Montezuma County orders forensic audit after heated exchange with sheriff over narcotics team and budgets

The Montezuma County Board of County Commissioners voted July 14 to hire a forensic auditor to review the finances of the sheriff’s office and the county jail, approving an expenditure not to exceed $50,000 after a prolonged dispute with the county sheriff over staffing and whether the narcotics investigation team was operational.

The motion, which Commissioner (speaker 2) moved and Commissioner (speaker 3) seconded, passed on a voice vote. The audit was proposed after the sheriff said he did not have detectives available to staff the county narcotics team; commissioners pushed back on the sheriff’s public statements that "my resources have been cut by the commissioners," noting the sheriff’s office budget rose year over year and that unspent balances were reported.

Why it matters: the audit will examine line‑item decisions, unspent funds and resource assignments in the sheriff’s office and the jail. Commissioners said they wanted transparency after a newspaper article reported the task force had been "disbanded," and they sought a clear accounting that could either substantiate or rebut public claims about budget cuts and operational capability.

Sheriff Steve Nowlin said the narcotics team was not formally disbanded but "not operational" because the office lacks detectives and has had to prioritize patrol and detention staffing. "I don't have anybody to put in there," the sheriff said, describing a shortage of detectives and prior reductions in filled positions that limit his ability to contribute officers to a joint task force. He added that some joint operations with federal agencies had concluded and that training timelines and certification requirements constrain reassignments.

Commissioners rebutted the characterization that the commissioners had cut his budget to the point public safety could not be provided. The Chair pointed to year‑over‑year increases in approved budget figures and to the sheriff’s reported unspent balances. "If you're not spending your budget and you had an increase in a budget, how do you make a statement…that the commissioners have cut my budget?" the Chair asked.

On the motion, commissioners discussed cost estimates for a forensic review — roughly $10,000 per year for a multi‑year lookback, with the board authorizing a not‑to‑exceed total of $50,000 to allow flexibility on scope. No firm contract or provider was named during the meeting; commissioners said staff would solicit proposals and return with more detailed costs and scope.

The board also directed the sheriff’s leadership team to finalize and submit the sheriff’s 2026 budget materials for the record. The sheriff said those documents would be completed soon.

Next steps: the county will seek proposals for the forensic audit; commissioners said the review could go back several years depending on scope and cost. The audit’s start date, vendor and precise scope were not specified at the meeting.

Provenance: Discussion and motion appear in the board's July 14 transcript beginning with the sheriff's introduction at SEG 174 and continuing through the audit motion and vote recorded around SEG 525–588.