PAGOSA SPRINGS, Colo.-
Archuleta County, one of the fastest-growing areas in the state, has had to take out a $500,000 line of credit from a bank to help pay bills.
The county isn’t broke but is spending more than it is bringing in, said Finance Director Bob Burchett.
“It’s going to be tight for this year,” he told the Durango Herald. “I don’t want to blame anybody. It’s just circumstances.”
The county has already imposed a temporary hiring freeze, limited travel and training, and suspended capital purchases. “It’s an issue of concern, not a crisis. There is no reduction of services to the public. We are not cutting back on our services,” said Bob Campbell, county administrator.
Archuleta is the third-fastest growing county in the state, according to the state Demography Office. While Archuleta remains a rural county, its population doubled between 1989 and 2004 from 5,196 to 11,616. And the population is expected to double again in the next 20 years—a 3.2 to 3.7 percent growth rate.
The county has been late in filing its annual audit to state authorities for the last three fiscal years, including fiscal 2005. As a result, the state froze the county’s ability to use property tax money. Burchett said the latest audit will be filed immediately, which should release the funds.
County officials have been working for years to fix the county’s accounting issues, said County Commissioner Rhonda “Ronnie” Zaday.
Campbell said other issues also are contributing to the shortfall of funds, including sales-tax collections in the first quarter of this year that were about $100,000 less than projected.
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Information from: Durango Herald,
