ALAMOSA — Various organizations, non-profits and municipalities from the San Luis Valley participated in a Zoom call last week with the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA).  

The meeting was to provide “Updates to Federal Funding Challenges”, focused on answering questions about the impact of the current administration’s freezing of federal funds.  

Gigi Dennis, Monte Vista City Manager who attended the meeting, said, “It’s a shame that the federal approach has led to so many unanswered questions. I wish there’d been more planning and substantive talks.  

“In Monte Vista, we have federal grants that are already under contract, and those funds are frozen, so, we don’t know if we can move forward or not. The city is certainly not in a financial position to upfront all of the costs if we’re not going to be reimbursed. Right now, everything has pretty much been paid for.”  

Dennis then brought up the subject of the layoffs. “To see some of our local federal employees being laid off or fired is concerning. These people are part of our community. They’re not paper pushers. They’re hands on, get the job done, do what’s best for our community. 

“People need to remember this isn’t the first time there have been massive federal layoffs. Bill Clinton laid off 377,000 employees while in office. But I think there should be a better vetting system in place where people are celebrated for what they’re doing, not being chastised. I’m cautiously optimistic that this process will work itself out.” 

Roni Wisdom, Alamosa County Administrator, on behalf of Commissioner Lori Laske, who was also online said, “Alamosa County is not heavily reliant on federal funds. We only receive about $7.2M out of a $40M budget. Federal funding freezes will impact our human service programs such as DHS and Public Health since they rely heavily on federal/state funds for services. We’re working together to determine what programs we are statutorily mandated to provide and what we may have to pull back on.   

“Victim Advocates and Veterans Service receive federal funding and are of concern. We’re looking at how we can support them, if future funding is cut.  Alamosa County is in a planning and not a panic mode. We’re confident our budget is sound with adequate reserves to weather this storm and be stronger on the other side.”   

Thursday’s DOLA meeting was facilitated by Kevin Bommer, executive director of the Colorado Municipal League with Kelli Flenniken, executive director of Colorado Cities, Inc (CCI) stepping in to provide additional information. Kara Veitch, chief legal counsel for Governor Polis, provided an update on three major court cases (out of a total 85) filed in response to actions taken by the Trump administration. 

There were some commonalities among the questions that were asked, including requests for help from the state that illustrate how shortfalls are impacting operations.  

State staff agreed to pass on the request to the Department of Natural Resources. It was also shared that the State Comptroller is advising organizations to be “very cautious with expenditures” and “only incur expenses needed to maintain operations.” 

There were also requests for a tally of how many federal employees had been fired or agreed to deferred resignation but no one facilitating the meeting had that information as it has not been shared.  

As of the end of February, numerous courts had ordered the Trump administration to release the frozen funds. On Friday, a coalition of 23 attorneys general filed a second motion in their ongoing lawsuit against the Trump administration, claiming critical funds were being held illegally.  Colorado AG Phil Weiser is one of the attorneys general involved in that suit. 

Attorneys for the Trump administration have not indicated their intention but state that it will take “weeks at least” to release the funds as some will require extensive review with a possible refusal to disburse.