May 9, 2025
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Copyright ©️ 2025 Lake City Silver World. All rights reserved.
Lake City was left startled when a communication entitled ‘Restoring the Office of the Sheriff’ was publicly circulated around Lake City, written by Hinsdale County Undersheriff Jim Hunsicker, and dated April 29, 2025. In subsequent communication received May 7, Hunsicker dubbed the initial letter a ‘decision memo,’ and provided additional information regarding his recent decisions and actions.The ‘decision memo’ cited Hunsicker’s deep dissatisfaction with Sheriff Denim Starnes and the Hinsdale County Sheriff’s Office, calling for Starnes’s resignation no later than Friday, May 9, 2025. Further, it states that should Starnes decline to resign, he could consider his, Hunsicker’s, resignation effective immediately.This comes after a tumultuous year of resignations, beginning with Sheriff Chris Kambish and Deputy Brennen Pantleo resigning in June of 2024, followed by the resignation of Deputy…………. PICK UP THIS WEEKS COPY OF THE SILVERWORLD TO READ THE FULL STORY…. PLUS…. Discussion Group Finalizing Details for Voter-Approved Lodging Tax Increase During the workshop portion of last week’s meeting, Hinsdale County Commissioners met with Harry MacKendrick and Lily Virden to discuss specifics on recently passed state legislation which allows voters in Colorado to increase county lodging taxes to a maximum of six percent.In Hinsdale County, voters approved a two percent lodging tax — equating to an average of $120,000 per year — in 1992. With voter approval as a result of House Bill 25-1247, the tax amount levied by owners of nightly rental properties which they charge their customers could now increase up to four percent, for a maximum of the state limit of six percent with voter approval.MacKendrick and Virden are part of the informal Lodging Tax Discussion Group which has met on a routine monthly basis since March, 2024. At the April 30 County Commissioners’ meeting attended by Kristie Borchers, Greg Levine, and Robert Hurd, MacKendrick and Virden reassured the county board that the existing two percent county-wide lodging tax would not be altered with its annual dispersement by the commissioner-appointed Hinsdale County Lodging Tax Board to county non-profit applicants for marketing and advertising promotions benefiting the county.During informal workshop discussion, commissioners learned that upcoming deadlines for a potential ballot question increasing lodging taxes by up to four percent are July 25 for notice of intent to Hinsdale County Clerk Joan Roberts to place a ballot question on the county’s November 4, 2025, coordinated election ballot, and September 4 for specific ballot question wording to be submitted.MacKendrick, who is a member of the Town of Lake City Planning Commission and active with Hinsdale County Search & Rescue, and Lake City Community School 2nd and 3rd Grade instructor Virden, told commissioners the exact extent of the proposed lodging tax increase — up to four percent — is not yet known but will be decided by the time of Hinsdale Commissioners’ Wednesday, May 21, meeting.By way of background, over the past 14 months, Lodging Tax Discussion Group has met with or issued invitations to participate to a wide cross section of the community, including Trustees for the Town of Lake City, Hinsdale County Commissioners, Wee Care Board members, Lake City Planning & Zoning, Hinsdale County School District, and owners of lodging and short-term rentals.Hinsdale County Commissioner Greg Levine has kept in close contact with the process as state legislators discussed and ultimately approved HB 25-1247 allowing voter approval for the lodging tax increase and now on the Colorado Governor’s desk for signature. According to Levine, the impetus for lodging tax increase has received widespread……… Never Miss the WHOLE Story! Subscribe to receive every weekly edition of the Silver World, right to your inbox or mail box!
First off, I would like to thank everyone for their support and encouragement since taking over as Postmaster of Lake City. It is an honor and privilege to be able to live and work here. I could not have done this without everyone!Now on to the fun stuff. With summer fast approaching and with more packages and letters that will start showing up, I just wanted to address a couple things.First and foremost, we just ask for patience. As of this writing I am not being allowed to hire another clerk, so you get Emily and I all summer. So that means patience for us all. We will do our best to sort and box all letters and packages as quickly as possible to meet our deadline of noon each day.Next, our daily dispatch is 12:15 pm Monday through Saturday just a reminder to make sure and have your letters and packages to us by then if you are wanting your mail to go out that day.Now, when it comes to addressing, for anything that comes to us (letters and packages), please keep this in mind: We are a PO Box community with no door-to-door delivery (even though Emily would if she could.) To help us streamline our system this summer, please remember to address your letters and packages that are coming into Lake City correctly. Full Legal NamePO BOX ###Lake City, CO81235 Or if the company does not allow PO Boxes, Full Legal NamePhysical Address(PO Box number only)Lake City, CO81235 If this is done correctly by our customers, it will help Emily, and I get through sorting mail more efficiently. If you have any questions regarding any of this, please feel free to reach out to us.We are trying to make the summer go great and be amazing for our community. So, any help we can get will be much appreciated.Now for the not so good news. Yes, people have asked and yes stamps will be going up in price. On July 13, regular stamp prices will increase to $.78. Postcard stamps will increase to $.62. I am getting as much stock as I can so we can sell as many as you would like before the increase. As always if you’re needing a certain stamp or a certain quantity just let Emily or myself know, and we will do our best getting it ordered for you.I am excited to see what this summer holds, as well as nervous, but I think we are going to have a great summer this year. I can’t wait to see the summer crowd and for familiar faces. Please feel free to let Emily or myself know if you are needing anything at all; we can’t wait to help you.Have a great summer and hope to see you soon!!Corie GodwinPostmasterLake City, Colorado970-944-2560
The New York TIMES headline last Tuesday read: “Retailers fear toy shortages at Christmas as tariffs freeze supply chains.” The article went on to say, “toy makers, children’s shops and specialty retailers are pausing orders for the winter holidays as the import taxes cascade through supply chains. Factories in China produce nearly 80% of all toys and 90% of Christmas goods sold in America…alarm in the industry is palpable, with the companies predicting shortages and higher prices. Some business owners, citing how critical holiday sales are to their bottom lines, are consulting bankruptcy lawyers.”There is currently 145% tariff on Chinese goods. Trump says they are currently “negotiating” with China – China says “no, they are not.”The supply chain is already slowing down and putting Americans out of work. The supply chain from China primarily enters the United States on the west coast with the port of Los Angeles. The executive director of the Port of Los Angeles said that he expects incoming cargo volume to slide more than a third next week, compared with the same period in 2024.The International Longshore and Warehouse Union issued this statement: “these tariffs are nothing more than a direct attack on the working class and should be opposed outright. The reality is clear – these tariffs don’t put ‘America first,’ the put the American people last. They will kill jobs, raise costs, and fuel economic instability that will ripple through every community in this country.”The definition of recession is two consecutive quarters with a fall in GDP. The first quarter of 2025 recorded a negative 3.7% in GDP decline. We’re halfway there. This is solely Trump’s doing.Dawn KortmeyerLake City
Property owners throughout the state, including Hinsdale County, received a jolt last week after reading the state-mandated 2025 reappraisal communique from their local assessor.Hinsdale County Assessor Sherri Boyce and her deputy, ad valorem appraiser Sarah Tubbs, were matter of fact in their presentation to Hinsdale County Commissioners last week, the knowledgable duo alerting the county board that in their role as Board of Equalization they should be prepared for a larger than usual number of protests arguing against the new valuations.The protest period for this year’s property value appraisal began last Friday, May 2, and extends to Monday June 9.Referencing the significant increase in property values at all levels — residential, commercial, vacant land, and mining claims — Commissioner Hurd was understated, acknowledging, “it’s hard to make that a positive spin.”Property owners who have now recovered from the initial shock will readily realize that property values at all levels in the county have significantly increased, in part because the state mandated odd year reappraisal was laser focused, “aiming to be bullseye accurate,” as described by Deputy Assessor Sarah Tubbs, in valuing property based on comparable neighborhood sales which occurred from July 1, 2022, all of 2023, and up to June 30, 2024.Tubbs told commissioners that based on sales, there was a “big market jump” between 2019 and 2022.Hinsdale’s last reappraisal in 2023 based property values “conservatively,” according to Tubbs, which was remedied in this year’s appraisal.Sales of comparable properties in 2022, 2023 and the first half of 2024 provided sufficient data for the county reappraisal as a whole, according to the assessor office staff, although in specific neighborhoods with insufficient data, comparable sales were reviewed in six-month increments as far back as 2019.State-wide, including Hinsdale, this year’s re-appraisal reflects a tremendous sales market — and corresponding increase in values — for vacant land and mining claims.Added to the mix, and a jaw-dropper for homeowners, was an automatic $55,000 increase in residential values this year as the result of expiration of the state legislature’s Taxpayer Relief Bill which has now ended but was in effect in 2023 and 2024 aiding homeowners with an automatic reduction of $55,000 in home value.Distantly and unfortunately not in 2025, there is a glimmer of good news property tax-wise on the horizon. For armed service veterans and seniors over age 65, the Homestead Senior Exemption remains in effect now and in 2026, allowing a 50 percent reduction in the first $200,000 valuation of the taxpayer’s principal residence.And while the Taxpayer Relief Bill has now expired, Assessor Boyce says that starting in 2026 — not 2025 — homeowners will receive an automatic $70,000 reduction in property valuation.Asked for specifics, the Hinsdale Assessor Office duo stated that for taxing districts other than schools, the residential assessment rates drop from 6.7 percent in 2024 to between 6.15 and 6.25 percent in 2025 depending on a complex state-wide growth ratio; for school districts — again based on state growth — the residential assessment percent will range from 6.95 percent if state growth is over five percent, to 7.05 percent if state growth is less than five percent.For commercial, vacant and all other properties, the rate goes from 27.9 percent in 2024 to 27 percent in 2025.On a positive note, audience member Arlene Gonzales, newly-appointed member of Hinsdale County Planning Commission, extended congratulations to County Commissioners and Hinsdale Assessor Office staff for the new GIS site which, according to Gonzales, “is now live and, in addition to transparency, is a clear benefit to taxpayers.”As an example, Gonzales said the county’s GIS website aids the planning board and serves as a boost “removing potential friction” in interactions between financial institutions and landowners wishing to obtain a loan.The new GIS site, according to Gonzales, “is cause for celebration.”The site’s address is https:///.hinsdalecounty.colorado.gov/.assessors-officeThe site enables property owners to get an estimate of the location of property lines and is of use to emergency responders wishing to access homeowner information in the event of an emergency.Other plusses are to hunters and hikers desiring a better idea of the location of public and private lands; real estate professionals such as realtors, appraisers, and insurance agents can get a better idea of location and topography before site visits; and construction and utility contractors for a better understanding of property lines.A caveat with the GIS site is that it is not intended to replace the need for a professional plat or survey. Boundary lines are not pin-point accurate but are useful in furnishing a visual estimate.
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