Clear Creek County
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CLEAR CREEK COUNTY PUBLIC SAFETY BUDGET UPDATE

To maintain service levels, the County must find new sources of funding for its public safety agencies.

The county has an estimated 5-year operating deficit of approximately $19 million to fund its anticipated levels of public safety services. As revenue from both property and sales tax has declined, the county has made significant adjustments to its expenditures to prioritize public safety over nonemergency county services. Budget reductions to help maintain public safety services include:

  • Reducing the county’s overall workforce from 228 full-time positions in 2015 to 193 positions currently. During that time period, the county has added two additional services—CCHAT and transit. CCHAT is a primary service that must be funded by the county but is currently 100 percent reliant upon grant funds.

  • Reducing non-emergency staff to 32-hour work weeks and closing county offices on Fridays, while still maintaining staffing for public safety, transit, road maintenance and snow removal.

  • Deferring major facility maintenance and capital constructions needs.

Clear Creek County is committed to keeping our community safe, but that has significant impacts on the county’s budget.

Three challenges face the budget right now:

  • Utilizing a total of $1.15 million this year—$600,000 from the General Fund for the Sheriff’s Office and $550,000 from the ambulance fund for EMS—to backfill operations for these services that are not being paid by visitors—whose burden is felt greatest in these departments.

    • Spending these funds leaves the county without reserves and reduces the county’s ability to respond to a large emergency or natural disaster.

  • Facing an annualized capital deferment of $250,000 in unmet capital needs, including investments in the jail, vehicles and equipment for the Sheriff’s Office. Without addressing the county’s revenue, this backlog will only get worse.

  • Depending on grant funding for public safety operations, including $513,000 for CCHAT and approximately $100,000 for EMS. Although grants provide non-tax revenue for county services, they are unpredictable and typically subject to annual awards and changes in priorities by the funding agencies. The county should not depend on funding core services through dollars that are not reliable.

Without new funding to maintain current service levels and address immediate needs for the Sheriff’s Office and EMS, response times for emergencies may have to increase, which will be detrimental to the health and safety of Clear Creek County residents and visitors.

Providing Emergency Service along Highways and to Visitors:

  • By state law, counties and local governments are required to provide emergency services along U.S. interstates and highways and state highways, including I-70 and U.S. 6 and U.S. 40 in Clear Creek County.

  • Calls along these corridors come through 911 and the appropriate agency is dispatched to provide service.

  • Clear Creek County, Clear Creek County EMS and Clear Creek Fire Authority do not receive compensation from the state to provide service.