By Gail Binkly

A county budget that is approximately $8.1 million higher than last year’s was unanimously approved Monday by the Montezuma County commissioners.

However, the hefty-sounding increase is misleading, explained County Administrator Tom Weaver.

A large portion of that increase — $5.5 million — is the amount budgeted for constructing a new jail, a project that was approved by voters Nov. 2. The entire cost of the jail, which is to be paid for by a 0.45-cent sales tax, was included in the 2000 budget because no one knows exactly how much will be paid off in 2000, Weaver said.

"I don’t know how much we’re going to spend of it, but to spend it, you have to have it there," he said. "So we budgeted the entire amount for 2000, and any we don’t spend will go into the budget for 2001."

Another $2.2 million of the increase comes from a change in the way that social-services spending is billed and reimbursed by the state, Weaver said.

The remaining sum includes an increase of roughly $153,000 in the county’s general fund, $231,000 in the road department’s budget, and smaller amounts in other departments.

The total county budget is $18.97 million, up from $10.86 million in 1999. The county’s total assessed valuation that will be collected in the 2000 budget is $236,854,480, up from $212,878,250 in 1999.

Because of the increase in assessed valuation, the county’s mill levy was lowered from 14.804 mills to 14.255, an action also formally approved by the commissioners Monday.

In other business:

• The board voted 3-0 to implement a fee for applications for high-impact commercial or industrial permits. The fee will be $150 minimum, plus any extra costs the county incurs in processing the application, and will begin in January. The fee will pay for such expenses as publishing public notices about hearings, creating signs, and mailing notices of the proposal to surrounding landowners, said county planner Karen Welch.

• Southwest Memorial Hospital Chief Operating Officer George Brisson and Chief Executive Officer Bob Peterson reported that the hospital’s budget picture appears a little brighter than in past years.

"As you know, we’ll have a loss for the year, but for the quarter ending Sept. 30 we were $280,000 to the good, so I think it’s turning around," said Peterson.

The hospital will put almost $1.5 million into capital projects this year, he said, including funds to contribute to the emergency-room expansion and computer upgrades to deal with the Y2K situation.

For now, no major staff cuts are planned, he said, because the hospital’s two governing boards have indicated they don’t want them. However, if someone quits, that person may not always be replaced, Peterson said.