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Show around the bend AGAIN, i. SAN JUAN COUNTY ATTORNEY AND LEGAL SERVICES The County Attorney's office is to gain $114,500. This is slightly lower than the 1997 budget and seems about right With so many problems on the horizon it may even be a low figure. Admittedly, County Attorney Craig Halls needs more help or he needs to enter the e. His work load is increasing dramatically. fray The legal fees, a separate account, shows a budget for the new year of $100,000. This compares to a budget in 1996 of only $23,033. What has happened here? It's obvious. The county has entered a number of environmental battles. In the past, the endangered condors raised their ugly heads; a condor invasion threatened. San Juan County, in a kind of silly "chicken-little- " reaction, rushed to court to quell the invasion. And just as hist was kind of laughed out of court. Now comes similar legal and court struggles concerning primitive trails and cow tracks. And the ever-goin-g brawls over wilderness continues to fill lawyers' pockets. And increasing civil rights and social justice issues are on the agenda. Onward, onward into battle, we go! Costs will zoom upward skyrocket even more. The local school district's experience with high legal bills should have taught these commissioners something. Civil rights and social justice and environmental concerns can not long be neglected or ignored. Again it's commissioners Lewis and Redd tilting at windmills while the legal bills steadily increase and poor people suffer. full-tim- ever-increasin- COUNTY By Ken Sleight BUDGETING IN SAN JUAN COUNTY: THE REALLY LAME STORY Rally to the flag. The annual budget hearing by the San Juan Commission was held on December 1, 1997. Pretty the meeting lasted only about an hour, and it showed who holds the purse strings. A mere handful of citizens, other than representatives of varied county offices, attended. Overall, the Commission didn't ask for any more than in 1997. Revenues were estimated at $6,335,056 and expenditures at $6,335,056. A balanced budget (Better than our federal government can do). But with this little dollar budget, there are other pertinent factors. Let's examine a few: cut-and-dri- six-milli- on REVENUE SOURCES The Commission is quite sure that the county will have a better year, in spite of its anxiety concerning wilderness designation matters and other federal actions. Supposedly sales taxes, property taxes, and transient room taxes (taxes imposed on our tourist friends) will all rise. HALLS CROSSING AIRPORT The Halls Crossing Airport (Cal Black Memorial Airport) endured a verbal scrutiny at the budget hearing. Since the county took over the isolated airport in 1994, there has been a yearly and constant drain on county coffers. Another $30,900 has been earmarked to keep the "white elephant" running. $5,000 of this is for fuel to keep the generators gping for the operator. And no money has been forthcoming to the county from the operations. Totally subsidized, their initial gambit is not paying off. I asked the Commission for the full financial picture; a balance-typ- e of thing was on my mind. The Commission didn't have it, but the budget figures show the following expenditures for each of the years of operation: 1994 1995 $31,963 115,350 1996 1997 est. 31,800 20,871 Asked how much longer this subsidization was to go on. Chairman Lewis indicated the commission would keep the airport running in spite of the cost. This, even though other special human needs are apparent in the county, essential needs that are not being fulfilled. In addition, the airport operator has apparently entered the business at the which the it even sanctions This item no income. airport, county obviously though produces is excluded from the budget figures. boat-stora- ge BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS The Board of Commissioners set itself a tidy sum: $125,000. This is about $17,000 above the 19 level The increase is predictable as the commissioners seem to be traveling more and spending more for hotels, meals, and related travel expenses. Trips for appropriate purposes are of course OK and even encouraged. Even enjoying themselves is certainly warranted. But it's the other things, the activities, that certain of the commissioners do on these tours that worry me; it's who they lobby and for what they lobby. behind-the-scen- SHERIFFS DEPARTMENT The Sheriffs Department is to get $443,597. The 1996 budget was only $31229. A dramatic increase indeed; the more for Commissioner Redd to send deputies after "environmental extremists" who block road graders, I suppose. But that aside, the increase seems to be warranted as we are in a period of great adjustments. Tourism and social upheaval won't come cheap or easy. TRANSIENT ROOM TAXES Transient room taxes are synonymous with tourism. Fleecing our tourist friends is a built-i- n scheme to build up our financial resources at their expense Most nations, states, cities, and communities do it, so it must be OK. Regrettably, the lodging industry has been assigned the dastardly deed of tax collection. From this collection, the County is to gain an estimated $280,000 for 1998. The County Commission skims up to a third of this amount off the top. $90,000 has been so designated for the Commission's own pet projects. Just where it spends the money is anyone's guess, but supposedly the funds need to be related to tourism. So $176,937 is dibbied down to the Travel Council board set up to promote tourism to help fill motel rooms that go begging much of the year. Where the rest of the funds go, I don't know. The problem is that the Travel Council spends most of the funds it gets in the northern part of the county. The Indian peoples to the south get little of it. It ought to be an equal deal, but it ain't. It's a matter of prejudice with the poor people again taking it in the chops. Surely an ass backwards plan. And the Commission could give its own siphoned amount ($90,000) to the people to the south for business promotion if it would, but I don't think the majority (Lewis and Redd) of the Commission are ready. They're not near ready, in my opinion, to atone for past discriminations and neglect of theft's and former Commissions. Now that a Mormon temple is to be built in Monticello, perhaps the northern folk "can charitably spare a dime" to those of the south. That announcement of a temple was welcomed, and as a member of that faith, I too am happy to see Monticello so recognized. It will indeed, in addition to addressing spiritual needs, be a great economic boost In the north of the county. So now that both of these needs are seemingly met in the north, maybe it's only proper to concentrate first on the money needs of our poorer people to the south and to respect their basic right to the money. Then the full satisfaction of spiritual needs for all might logically follow. ROAD DEPARTMENT Trying to figure out road funding is complicated as hell Revenue budget projections show funds for 1998 at $3,205,000. Expenditures are listed at $2,760,000. So where did the difference go? As it's difficult for me to digest at this writing. I put it in the "too hard" basket. Another time. ad There. Now that I've hopefully pissed off the whole establishment, I feel somewhat better. I'll go have a beer. NEXT ISSUE: Ken remembers Edna Fridley. es Is it right to spend our scarce funds on lobbying efforts to fight against the condor release in Arizona? Or to attend causes across the country and lobby to nuclear waste to San to promote the blading of roads into Or Juan heavy bring County? beautiful and sacred lands that have never seen a road grader? These things are not OK. I do have deep concerns about their spending our public monies to desecrate our lands and to further their radical-rigand personal agendas. This, at a time when we have so many other urgent and compelling needs and when many of our people don't ascribe to their agenda. IGHORN Salt Lake Canyonlands SHUTTLE SERVICE ht ITS GETTING CRAZIER! They're tearing apart -1 PLANNING AND PERSONNEL Often the county planning specialist, Ed Sherick, campaigns and lobbies for causes at the behest of the majority of the Commission. One would imagine a planning specialist would look toward a more limited but specialized planning endeavor. His department budget - $106,671 - exceeds the 19 level by about $45,000. of the Board of His position apparently is a simple extension, puppet-lik- e, Commissioners who oversees and controls his operations. A former area manager of BLM, Sherick is a paid part-tim- e lobbyist, pure and simple. aide). He's to gamer $3000 for travel and Salaries are $45,9 (for himself and a part-tim- e It's this Services." "other' that is bothersome. Look for him to "Other under $25,800 listed cmHniiP spreading dogma with these funds under the thumbs of Commissioners Lewis and Redd. far-rig- ht 5 faster than you can scream Let us do the driving. "GRIDLOCK!1 (daily scheduled shuttles between Moab & Salt Lake airport) Fools ! You Fools! SUBSCRIBE TO THE ZEPHYR NOW. You Dcatails on page 3 |
