Garfield County expects to receive $226,979 in National Forest Reserve payments for the year 2020 money this year that will go to local public schools and emergency management services.
The annual allocation to Garfield County represents an increase of $2,717 from the prior year, according to a county press release.
Also referred to as the Secure Rural Schools Act, the federal revenue-sharing program is funded by leases and timber receipts from national forests located within the counties.
According to the release, the fund is designed to benefit local public schools and public county roads that run through national forests. The money can also go toward emergency services, such as search and rescue, law enforcement and fire services.
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.
Glenwood Springs Post Independent
Garfield County commissioners intend to designate restaurants, small retail businesses and gyms as “critical,” in hopes of allowing leeway for them to continue operating at the current levels even under the state’s new Level Red COVID-19 designation for the county.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment on Wednesday advised the county it was being moved to the “Severe Risk,” or Red level on the state dial due to the recent surge in new coronavirus cases and a worrisome trend in new deaths and hospitalizations.
“This … will require the county to implement restrictions across all sectors as defined by the state in its metrics dial,” CDPHE Executive Director Jill Hunsaker Ryan wrote in a letter to the commissioners, Public Health Director Yvonne Long and County Manager Kevin Batchelder.
Garfield County commissioners intend to designate restaurants, small retail businesses and gyms as “critical,” in hopes of allowing leeway for them to continue operating at the current levels even under the state’s new Level Red COVID-19 designation for the county.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment on Wednesday advised the county it was being moved to the “Severe Risk,” or Red level on the state dial due to the recent surge in new coronavirus cases and a worrisome trend in new deaths and hospitalizations.
“This … will require the county to implement restrictions across all sectors as defined by the state in its metrics dial,” CDPHE Executive Director Jill Hunsaker Ryan wrote in a letter to the commissioners, Public Health Director Yvonne Long and County Manager Kevin Batchelder.
State moves Garfield County to Level Red COVID-19 restrictions aspentimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from aspentimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.