Craig Daily Press

After completing a performance audit of Moffat County, a financial analyst found 32 ways county government could improve.

Among the recommendations, the analyst advised the county commissioners to hire a county administrator and public works director, support the creation of a Moffat County Library District and hire a research firm to survey county residents' attitudes toward county performance.

Geoff Withers of Policy Research Associates in Parker delivered the recommendations to the commissioners during a meeting Monday.

Only Commissioner Marianna Raftopoulos voiced support for hiring a county administrator, and Commissioner Darryl Steele said he disagreed with "a portion" of Withers' recommendations. But Commissioner Les Hampton said he would be disappointed if the final report was left on the shelf unheeded.

During his audit of Moffat County, Withers said he determined it had been virtually impossible for the commissioners to objectively balance the 2004 budget with their management structure. He said hiring a county administrator to manage the county's administrative details would help the county weather budget shortfalls in the future.

During her eight years in office, Raftopoulos said the commissioners have considered hiring a county administrator but always failed to do so for a variety of reasons.

"Every commissioner has been afraid of a county administrator and public works director. They don't think the citizens want that," she said.

But 44 counties in Colorado have county administrators and most of the other counties have someone who functions as a county administrator, Withers said.

"Most counties who have had one for a few years don't get rid of it," he said.

Another difference that separates Moffat County from other counties is its support of unessential services, such as the library and parks and recreation.

"It's not to say it's bad ... but it's a question of priorities. There are some things the county has to do by law and some things it doesn't," Withers said.

He advised the commissioners to support the creation of a library district, a parks and recreation district and a pest control district, each of which would collect taxes.

The commissioners intend to discuss creating a mosquito control area at today's meeting, and the Moffat County Library Board has discussed becoming its own tax district in the past months. The creation of a library district could save the county $459,000, Withers estimated. The creation of a pest management district could save the county $385,578.

Steele agreed it was a good idea to create new tax districts for some county services but asked Withers how he would approach taxpayers to request support for the creation of these districts and avoid slamming county residents with lots of new taxes at one time. Withers couldn't advise the commissioners on the question.

Withers said resident support of county actions is vital to the county's success.

"The citizens are the only ones who can evaluate the performance of Moffat County. They are the only ones who matter," Withers said.

Hampton suggested creating a list of the "top 100" county residents, people who are respected and active in the community. The county's plans and actions would be mailed to these people, who could tell their neighbors what the county is doing and send feedback to the commissioners.

The commissioners hired Withers to perform the audit as a condition of a $545,000 grant the county received from the state Department of Local Affairs. The cost of the audit, $30,455, was paid through that grant.

Rob Gebhart can be reached at 824-7031 or rgebhart@craigdailypress.com.