The Grand County Budget Advisory Board unanimously approved past minutes and elected officers, then spent substantial time discussing a mismatch between the board's bylaws and the county ordinance that created the board.

At a Sept. 5 meeting, Gabriel Loycek, who opened the session as meeting chair, led the board in a motion to approve minutes from Nov. 13, 2020; the board voted 7-0 to approve. The board then moved to elect leadership: Tiffany Winfield moved to elect Wojtek as chair, Chantelle Lindsey as vice chair and Chris Kaufman as secretary; the motion was seconded by Shan Hackwell and approved unanimously.

Board members then turned to housekeeping: the board's bylaws enumerate a seven-person panel and list two county commission members as voting members. Loycek and several members noted that the commission's January appointment process named three county commissioners (Commissioners Martinez, Winfield and Hadeen) to the board, and that the ordinance that created the board also defines membership. "That ordinance would need to be changed," a member observed during the discussion, noting an ordinance would supersede the bylaws.

Members discussed short-term ways to address the discrepancy, including temporarily asking one commissioner present to abstain on routine votes (for example, minutes) and bringing a revision to the ordinance and bylaws through the commission. Several participants emphasized avoiding excluding a commissioner from discussion: "As long as we don't try and shut out one of the three commissioners in any form whatsoever," a member said, adding the chair can ensure each commissioner has a voice.

The board also identified other housekeeping edits for the county ordinance, including replacing references to a "budget officer" with the current "finance officer," and removing duties that have shifted to the audit committee and the internal auditor. Members agreed to circulate draft ordinance and bylaw changes for review and to put bylaw/ordinance revisions on a future agenda.

Ending: The board deferred formal bylaw or ordinance changes to a later meeting once proposed edits are circulated and clarified; members instructed staff to prepare suggested revisions and to place the item on a future agenda for the board and county commission to consider.