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El Paso County adjusts 2022 budget to allocate more money to roads, parks, fire mitigation

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Election Day defeat of a ballot issue that would have increased funding for road repairs and park maintenance has forced the Board of Commissioners to scramble to seek money from other sources.

During a budget hearing at the commissioners' weekly meeting Tuesday, members tentatively approved a one-time additional allocation of $3 million for high-priority road needs -- which will increase next year's amount for road improvements from $11 million to $14 million.

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This summer, a public works survey found that around two-thirds of county roads are in poor or worse condition, with a repair cost estimated by Commissioner Chairman Stan Vanderwerf of "tens of millions of dollars."

Commissioners also agreed to allocate $100,000 for wildfire mitigation in parks, and $75,000 for much-needed parks maintenance projects.

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"We normally get around $200,000 annually for park mitigation but we can always use more," said Todd Marts, the county's executive director of community services. "Especially at parks in areas that are having more development and population."

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To make the money available, commissioners had an extended discussion about changing funding requests from existing departmental budgets.

In addition to work to prevent wildfires, Marts said, some county parks also need to be more accessible to a wide range of users --which will require trail improvements to allow for all-terrain wheelchairs, for example.

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Some commissioners said that not enough money is being spent on road repairs, and expressed concerns about lawsuits from citizens if more improvements aren't made soon.

"I think it's incumbent on us to absolutely show that we have heard our voters loud and clear, and that we need to be taking care of our roads to the greatest extent possible," said Commissioner Carrie Geitner.

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Commissioners also were disappointed to learn that federal funds from the American Recovery Plan Act, or COVID-19 stimulus funds, can't be used for the infrastructure needs mentioned above.

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In three weeks, commissioners are scheduled to finalize and approve the 2022 budget.

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Scott Harrison

Scott is a reporter for KRDO. Learn more about Scott here.

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