Mesa County sheriff appeals budget constraints that could cut 28 deputies
By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice
Mesa County Sheriff Todd Rowell appeared before the Board of County Commissioners on Nov. 6, 2025, to warn that this year’s budget proposal could undo nearly a decade of progress under the 2017 voter-approved 0.37% public-safety sales tax. The budget appeal on the third floor of the county administration building doubled as a press conference, drawing commissioners, staff and reporters eager to see what “doing more with less” means for Mesa County public safety.
Sheriff Todd Rowell, right, speaks with Commissioner Bobbie Daniel and Undersheriff Matt King during the Nov. 6 budget appeal in Grand Junction.
Rowell said the math no longer works. “I gave up five deputies to submit a flat budget… 13 more were defunded… $980,000 in line-item...










