BOCC weighs Colorado Energy Office sustainability-manager grant; staff recommend short-term contract over hiring FTE

Lake County staff briefed the Board of County Commissioners on a Colorado Energy Office grant to fund a sustainability manager position and recommended contracting for services rather than hiring a full-time employee while federal funding remains uncertain.

The county is the grantee for a three-year award totaling $240,000 (about $80,000 per year). County staff reported the grant is a reimbursement program and warned that it relies on federal funding passed through the state; if the federal program pauses, the reimbursement could end. Staff told commissioners only one of nine similar grantees statewide had hired an FTE so far; several others have used contractor arrangements.

Staff recommended the county avoid hiring a permanent employee now because onboarding and potential later layoffs would be administratively costly. A county staff presenter said, “We do not feel like…