San Juan County Commissioner Mark Maryboy, angry after budget requests he made this week were rebuffed, said he may take legal action against the county to force it to treat his Navajo constituents fairly.
But County Commission Chairman Calvin Black said that if Maryboy wants more control over how county money is spent he can form a new county.Maryboy requested $572,000 in budget items, including paving of a road near the town of Montezuma Creek and a fencing project nearby. The commission, on a 2-1 vote Monday, approved only $60,000 of Maryboy's budget, killing Maryboy's road and fencing plan.
"I guess what I can do is explore some possible legal action to see what can be done to change that," said Maryboy.
Maryboy would not elaborate on what specific action he would take against the county.
However, in a Dec. 14 letter to Black and fellow Commissioner Ty Lewis, Maryboy said individual county residents could sue the county for violations of their civil rights if they were denied equal access to the county's budget process.
Black countered that if Maryboy is dissatisfied with the manner in which the county formulates its budget, he can split San Juan County and form a new jurisdiction in the southeastern corner of the state.
"I'm suggesting that if they want to make the determination where all of the money goes, than they could accomplish that if they had a separate county," Black said.