Understanding local government

STEAMBOAT PILOT & TODAY

By understanding how local governments work, residents can learn how best to get involved in the decision-making processes that affect their lives.

Like all of Colorado’s 63 counties, Routt County is an arm of the state and so is designed to help administer state law and to provide for local self-government.

It’s the county’s job to oversee public safety, zoning, building regulation, welfare, health, road and bridges, hospitals, highways, justice and more. The county is also responsible for administering and collecting the mill levy for its special districts, which then provide services such as water and sanitation, libraries and fire protection.

Routt County has a three-member board of county commissioners who are in charge of the county activities that aren’t done by other elected county officials, such as the sheriff and the clerk. The three commissioners include Republicans Dan Ellison and Nancy Stahoviak and Democrat Doug Monger.

The commissioners set Routt County’s property tax rate. They also oversee the county budget. Members of the board serve four-year terms and can run as many times as they wish, as Routt County recently eliminated term limits.

The board appoints a county manager, as well as members of other boards such as the Planning Commission, which helps regulate building and zone development. The board also appoints department heads, such as the personnel director, the road and bridge director, the environmental health director and the planning director.

Besides the county commissioners, elected county officials include the sheriff, the clerk and recorder, the coroner, the treasurer, the tax assessor-collector and the surveyor.

Each incorporated city and town in Routt County has some form of local government. Unincorporated places, such as Milner, which sits just west of Steamboat Springs, do not have local government.

In Steamboat Springs, residents elect a seven-member city council. Officials represent one of three districts in the city. One member is elected by the council to serve as the council president. The current council president is Paul Strong. Other council members include Loui Antonucci, Kathy Connell, Ken Brenner, Susan Dellinger, Nancy Kramer and Steve Ivancie.

The City Council oversees City Manager Paul Hughes. City departments include finance, public safety, public works, transportation and parks and recreation. There is also a city attorney who gives legal guidance to the council.

Most of the city’s funding comes from sales taxes and building use fees.

Steamboat Springs is also under home rule and so is guided mostly by its home-rule charter. That means the city has more flexibility to make its own statutes than other cities that have a statutory government.

Towns such as Hayden and Oak Creek have different forms of government than cities such as Steamboat Springs have. Both Hayden and Oak Creek are governed by town boards. Each board is made up of six trustees, who serve four-year terms, and a mayor, who serves a two-year term.

Both towns have their own police, public works and planning departments. Hayden has a town manager. Oak Creek does not.

The county’s three school districts - Steamboat Springs, Hayden and South Routt - are governed by locally elected school boards. The school boards oversee district superintendents and budgets. All three school districts are funded by a combination of state revenues determined by enrollment formula and local property taxes.

All Colorado residents should be aware of the laws that make it possible for them to be involved in government. The Open Meetings Law specifies that state and local public bodies cannot make decisions in secrecy, which means meetings in which decisions are made must be open to the public. The Open Records Act generally says that anyone can look at any public record, with some exceptions, such as law investigations or employment exams.