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Steamboat Springs — The Routt County Board of Commissioners unanimously denied Routt County Sheriff Gary Wall's request Tuesday to outfit all Sheriff's Office vehicles and the Routt County Justice Center with defibrillators, stating that the tightness of the county budget simply won't allow the $23,000 purchase.

County commissioners expressed extreme reservations about any supplemental budget request when Routt County is already more than $1 million over budget this year. But Wall was extremely vocal about his displeasure at the ruling, calling $23,000 a "drop in the bucket" for life-saving technology.

Given its fiscal condition this year, the county can't just keep taking money out of its general fund, Commissioner Nancy Stahoviak said.

Ultimately, the commissioners agreed to revisit the request for defibrillators during their budgeting process for the 2009 fiscal year, and possibly discuss acquiring the devices for all county facilities - not just the Justice Center.

Although Wall already had included the purchase of defibrillators for all Sheriff's Office vehicles in his department's 2009 budget request, he said Tuesday that he felt the purchase was "incredibly important" and had to be expedited.

All fire and EMS vehicles in the county carry defibrillators, and Sheriff's Office deputies are first-responders, as well, in many cases first on scene in an emergency, Wall said.

"We're talking about peanuts in terms of money, and I'm just outraged that they didn't think it was important," Wall said. "How long are we going to wait?"

"I don't want somebody to lose their life in the next half a year, until they may or may not approve this," Wall said.

Wall requested that the county waive its formal bid process for the purchase of 19 HeartSine Samaritan PAD portable defibrillators for all patrol, animal control and detention transport vehicles, as well as a Powerheart AED G3 Plus defibrillator for the Routt County Justice Center.

Automatic emergency defibrillators can be used with minimal training, as the device itself analyzes a person's heart rhythm and determines whether a shock is necessary. In recent years, their installation has become more common in public places, such as Yampa Valley Regional Airport.

The commissioners again butted heads with Wall over participation in a competitive bidding process and questioned whether enough research had been done into the selected products.

"It's very important for us to have some kind of a public bidding process - even if it just starts with making a few phone calls," County Commisioner Diane Mitsch Bush said.