BOCC: A New County Manager Position–
More Bureaucracy?
Paper of Record Craziness

by George Gramlich, News and Commentary
The November 30, 2022 Custer County Board of County Commissioners meeting started promptly at 9 a.m. with all three mighty musketeers present: Chair Kevin Day, and members Tom Flower and Bill Canda.
After the three musketeers enthralled us with all the meetings they went to since the last muskie talk show, the first item up was Accounts Payable and Out of Cycle Checks. After some rumination, these were both ok’d.
A Hotel and Restaurant Liquor License for the San Isabel Lodge was then approved.
Next up was the controversial proposed new County Manager (CM) position. Day opened with “I see a need for this.” He said the muskies would need a “good, accurate job description” and the position would change some of the “structure” that currently exists in “some of our departments.”
Canda then asked Day if he had a salary in mind. Then Canda asked, “ How can we vote on it if we don’t have a description of the job?” He then stated we don’t want to have a Nancy Pelosi type situation here where we have to vote on it to find out what is in it. (This caused some chuckles from the peasants.) Day responded with “there are a lot of details to be worked out” and that the “transition would be in April.”
Canda then asked, “How do we pay for it?” Day kind of didn’t
answer that question.
The Flower Power Hour was next. He croaked, “From a high elevation I hope we can spend some meaningful time about it.” “We need to get it fleshed out.” “I don’t have a particular time line about implementing this position.” Flower then outlined some pro’s and con’s about having this new position:
Cons: the appearance of adding another layer of government or
authority. (It is not “appearance”, it IS adding another layer.)
• If we hire somebody and it isn’t the right person that is going to be a problem.
• If we do this it looks like the commissioners are not doing their job. (Duh.)
• The BOCC would be giving up a lot of authority.
• There would be some “restructuring” in some departments.
Pros: The muskies would have somebody who could conduct day to day operations of the county.
• The position would add an “accountability layer” to departments and county employees.
• The county would have a “better chain of authority.” (It’s called bureaucracy.)
• Create more “direct decision making.”
• The budget process would be “tied” to the CM.
• The position could “serve as a grant administrator.”
• It would help with “continuity” with new commissioners.
• The CM would be responsible for training.
Canda then stated he was
“adamantly opposed to it.” Canda then said that the muskies are paid a ton of money to run the county and that paying big bucks to somebody to do their job didn’t make much sense. He went on to basically say that the county would be better
off with some good leadership training at various levels and that there is a local citizen who has a leadership training company that was willing to come in and help. He said, “With proper leadership training our current employees can do what needs to be done.” (Amen.)
Canda then segues a bit and said, “The answer is sitting behind the computer right there.” Canda is looking at the BOCC Administrator, Jennifer Kreigh, He goes on about the great job she is
doing and she could handle additional tasks. He finished with if we vote on it today I am going to say “no.”
Now it was Day’s turn again. He said, “We need somebody to make day to day decisions.” He said the “BOCC process takes a very long time to make simple decisions.” He noted that if the county had someone with authority to make those decisions the county would run more efficiently.
Flower then asked Finance guru Director Braden Wilson to take the hot seat in front of the royal throne. Flower than asked Wilson, “Is the money there?” Wilson said to hire a new person at $90K per year the total cost to the county would be about $117K with benefits. Flower asked Wilson “Can we afford it next year?” Wilson then did some word salad dancing talking about “perceived value” and other esoteric considerations.
Flower then said he talked to some people in Huerfano County and they have a CM and they are paying that person $90K a year. He said part of the duties for their CM is that he has to bring in $3 million in grants every year or he is out the door.
Citizen Jimmy McMahon then spoke up and said, “The public needs to comment on this.” He said, “throwing another layer on it does not sound like the answer.” He then said, “Stream-
lining is the answer.” (Here is a working man telling the bureaucrats how the real world works when it is YOUR money and not somebody else’s.)
Day, finally, said “We need a workshop to hash out some of this.” There then is a big talkfest about when to have the workshop. (Flower wants to ram this through today. Canda wants to wait and spend quality time on it. It looked like Day wanted to do it today but has changed his mind.) Canda says he is booked up in December and wants to workshop in January. Cagey Flower then said he wants to earmark “a salary figure this year” so there won’t be any money issues next year if they go forward with getting a CM. Canda responded with we can “move money around next year”. And, “Let’s define the animal we are building here” before we throw money at it.
Citizen McMahon then speaks truth stuff, “It sounds like you are hiring somebody to do your job.” Flower then made a motion to earmark $75k during the upcoming budget sessions for the job. Bad Flower then gets all arrogant and bossy saying that nobody knows how to run the county better than the three muskies (obviously wrong) and he will listen to public comment (How nice of him to let us peasants talk about how we would want our tax dollars spent.) But this is a county commissioner decision and “not a public vote.”
Wilson then piped up and said that they can use money from some LATCF grant to pay for it next year. Flower then made a motion to earmark $75k for salary for the CM position. He and Day vote aye and Canda voted nay. It passed.
The muskies then approved the 2023 County Fees that contained various rate
increases.
Next up was the Selection Process discussion for the County’s 2023 Paper of Record (POR). Flower piped up with he wants to the POR to be made by sealed bids. Day said he talked to the county attorney and the CTSI folks and said that the county does not have to have a POR and the various county elected officials/department heads can each contract with one of the two local papers to do it.
Canda responded with the county does not have to bid for a POR they can just choose one. Day then asks if we don’t have a POR can we solicit bids for the departments and then let them make the call. Flower doesn’t like this. It is too complicated. This goes on and on. (Basically, Day wants to NOT have to choose a POR with all the hoopla going around with the Tribune suing the county about last year’s choice of The Sentinel. Canda wants to The Sentinel. Bad Tommy wants the Trib as he hates The Sentinel because we make fun of him.)
Canda and Flower go at it for a bit with Canda saying “quality” and “per-formance” are vital factors (pro Sentinel) and Flower saying price and quantity are the key.
Finally, the motion to not choose a POR but get bids for the departments is voted on. Canda and Day vote “aye” and Flower voted “nay”. It passes.
This leaves the county with a future workshop sometime in January on creating a County Manager position. And, no more county ‘paper of record’.
Another day in Happy Valley….there is a local citizen who has a leadership training company that was willing to come in and help. He said, “With proper leadership training our current employees can do what needs to be done.” (Amen.)
Canda then segues a bit and said, “The answer is sitting behind the computer right there.” Canda is looking at the BOCC Administrator, Jennifer Kreigh, He goes on about the great job she is
doing and she could handle additional tasks. He finished with if we vote on it today I am going to say “no.”
Now it was Day’s turn again. He said, “We need somebody to make day to day decisions.” He said the “BOCC process takes a very long time to make simple decisions.” He noted that if the county had someone with authority to make those decisions the county would run more efficiently.
Flower then asked Finance guru Director Braden Wilson to take the hot seat in front of the royal throne. Flower than asked Wilson, “Is the money there?” Wilson said to hire a new person at $90K per year the total cost to the county would be about $117K with benefits. Flower asked Wilson “Can we afford it next year?” Wilson then did some word salad dancing talking about “perceived value” and other esoteric considerations.
Flower then said he talked to some people in Huerfano County and they have a CM and they are paying that person $90K a year. He said part of the duties for their CM is that he has to bring in $3 million in grants every year or he is out the door.
Citizen Jimmy McMahon then spoke up and said, “The public needs to comment on this.” He said, “throwing another layer on it does not sound like the answer.” He then said, “Stream-
lining is the answer.” (Here is a working man telling the bureaucrats how the real world works when it is YOUR money and not somebody else’s.)
Day, finally, said “We need a workshop to hash out some of this.” There then is a big talkfest about when to have the workshop. (Flower wants to ram this through today. Canda wants to wait and spend quality time on it. It looked like Day wanted to do it today but has changed his mind.) Canda says he is booked up in December and wants to workshop in January. Cagey Flower then said he wants to earmark “a salary figure this year” so there won’t be any money issues next year if they go forward with getting a CM. Canda responded with we can “move money around next year”. And, “Let’s define the animal we are building here” before we throw money at it.
Citizen McMahon then speaks truth stuff, “It sounds like you are hiring somebody to do your job.” Flower then made a motion to earmark $75k during the upcoming budget sessions for the job. Bad Flower then gets all arrogant and bossy saying that nobody knows how to run the county better than the three muskies (obviously wrong) and he will listen to public comment (How nice of him to let us peasants talk about how we would want our tax dollars spent.) But this is a county commissioner decision and “not a public vote.”
Wilson then piped up and said that they can use money from some LATCF grant to pay for it next year. Flower then made a motion to earmark $75k for salary for the CM position. He and Day vote aye and Canda voted nay. It passed.
The muskies then approved the 2023 County Fees that contained various rate increases.
Next up was the Selection Process discussion for the County’s 2023 Paper of Record (POR). Flower piped up with he wants to the POR to be made by sealed bids. Day said he talked to the county attorney and the CTSI folks and said that the county does not have to have a POR and the various county elected officials/department heads can each contract with one of the two local papers to do it.
Canda responded with the county does not have to bid for a POR they can just choose one. Day then asks if we don’t have a POR can we solicit bids for the departments and then let them make the call. Flower doesn’t like this. It is too complicated. This goes on and on. (Basically, Day wants to NOT have to choose a POR with all the hoopla going around with the Tribune suing the county about last year’s choice of The Sentinel. Canda wants to The Sentinel. Bad Tommy wants the Trib as he hates The Sentinel because we make fun of him.)
Canda and Flower go at it for a bit with Canda saying “quality” and “performance” are vital factors (pro Sentinel) and Flower saying price and quantity are the key.
Finally, the motion to not choose a POR but get bids for the departments is voted on. Canda and Day vote “aye” and Flower voted “nay”. It passes.
This leaves the county with a future workshop sometime in January on creating a County Manager position. And, no more county ‘paper of record’.
Another day in Happy Valley….