Dear Editor: It was reported in last week’s Plaindealer that Ouray County government had grown 70% from 50 employees in 2003 to 85 in 2023. Simple research indicates that our population grew from 3,880 to approximately 5,006 in 2023, a 29% increase. The county bureaucracy is growing at a rate of 241% faster than the population!

Yes on more sheriff ’s deputies and road crew. No on more paper-pushers in the office that have no direct positive effect on the public.

If you like the bureaucratic empire that our commissioners are building, then keep voting for them, Otherwise, find and vote for some candidates that show some fiscal restraint. Remember, the beauty of democracy is that the voters get exactly what they deserve.

J. Gary Dunn Ouray