Scott Vargo

Scott Vargo currently serves as County Manager for Summit County, Colorado, one of the premier ski and outdoor recreation destinations in North America. Its popularity has a great many benefits, but it also presents challenges around carrying capacity, affordability for its workforce and heightened service expectations not typical for a community of its size.

His career began in the human resources field working in health care, manufacturing and the public sector. Over his 12 years as an Assistant Summit County Manager, Scott’s role expanded beyond human resources to include facility development and planning, information technology, 911 communications, ambulance services, library, and health and human services oversight.

Scott served as project manager on numerous developments; including the Summit County hospital and medical office building campus, the materials recovery facility, fleet maintenance facility, District Attorney/Probation facility, and the renovation of the historic Breckenridge Schoolhouse into a community center and library.

Scott has helped to develop many community partnerships, such as the Summit County Emergency Services Authority workgroup, which sought to share resources, reduce expenses and improve EMS levels of service; partnerships with local towns around nicotine cessation programming and funding, workforce housing development and program partnerships with towns, private developers and businesses, and fire mitigation programs with the USFS, fire districts and towns.

He has served on numerous boards and commissions, including the Colorado County Officials and Employees Retirement Association - now Colorado Retirement Association, Colorado City & County Management Association, State of Colorado Commission on Judicial Performance Evaluation, Early Childhood Options/Head Start, Colorado Elected Official Salary Commission, Summit Combined Housing Authority, 911 Center Policy Board, Clinton Ditch and Reservoir Company, Summit County Telecommunications Consortium, and Peak Health Alliance.

As County Manager, he is responsible for the development and recommendation of an annual county budget in excess of $140M and the management of an organization that employs over 500 staff tasked with an array of diverse programming and responsibilities including; Affordable Housing, Community Development, Public and Behavioral Health, Child Welfare, Libraries, Landfill and Recycling, Public Transportation, Road and Bridge, Emergency Management, Sustainability and Water.

Education

University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
Bachelors in Psychology