,"date":"2025-09-25T11:45:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T17:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/la-plata-county-officials-discuss-need-for-new-revenue-stream-amid-unsustainable-shortfall\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T21:57:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:57:20","slug":"la-plata-county-officials-discuss-need-for-new-revenue-stream-amid-unsustainable-shortfall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/la-plata-county-officials-discuss-need-for-new-revenue-stream-amid-unsustainable-shortfall\/","title":{"rendered":"La Plata County officials discuss need for new revenue stream amid unsustainable shortfall"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"La
La Plata County on Tuesday heard project suggestions for about $10.9 million in COVID-19 relief funding. (Durango Herald file)<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

La Plata County cannot continue 21st century operations on a 20th century budget, county officials said at an Indivisible Durango meeting last weekend.<\/p>\n

Commissioners Marsha Porter-Norton and Matt Salka joined county Assessor Carrie Woodson, Sheriff Sean Smith and District Attorney Sean Murray at the Durango Public Library to talk about the county\u2019s budget plight and the need for additional revenue to maintain services.<\/p>\n

Commissioner Elizabeth Philbrick was absent due to a family medical issue.<\/p>\n

Porter-Norton said La Plata County has not raised its sales tax since the 1980s.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at our draft budget, we\u2019re very much in a process of planning for the worst and working our behinds off for the best,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The best outcome the county hopes for is the passage of a 1% sales tax increase that would generate about $18 million annually on top of the $27 million generated by existing sales taxes.<\/p>\n

The Durango Herald<\/em> reported last week that the county has proposed a $119 million budget in expenditures<\/a>, a 12% decrease from the $136 million approved this year.<\/p>\n

It expects to earn $102 million in revenue next year, a less than 1% increase.<\/p>\n

For years, La Plata County has relied on the gas industry for a significant chuck of its property tax revenues, but that is on the decline to the tune of a 46% loss over 15 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is due to oil and gas that propped us up for years and it\u2019s due to the assessment rates being cut,\u201d Porter-Norton said, adding that rate is not sustainable.<\/p>\n

She said the additional revenue from the proposed sales tax would contribute to new road maintenance projects, building and fairgrounds upgrades, the return of county services, and bringing departmental operations up to speed.<\/p>\n

That includes the La Plata County Public Health Department, which faces significant funding cuts from the state and federal governments.<\/p>\n

In a fast-paced PowerPoint presentation, Porter-Norton broadly outlined how revenues would be distributed across county departments and services: sheriff\u2019s patrols, emergency services, and wildfire response and mitigation; road and bridge maintenance; response and preparation for natural disasters; deferred buildings maintenance; and essential services for seniors, veterans and vulnerable families.<\/p>\n

She said the average cost of the proposed sales tax increase to taxpayers across the county would be $23 per month, which she acknowledged is significant to some residents \u2012 and the county doesn\u2019t take that lightly.<\/p>\n

When one resident asked why the county can\u2019t charge tourists more through a lodgers tax, Salka said a lodgers tax \u201cwould not even touch a small percentage\u201d of the revenues a sales tax would generate.<\/p>\n

Under the proposed sales tax increase, however, visitors and tourists would contribute 33% of the prospective revenues, according to the presentation.<\/p>\n

If voters reject a 1% sales tax increase, cuts could occur \u2012 some of which are already occurring \u2012 to a number of programs, she said, including: alcohol detoxification through Axis Health System; ambulance licensee; patrols; rodent and predator control; wildlife education; broadband internet development; or contributions to affordable housing programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are the kinds of things that we are investing in, because it helps health, safety, and welfare and quality of life, and we\u2019re not going to be able to afford it anymore if we don\u2019t get this structural deficit figured out,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Departments could face staff reductions as well. She said the county wants to pay its employees a living wage, which also helps ensure better service to the public. It also needs to offer competitive benefits packages, at a time health care costs are rising.<\/p>\n

Smith, recounting statements he\u2019s heard from residents who say they might support one department\u2019s services but not another\u2019s, said much of the county\u2019s work is interconnected.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn elder abuse case or a child abuse case typically starts with my office or with the Human Services Department and we both have to be involved,\u201d he said. \u201cIf my officers go out on the investigative side, we have to have a place for child placement and all those things. That\u2019s what human services does.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sheriff\u2019s Office vehicles are equipped with defibrillators and deputies often beat paramedics to the scene of a heart attack because they are already out on the road. But if the Road and Bridge department \u2012 which faces an annual budget deficit of about $10 million \u2012 hasn\u2019t plowed the roads because it lacks appropriate funding, neither sheriff\u2019s deputies nor ambulances are going to reach accidents in a timely manner.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t be in a position where we\u2019re picking and choosing what we want the government to do under their statutory, mandated requirements. We have to realize that it all works because it all works together, and that\u2019s what we\u2019ve got to support,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The elected officials said state law prohibits them from using county resources to advocate for or against passing the November ballot measure 1A that proposes the 1% sales tax increase, and they are asking residents to help educate their neighbors about the need for more revenue.<\/p>\n

Salka said a sales tax committee of about 20 members has formed and is ready to deploy where needed to discuss the issue.<\/p>\n

\u201c(We) really need some funds\u201d to pay for mailers, radio ads, yard signs and other campaign materials, he said. \u201c\u2026 What we need is people to become more aware and to reach out to us so we can engage with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The officials encouraged people to visit onecentlaplata.com<\/a> to learn more about the issue and to contact the sales tax committee about opportunities for further discussion.<\/p>\n

cburney@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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