Garfield County’s “rainy day” reserve funds, as Glenwood Springs Mayor Jonathan Godes referred to them this week, might best be described as a chance for isolated cloudbursts here and there.
While it’s true that Garfield County government is sitting on a projected $81.8 million in reserves come the end of 2021, County Manager Kevin Batchelder said it’s important to point out that the vast majority of those funds are committed for very specific purposes.
From $43,408 sitting sitting in a special “livestock auction fund” to $16.5 million in the county’s “oil and gas mitigation fund,” most of that unallocated money is either restricted in its use by law, or committed by resolution of the county commissioners, Batchelder explained.