Lacy McKay, KSJD News
Well, we'll start on on kind of an easy note here, if you give a little bit about about your background, what motivated you to run for Montezuma county commissioner, and if you'd like to give it your party affiliation.
Rebecca Busic
Well, my name is Rebecca Busic. Thanks for having me here today. I moved to Montezuma County in 2004 I am originally from Michigan. I grew up on a Christmas tree farm in rural conservative West Michigan. My parents are both school teachers, and my uncle Cliff lived in southwest Colorado. He unfortunately passed away in 2003 but in 2004 his widow, Rachel Vass, invited me on a Grand Canyon river trip, and she lived in Dolores at the time, so we were based out of there. I immediately fell in love with Dolores and moved out that fall. So I moved here in 2004. When I moved here, I could rent an entire house by myself in the town of Dolores off of my wages at the Dolores River Brewery. Now there are 47 second homes in Dolores. And you know, I look down the road 22 more years and think about my son, Cliff, who was born here in 2022 and I just wonder what that future will look like for him. I decided to run because, well, for one, I am a Democrat, and I tried to get other people to run, actually, unaffiliated and Democrats as well, who shared my values. But being viewed as a liberal person in Montezuma County and running for county commissioner is a big ask, so I unfortunately, I got a lot of no's and even some hell no's. I don't know if you're allowed to say that on community radio. Yes, you can, but I can, but So last fall, I realized that if anyone was going to run representing my values, it was going to be me, starting in 2024 the salaries for Montezuma county commissioners were $101,000 that was a state mandate that year, Kent Lindsay and Gerald Koppenhaver both ran unopposed. I think when you run unopposed, it's like getting a six figure salary without a job interview. So I am running to represent some ideas that maybe won't be represented by some of the other candidates, and to speak for some people who feel like they haven't been very well represented by this board.
KSJD News
Yeah, and as we talk, we'll get more into those values and those sorts of things, speaking of which, if you're elected, what are your top two or three priorities? I've been trying to get people to stay to three, but two to three that you would have for your first year in office.
Rebecca Busic
Sure, my top three priorities are economy, affordable housing and childcare. I think those things are all very interconnected. People want jobs to come to Montezuma County, and so do I, but we don't have anywhere to put people if we had a huge economic boom here in Montezuma County, there was a study by region nine recently that said we would have to build in region nine. I think it's 331 units annually just to avoid falling further behind with housing we're missing, you know, as the cost of housing increases, but wages don't housing is even becoming unaffordable for professional working people, so that is an issue that is strangling our economy. Additionally, we are severely lacking in child care here for every child under the age of six, there are point four, one, child care slots. Everyone relies on somebody who relies on child care. If people can't go to work, your nurse can't see you, your groceries won't get bagged, your coffee won't get made. So that is an economic issue, and we need to start thinking about housing and child care as infrastructure. Lastly, the economy, we have been decreasing revenues from Kinder Morgan for probably more than a decade, and there has been no solution to that issue. We had utility scale solar projects that were planned here, and the county said no to that. We have potential to raise our lodgers tax, which could fund the sheriff's office and childcare. We have a sales tax that has failed multiple times in this county. Despite the fact we're one of four counties that doesn't have a sales tax. We have to say yes to something here in Montezuma County. Otherwise. Critical services are going to start to get cut for people.
KSJD News
Yeah. And that kind of guides us into our next subject. Here Montezuma County, like you mentioned, there is facing a number of ongoing financial challenges. How do you view the county's current budget situation, and what steps would you support to improve long term revenue stability? You kind of touched on a few in your last answer.
Rebecca Busic
Yeah, So right now our reserves are actually good. I think that the commissioners have been acting in a scarcity mindset for a long time because they haven't been able to create new revenue streams. So right now our revenues are good. That said, you know, we continue to dig into those revenues, and they won't last forever, so we have to create some new funding streams for our county. Part of that is we have to create an economic plan. We need to think about who we want to be in five years, in 10 years, and how we want to get there. Right now, things are happening to us, and I really think we need to drive that more. As I said, there are multiple ways to create revenue for the county, including solar, including raising our lodgers tax, including a sales tax. I know that the commissioners are currently talking about adding a sales tax to the ballot this fall. I do support a sales tax. I am, however, really disappointed that the only exemption they're talking about is for agricultural equipment. I really think we should exempt things that are affecting everyday people, like groceries or medications or things like that. But those would I would encourage the sales tax. I would encourage, frankly, I would encourage solar here. I've had multiple people tell me it is the only way that they're going to be able to keep their able to keep their land, and they were really disappointed when that last solar project was shut down by the county. So those are some of my ideas.
KSJD News
Thank you for that kind of also going into the infrastructure here. How should the county balance funding for core services, things like road maintenance and some public safety that everyone's concerned about with those other community needs that the county also provides.
Rebecca Busic
Yeah, I mean, road and bridge and the sheriff's office are always going to be important, and they already take up the bulk of the funding. But I do think we need to look at the budget in the year we're in now, 2026 and we need to look at the problems that we're facing right now and the shifting that's happening in our departments and in our counties. For example, The Social Services department, because of the big, beautiful bill, they are going to have to now re evaluate Medicaid patients twice a year, increasing their workload. It's worth asking if they will need to add more staff because of that. You know, I honestly the people don't understand that the commissioners could do something about child care. We could contribute some of that, that sales tax and even empty county buildings as child care facilities, and that would help the entire county, because people in every department of the county have children and are struggling for child care. And as I said earlier, everyone relies on someone who relies child on child care. So I really think we need to look at the issues we're facing right now in 2026 and we can't do things the way we've always done them. We need to think about, you know, the the problems we're facing now, everything's interconnected, and it can't only always be about road and bridge and the sheriff's office, and
KSJD News
what one way that revenues can be increased is by supporting local businesses. So what role do you see the county playing in that work of supporting local businesses job growth and the workforce in Montezuma County. I think you've touched on the variety of pieces of that, but I just like to hear,
Rebecca Busic
Yeah, so I think my top three issues actually relate directly to this, creating an economic plan. Would I think we need to hire an economic coordinator. We had one in the county, but that was a grant based position, and when the money ran out, they let go of that person. I think an economic coordinator could coordinate, not only within the county, but amongst the municipalities, and talk to, you know, the tribe and the hospital, and bring everyone together to create creative solutions. Additionally, you know, people get, can't have people come to work if they don't have a place to live. I talked to someone who said they get, they have a care worker come to their house. They're disabled, and the worker comes twice a week, and they keep losing that worker because they can't afford to live here. That is, that is a job, that is income in our county that keeps being lost because people don't have anywhere to live. We need to create housing for people who are working people in Montezuma County, we need to create safe, affordable and accessible places for children to go in the county, there was recently a study done in La Plata county that said there were $34 million in lost wages annually for people who had to cut back on work or. Quit their jobs altogether because they didn't have anywhere to put their children during the day. So I really believe my priorities are economic priorities.
KSJD News
I hear you on that one, child care is number one. I think for a lot of people, we've heard a lot about transparency in this election cycle. How would you work to make county government more accessible and ensure residents feel heard in their decision making.
Rebecca Busic
You know, I really think the commissioners are doing some good things on this right now, the coffee with the county, which is this coming Monday, from 10 to noon, I believe, is extremely well attended by a committed group of people, and I actually really enjoy it. It's really easy to talk about things. It's really easy to ask questions. I know people want them to do it in the evening, and I know they've tried and had low attendance, so maybe they should try again, but I don't blame them for not doing something that isn't well attended. They also do a traveling Town Hall. The last one was in Pleasant View. It's quarterly. I think that's great. It was really great last time, because the people from that community came in and talked about their specific issues. I think that is and those are in the evening, so they're a little more accessible for folks where I think there's a little bit of a problem is, I think people feel maybe a little disrespected in public comment. I don't think people feel heard. I think people maybe feel a little belittled or demeaned. That's what I've heard from people talking to them on the street. So I think creating a culture of public comment that felt a little more respectful would be helpful. I also think it would be worth trying having office hours, maybe on a Saturday morning once a month for the commissioners, just to see what kind of turnout you got to something like that. And then lastly, there are some systemic, operational, silly stuff that doesn't work, like if you email the commissioners on the county website, because of the high security, because of cyber attacks, a ton of those emails get bounced. So, you know, just putting the commissioners emails on that page would actually work better. So just, you know, fixing some of the things that are just technical issues that are easy to fix would be helpful too.
KSJD News
Yeah, what I feel like you've touched on a number of challenges. But what do you see as the biggest challenge facing Montezuma county right now, and what opportunity are you most excited about if you're elected?
Rebecca Busic
You know, I think there are a lot of things changing right now for people in 2026 the way we work is changing. The Way We Live is changing. Do you know, childcare opportunities, the way people farm, the climate is changing. There's a lot of change happening right now. I think for some people, that can be really scary. I think I would be excited to take on those challenges. We need people who are living and working and raising families right now in Montezuma County and working with the current technologies that we have to come up with solutions for people now in 2026 and into the future, and I'm really excited to be a part of that. I think our biggest challenge right now that faces the commissioners Is this the revenue issue. I think because of my background as a community organizer. They've hired an outside firm and are paying them $45,000 to do survey work and things like that to get the sales tax packs passed. I've done survey work, I've organized people around issues. I could get that done without an outside consultant, and that's the kind of skills I bring to this role.
KSJD News
Thank you for that. County Commissioners often have to work closely with staff, other elected officials, neighboring governments, sometimes even all the way up to the federal level. How would you describe your leadership and collaboration style?
Rebecca Busic
You know, I'm very collaborative. I like to ask everyone's opinion. I know I don't know everything, but I'm pretty good at finding the people who do know the answers, and I think the best leaders surround themselves with smart people. I think our commissioners might have created a culture that, again, doesn't make people feel very welcome, and I imagine that's within departments and also outside of the commissioners department, you know, the commissioners in the county, I think they need to do more active outreach to our hospital, for example, which is a huge economic driver in our community, and could be facing some real issues economically. I think there are things the county could do to work with the hospital that could be mutually beneficial. I also think that the county should work more with the tribe. I think that, you know, the commissioners need to go to tribal council meetings. They need to go to hospital board meetings. I think it's great that the commissioners go to the town council meetings. But I think. Collaboration stops there. I think there needs to be more open communication and dialog between all of the municipalities and the commissioners,
KSJD News
and we're nearing last couple questions here, so hopefully, it hasn't been too painful. How should voters measure your success if you're elected, and what would you hope to point to at the end of your term as a success.
Rebecca Busic
If we had an economic plan at the end of my first term as well as an economic coordinator, and that plan included infrastructure like child care and affordable housing, I would be extremely proud of what I'd accomplished.
KSJD News
And just kind of wrapping things up here and give you kind of time to talk about anything we hadn't touched on. Is there any subject that we hadn't touched on that you want to make sure we get to.
Rebecca Busic
sure I think there are a couple things I'd like to talk about. The first one is, you know, our county land use code and technology that is happening right now, in the changes that are happening, and I think we need commissioners who are ready for those changes. You know, I feel like, despite the fact we all knew that that that permit for the utility scale solar project was coming in for a long time, it still seemed to blindside our commissioners, and they still didn't seem to know anything about that technology. That's going to happen again. It's going to happen with data centers. You know, our land use code is totally permissible to so many things, and if we want to keep it that way, then we need commissioners who are equipped to negotiate for the best possible things to happen to Montezuma county when a data center comes here. And if we don't want that to come here, we need to prepare for that too. You know, same with like nuclear and all this technology we need to we need commissioners who are working with technology today, like AI, understanding how those things can benefit Montezuma County and how they can hurt us, and who to be prepared to defend our county against those things, or to work with them and get the greatest benefit. Lastly, I don't think anyone running, including me right now, is an expert in water, and that is going to become a bigger issue. And whoever is elected to that seat, hopefully me in November, needs to commit to learning from Gerald Koppenhaver everything he knows about water. They need to commit to pulling together all the resources in the community that we do have and maybe even joining some of those water boards, because we need strong elected leaders when it comes to representation and water here in southwest Colorado.
KSJD News
Thank you for that. Anything else you want to talk about before we hang it up for today?
Rebecca Busic
No, I'm just grateful to be here and grateful to have a chance to talk. So thanks,
KSJD News
yeah, thank you for coming out
