In Utah, the San Juan County Commission has approved an agreement with the city of Monticello with the aim of improving distribution of emergency information.
Under the memorandum of understanding, county emergency personnel will be allowed to issue public notifications on Monticello's behalf during fires and other emergencies.
Monticello's city manager, Kaeden Kulow, told commissioners that a gap in the notification system was noticed during the recent Babylon fire. County staff did not have the access or authorization needed to issue notices for the city.
The agreement is modeled after a similar arrangement already in place between San Juan County and the city of Blanding. Officials said it does not change how the county and Monticello respond to emergencies. Instead, it formally gives county personnel the ability to distribute urgent information for the city when it is needed.
This agreement could help prevent delays or confusion over who is authorized to send alerts during quickly developing emergencies.
Commissioners approved the memorandum without opposition and with little discussion at their October 6 meeting.
Cortez voters weigh higher lodgers tax
Cortez voters will decide in November whether to increase the city's lodgers tax from 2% to 6%.
The tax applies to hotel, motel and short-term rental charges within the city. If Ballot Question 2A passes, the increase would go into effect on January 1.
On a $100 lodging charge, the city's lodgers tax would rise from $2 to $6 - an additional $4 before other applicable taxes and fees.
The ballot authorizes Cortez to use the revenue for tourism marketing; economic development and redevelopment; and arts and cultural events, programs and facilities.
It estimates that the increase could generate up to nearly a million dollars in additional revenue during 2027. The ballot measure would also allow future city councils to adjust the lodgers-tax rate without another election, as long as it does not exceed the maximum of 6%.
At a recent public information session, KSJD asked City Manager Drew Sanders how the council selected the proposed rate.
"It was just really a council discussion," Sanders said. "What's the right amount?"
Sanders said that the existing 2% tax brings in approximately $250,000 annually. Based on that figure, tripling the rate could bring total annual collections to roughly $750,000.
"It's just kind of the feel is about right," Sanders said. "No, it's not scientific. They're just trying to make it simple."
Sanders said the goal is to create a larger, continual funding source for visible community investments. Possible projects disuccsed during the forum included improvements to city entrances, signs, landscaping, cultural events, pickleball courts and grants to beautify local businesses.
Those examples are not strict spending commitments as the ballot does not assign percentages to individual programs or identify specific projects.
Sanders said an advisory committee would take ideas and make recommendations. The City Council would then decide how to allocate the money through its annual public budget process.
He said the city would likely need about a year to build the fund balance before beginning larger projects.
Questions asked during the forum focused mostly on how much discretion future councils would have. Some participants supported keeping the language broad enough to respond to changing needs. Others questioned whether voters would have enough certainty about where the additional funds would go.
Sanders said the measure is "broad enough to let them do their jobs" while remaining "narrow enough to have some guardrails."
He went on to say the additional revenue is intended for investments in the community rather than new staff.
"This is about visible investments in the community," Sanders said. "This isn't about personnel."
Business improvement grants were one focus of the discussion. Cortez currently distributes around $32,000 annually through a matching program primarily restricted to exterior beautification projects.
City staff said over a dozen businesses received reimbursements last year. Sanders argued that the current amount is too small to support major improvements across the city, but he declined to promise how much additional lodgers tax revenue would go to businesses.
The city also plans to create an online dashboard documenting how the money raised is spent, Sanders said. That could include descriptions and photographs of completed projects.
The Cortez measure is separate from Montezuma County Ballot Question 1B, which proposes raising the county lodging tax from 2% to 5% and excludes Cortez.
It is also unrelated to Cortez's upcoming sales tax holiday. The city's 3.85% sales tax rate will temporarily fall to zero from October 18 through December 31 to return previously overcollected recreation-tax income. That reduction has already been approved by city council and is not on the ballot.
Ballots began going out to Montezuma County voters' mailboxes beginning October 5. Completed ballots much be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day, November 3rd. Postmarked dates do not count.
