The Mesa County commissioner heard from the county administrator for the 20-13 budget proposal on Monday, and they say the key message of the proposal was that we are stabilizing  

Back in 2011, the county proposed a two year budget plan so officials say there are minimal changes to make.

Overall the county has proposed a $153,000,000 budget, but officials say one of the most impressive parts of the budget is the $32,000,000 in reserve funds. This is saved in case of a catastrophe. With the $32,000,000 the county would be able to operate for over 100 days as normal.

“It's still challenging times but it's certainly optimistic that we did see that thing are not getting worse but we are starting to see some improvements housing starts, sales tax and economic indicators, county commissioner Craig Meis said.

The county says there was a 10% growth in the capital budget which is used for infrastructure projects, and there's also a slight increase to the general fund budget used for services and staff expenses.

The increase to the capital budget comes from sales tax revenue and goes back into the community.