Commissioners dispute reporting that narcotics team was disbanded over budget cuts

Board members pushed back Wednesday on a news article that reported the county's narcotics-investigation team had been disbanded because of budget cuts.

"That's an absolutely incorrect statement," the chair said, disputing the reporting and asserting the sheriff's office budget had not been cut. The chair displayed a budget summary and asked Sheriff's Office staff to explain capital and contract increases.

Rob (speaker 12) told the board the approved sheriff's-office budget for 2026 was $7,341,000, which reflected the budget approved late last year, and described additional capital approvals and an added contract that raise the practical total toward about $7.5 million when counted with subsequent additions and Title 3 SRS funds for equipment. "That is not a decrease," Rob said.

Commissioners noted that the sheriff has discretion over how to organize programs, but they said any reporting that the board cut the program was misleading. The chair asked staff to reach out to the undersheriff to ensure the sheriff's office provides a complete budget submission (the chair said the sheriff's office had not yet delivered a full budget entry into the county's OpenGov system) and to complete and release an internal-affairs review and any CORA responses tied to financial implications.

What comes next: Staff will contact the undersheriff to obtain the sheriff's office budget submittal and will follow up on the internal-affairs and CORA items; the board expected the undersheriff to present materials and to explain organizational decisions that affect drug-enforcement operations.

Sources: Chair and Rob (speaker 12) comments during the July 9, 2026 Montezuma County workshop.