With so much grumbling about Summit County property taxes, some might want to try the DOGE chainsaw approach to reducing government spending. What if county government stopped plowing the roads and sold all the plows? No more unnecessary expense each winter for fuel and labor. Sure, it will be inconvenient for those driving small cars with bald tires, but don’t most of us have SUVs? And the snow always melts eventually.

Actually, all Colorado counties must plow and maintain roads by state statute. State laws also require the 64 counties to provide law enforcement, jail facilities, public health services, weed control, conduct elections and much more. All these mandated services put constraints on the ability of county government to reduce spending. 

Another significant required expenditure for Summit County that was approved by voters in 2018 is Strong Future, which makes up 24% of the 2025 general fund budget. This program supports wildfire mitigation, recycling, mental health, early childhood programs and capital improvements to public facilities. These expenditures contribute to our quality of life, but they also place a burden on property owners and cause Summit County to be less affordable. When Strong Future expires in 2028, I suggest that any extension be downsized to retain only the most essential expenditures of the fund and have a reduced mill tax levy.

There were two letters in April in the Summit Daily discussing opposing views about expenses for the Summit County Sheriff’s Office. Matt Svoboda points out how the public safety budget has increased much faster than that of other county departments over the past nine years, and how we must consider all the other important concerns of county government at a time of tight budgets. In an equally thoughtful letter, Sheriff Jaime FitzSimons discusses how the many functions of the Sheriff’s Office contribute to the safety and well-being of the community. Because both views are valid, the voters and county commissioners face tough choices.

The Sheriff’s Office will receive $848,344 in Strong Future mental health funding in 2025 for its SMART program. SMART is an effective innovation that enhances community safety, reduces costs for jails and emergency medical care and connects people with services for mental illness. It is also expensive. A balance will need to be found between this useful program and rising taxes. With a recession a very real possibility, all county managers will be put to the test in making the most of less money. 

Summit County can have a daily influx of tens of thousands of tourists which requires the expense of providing additional infrastructure, law enforcement and other public services. There is currently a 2% county lodging tax that helps defray these extra costs. The Colorado legislature recently raised the upper limit of this lodging tax to 6%. I hope Summit County government will only raise our lodging tax as a last resort. It will be tempting to collect this extra revenue from the tourists, but making a Summit vacation more expensive will result in some people choosing to vacation elsewhere. 

A tactic for balancing the budget in recent years has been to put off road maintenance. However, this can only be done for so long before people start getting annoyed by their shaking Subaru, thus we have a larger road reconstruction bill of $10.8 million for 2025.

The county is able to save money by making use of nonprofits to provide services instead of adding new county departments and personnel. For example, $387,000 in Strong Future funds will go to the Family & Intercultural Resource Center this year for their mental health services. Family & Intercultural Resource Center also receives county funds that go toward the food pantry and for emergency rent assistance, which lessens the burden on public social services and helps maintain a more stable workforce in the county.

The new federal administration is being penny-wise and dollar-foolish by getting rid of inspectors general who are there to expose waste and fraud, but Summit County government encourages scrutiny by taxpayers. The Citizens Budget Advisory Committee was formed in 2021 to advise the commissioners, voicing the priorities of citizens and helping to promote effective government. For example, the committee made recommendations to the county commissioners for reducing funding to the Sheriff’s Office at a May 6 county meeting.

It is said that creating government policy is like making sausage. If you really want to understand this messy but important process, come see it live. Meeting dates can be found on the Summit County Government website along with the 2025 budget at SummitCountyCo.gov.

Enjoy the spirited debate!

Paul Olson’s column “A Friendly Conservative” publishes biweekly on Tuesdays in the Summit Daily News. Olson has lived in Breckenridge since 1995. Semiretired, he works at REI in Dillon and enjoys snowboarding, Nordic skiing and hiking. Contact him at pobreck@gmail.com.