Park County OKs filling vacant Cody Road & Bridge position, with April budget review planned

The Park County Board of County Commissioners voted to approve a request from the Road & Bridge division to fill a vacant Cody District position that is already funded in the current fiscal-year budget. County Engineer Brian Edwards and Cody District Foreman Chip Ash told the board the crew needs the replacement to maintain current road service and to handle upcoming projects.

The request was approved after discussion about a hiring freeze and budget pressures. Commissioner Teal and other commissioners emphasized public-safety priorities — particularly maintaining school-bus routes and winter snow removal — while also pressing for a later reassessment of staffing levels once retirement-driven attrition and the results of the state legislative budget process are clearer.

Edwards said the Road & Bridge shops have historically been staffed at 20 full‑time positions (8 in Powell crews and 12 in Cody crews, including a full‑time mechanic). He told the board the department maintains about 630 miles of road and roughly 70 bridges and that recent departures have left the Cody crew one position short. “We are staffed for maintenance, but they they they come through and do do a lot of projects too,” Edwards said, adding the department is scheduled to support the State Shooting Complex project and other county work.

Foreman Chip Ash told commissioners the shop workload has increased and said the crew has worked with the same staffing level “for the 23 years I’ve been here.” He said gravel roads and chip‑seal rotations demand crew capacity and that losing positions would reduce coverage and slow response times.

Commission debate focused on the tradeoff between immediate operational needs and broader county hiring constraints. Commissioner Teal said he did not want department managers put in a position of hiring now and firing staff next spring; other commissioners replied that the position is already in the budget and that revisiting the staffing level after an April retirement and after the legislative session is prudent. The motion to authorize filling the vacancy carried unanimously.

The board asked staff to return if further staffing or budget adjustments are needed. No specific new long‑term commitments were made; the approval authorizes hiring under the current budget with the expectation the board will reassess in April when more information about retirements and state funding is available.

Less-critical details: commissioners and staff discussed comparative staffing ratios with neighboring counties, the potential for some temporary service delays if further attrition occurs, and that the department has used in‑house crews for many recent projects (library work, landfill cell work and sewer lagoon support) in addition to routine maintenance.