Montezuma County Social Services asks Mancos to fill $15,691 gap for senior center

Kelly Hartgraves, Montezuma County Social Services director, told the Mancos Town Council on Oct. 8 that senior services face a budget shortfall and asked the town to consider a one‑time contribution to sustain operations.

Hartgraves said the senior program serves three locations (Cortez, Mancos and Dolores) and reported that in the prior fiscal year the program delivered 1,692 home‑delivered meals and 1,777 congregate meals, serving 65 unduplicated seniors at the Mancos site. She described the Mancos cash budget as $58,537 and said the program needs $15,691 to cover the town’s share of expenses next year.

The director described funding streams that include Area Agency on Aging allocations, local donations collected at the Cortez site, federal incentives for purchasing locally (about $9,000 divided across the three sites), and significant in‑kind support and oversight provided through the Cortez office. Hartgraves said Cortez covers many full‑time salary and supervisory costs as in‑kind contributions, while the town of Mancos covers direct site costs such as the Mus cook salary.

Council members asked where money has come from previously. Hartgraves said Montezuma County contributed $50,000 last fiscal year and that she has requested $20,000 from the county for next year but did not expect the full amount because of county budget constraints. She said she will apply for a City of Cortez grant (maximum $5,000) and would present the same request to Dolores on Oct. 27.

Several trustees expressed frustration with county reserves and indicated willingness to include a $15,000 contribution in the town’s budget if feasible. Mayor Cindy Simpson and multiple trustees praised volunteers and the program’s community value but acknowledged tight municipal budgets.

The council did not take a formal vote on the request that evening but provided staff direction to consider the $15,000 commitment when finalizing the town budget.