The Garfield County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) tackled some big issues in four hours on Monday for the first meeting of October, including election logistics, water conservation, AI use by government employees and more. 

All 38,000 ballots for the Nov. 3 general election went out to Garfield County voters on Tuesday, Oct. 6.  And, it’s a big ballot. “For voters, they will receive two cards with questions on all sides,” explained Garfield County Clerk and Recorder Jackie Harmon. “So please look front and back when you receive your ballot.” She added that voters must return the entire ballot.

All 24-hour ballot drop boxes opened Oct. 7 at Carbondale Town Hall, the Garfield County Courthouse in Glenwood Springs, town halls in Silt, New Castle and Parachute and the Garfield County administration building in Rifle.

Harmon said it will cost two stamps to return a ballot by mail and they must be mailed no later than Oct. 26. Early voting centers at the county fairgrounds in Rifle and the Community Center in Glenwood Springs open Oct. 19. Harmon added that 93 election judges are helping out this year due to the size of the ballot. “I feel real confident that we’re ready to go,” she said. More election information is at the Garfield County website on the clerk and recorder’s page.

AI and county budget month

The county is taking a step into the artificial intelligence world by purchasing a 12-month subscription to Madison AI, provided by Carahsoft Technology Corporation, for $40,000. “[Madison AI] will ultimately save a lot of time and effort and provide a lot of assistance on research and providing reports,” said Gary Noffsinger, county IT director. According to the budget request, the subscription gives the Community Development department “its own Knowledge AI Assistant for zoning research, code lookup and report writing.” All county staff will have an AI assistant for staff reports and research. The funding is a supplement to the 2026 county IT budget. 

Speaking of budgets, October is county budget month. County Finance Manager Jamaica Watts and Budget Manager Shari Neuroth were on hand Monday to present an overview of the projected 2027 budget. Proposed total 2027 revenues are $125.9 million; proposed expenditures are $136.4 million. Fourteen positions countywide remain frozen and unfunded for 2027. Proposed capital and discretionary requests will draw down the fund balance by $9.7 million. The budget has several hearings to go before the final approval in November.   

Water, water (not) everywhere

Representatives of the Colorado River Water Conservation District (CRWCD) presented a detailed update about West Slope water, Shoshone water rights and more. Taking a look at water conservation proportionality, Lindsay DeFrates, CRWCD public information officer, later told The Sun that the CRWCD believes that proportionality is critical as the state investigates how to implement the Contribution Program, which allocates Colorado’s share of federal money awarded to the Upper Basin states to conserve water. “It will pay people to use less water,” she said. 

At Monday’s meeting, CRWCD General Manager Andy Mueller expressed concern regarding the disproportionate impact of water conservation on western Colorado agriculture. “If you don’t have state laws requiring proportionality from all Colorado River users, meaning the Front Range as well, all of that water not only comes off the West Slope, it comes out of West Slope [agriculture],” he said.

Colorado’s conservation goal is 100,000 acre-feet of water. “If all of that comes out of West Slope [agriculture], that’s a big hit to our local economies, to our small towns, to our agricultural industry, and it may be just the beginning of what we view as a permanent program,” Mueller added. 

As for the Shoshone water rights issue, CRWCD’s Strategy Chief Amy Moyer told the BOCC that the purchase price is $99 million and all but $1.6 million has been raised from the CRWCD, the federal government and state and local governments, including $3 million from Garfield County. “Our plan is to continue working with communities up and down the river,” Moyer said. “But we may want to sit down with you as we look to close that $1.6 million gap.”  

In other news … 

Garfield County Clean Energy put in a request for $150,000 annual funding, to be included in the 2027 county budget decision later this month. “People look at Garfield Clean Energy and say ‘Well, this is a climate change thing’ but that has not been the case,” Commission Chair Tom Jankovsky said. “It has been about our energy portfolio. It’s been about energy savings for our citizens and it’s been about economic development.”

The BOCC approved $600,000 for the Parachute MOVES project and disbursement of $200,000 from the county’s 2026 discretionary fund for the Parachute Area Transportation System (PATS). For six years, PATS has provided regular, fixed-route bus service between Battlement Mesa and Rifle. Now, a pilot, on-demand service is available in Parachute and Rifle by app or phone for one dollar per ride. The program will be evaluated in 2027 for future use.   

The BOCC renewed a two-year lease with Gene’s Lock and Key in downtown Glenwood Springs.