County told SNAP cost share could reach $488,000

Montezuma County could be asked to pick up as much as $488,000 of the cost of federal food assistance, the county’s human services director told commissioners Monday — or nothing at all, depending on which way Congress and the state go.

Graphic: Cortez Current. Source: Montezuma County Board of Social Services and workshop, September 28, 2026

Speaking to the Board of County Commissioners sitting as the Board of Social Services, the director said counties have been given four scenarios for a SNAP cost share. In two of them the county’s share is zero. In a third it is about $188,000, and in the fourth about $488,000. The director recommended the county not budget for it until the federal farm bill, which carries the change, is settled — likely at the end of this year or the beginning of next — and then make budget amendments early in the year if the cost lands on counties.

Commissioners and the director discussed the payment error rate that drives the cost share. The director said only the state’s overall error rate is statistically significant, so individual county rates cannot be used, and that most of the state’s caseload sits in its largest counties. The director said Montezuma County joined a state pilot, one of 19 counties, that uses software to flag high-risk cases for review, and that staff report it is catching real errors.

The director also updated commissioners on the state’s plan to group county human services departments into regional “cohorts” under a state shared-services law that requires counties to share three functions: a call center, quality assurance and security administration. The director said the county supports a six-region map matching the existing service areas, which would put Mesa County — the only county in southwest Colorado with a call center — in the same region. A plan is due in January.

Board of Social Services actions

The board approved the minutes of its August 24 meeting and about $1.4 million in August payables, and approved a contract amendment with the Colorado Department of Human Services’ Office of Economic Security. The amendment’s dollar figure was not clear on the recording and is not reported here.

A deputy for Dolores

At the workshop that followed, Interim County Administrator Travis Anderson told commissioners the county is offering the Town of Dolores the same law enforcement contract it has now for another year, funding one full-time deputy position. He said the contract funded two positions in an earlier year. Commissioners said Dolores had discussed wanting a part-time, 20-hour-a-week deputy instead, and that the county cannot cover the difference because equipment, liability and insurance costs do not fall with the hours. County Attorney Stephen Tarnowski said the language came from the town’s own resolution list and that only the dates were changed. No vote was taken, and commissioners said the town may not take the item up until its October meeting.

E911 board

Sitting as the E911 board, commissioners approved minutes from a July 7 special meeting and a June 15 regular meeting, then reviewed a draft 2027 budget. Staff told the board the county’s $85,000 annual contribution could be raised to help offset rising dispatch fees for all the users of the center — the county, the City of Cortez, the hospital and Cortez Fire are the largest. County finance staff cautioned that any increase should be set at a level the board can sustain, because large capital costs are projected early in the 2030s. Commissioners asked staff to come back with figures. The full county budget is due to be presented October 12.

Staff also reported that a console replacement project at the dispatch center is under way, with dispatchers moving to temporary positions while the main room is rebuilt.

A separate item on a county lease was deferred to an executive session and is not reported here.

The meetings were streamed on the county’s YouTube channel; this account is drawn from the recording of the September 28 workshop, posted by Montezuma County. Written minutes have not yet been published.