Budget lobbying still allowed

By Dan MacArthur
Correspondent

County elected officials still will be free to spend public money lobbying for bigger budgets.

Larimer County Commissioners on Aug. 24 rejected a proposal by Commissioner Glenn Gibson to prohibit other elected officials from using departmental resources to influence public opinion.

The move came in response to a provocative letter distributed at the county fair signed by Sheriff Jim Alderden. That letter prompted Gibson to contact the coroner's office to determine whether the sheriff could be arrested should he refuse to stop its distribution. The coroner has such arrest powers under state law.

The two-page letter detailed the department's budgetary woes and charged that funding for the department had not increased as promised when voters agreed that the county could retain tax revenues in excess of what was allowed under the Taxpayers' Bill of Rights.

"Specifically, the increased funds were promised to address the severe understaffing in patrol and investigations. This hasn't occurred," the letter stated. It urged citizens to contact the county commissioners or write letters to the editor.

Gibson argued that the prohibition was needed to "level the playing field." Otherwise, he said, departments headed by elected officials could use unlimited resources to gain an advantage over those with no independent advocates in competing for budget dollars.

But Commissioners Kathay Rennels and Tom Bender contended it was not the commissioners job to "micromanage" other departments. They insisted that other elected officials instead are ultimately accountable to the voters for their actions.

"You can't manage their behavior," said Rennels.