At a recent meeting, Grand County Commissioner James Newberry bragged about the nearly $14 million dollars in the County's coffers. He went on to tell the crowd how $9 million dollars of that money was discretionary, and could partly be pledged to help bail out the two school districts in the county.
From what I understand, the large amount of reserves on the County's books came about as a voter-approved permanent extension to a tax increase to build a new facility way back in 1999. After the facility was bought and paid for, the money kept rolling in, and the county has been clinging tightly to it ever since.
Commissioner Newberry made it seem like that money is just sitting there, burning a hole in the county's pocket, so I have a proposal. We have roughly 12,000 residents in Grand County. If you were to divide that $9 million dollars up, we'd each receive a nice fat $750 dollar payment. A family of four would receive $3000! I know my family could use the money, and since the County doesn't mind giving it away, they should contact me for my bank details.
In the future, since the tax is still intact, we could all continue to receive a nice yearly payout. Or the Commissioner could be less flippant with taxpayer dollars.
Want to send Mr. Newberry your opinion in this regard? Just e-mail him by clicking this link.
I believe the money was the savings from building the new County Court House. Lord knows the jail is a mess and the sheriff had to beg borrow and steal to get new locks (like they aren't important in a jail).
ReplyDeleteLike everything else a government or pseudo government agency builds lately, the court house is a Taj Mahal. The libraries are way over built, not well built, just large. The Granby Town Hall/Police Station is a monster, and evidently so uncomfortable that the police have to hang out at the High School.
Grand County has lost its center and needs new leaders throughout!
"Grand County has lost its center and needs new leaders throughout!" -- Can't say I disagree with you.
ReplyDelete