County News

By Roger Baker
County Manager

1/27/2005 - Lengthy meetings aren’t necessarily productive ones, as the Gilpin County Commissioners reminded us again last week. We actually had an early start—at 8:30—to go into executive session to receive legal advice. But despite that the meeting went until noon, and a number of issues will have to be brought back again as no resolution was reached.

  There’s nothing particularly significant about the delays, just a recognition that a lot of these issues are very complex, and the Commissioners wanted more information in order to make the best decision possible. After all, staff has been working on one of the items—a policy for the use of Gilpin County facilities by non-county groups and programs—for almost a year, so it makes sense that the Commissioners would want to think about all the potential implications.

  We also postponed a decision on a travel and expense policy for our elected officials, and on the proposed pay plan based on a “compensation survey” approved last year and just completed by the firm of Lee & Burgess. Again, these are very complicated issues, and worth examining carefully.

  Finally, the Commissioners met in an informal work session to discuss issues of fire protection in those areas of the County not in a fire district. As everybody who’s been around here awhile knows, this is a matter which comes up periodically, but doesn’t seem to have any easy or even fair solution. And, not surprisingly, no one came up with any new ones Tuesday.

  Some of these issues will be resolved quickly, some may take months or even years. But that doesn’t mean we’re not trying. It does mean we’re trying to be thorough, prudent, and fair.