In a 2-1 vote, the Montezuma County commissioners decided not to give raises to elected officials beginning in the next term.
By Colorado statute, county commissions are required to decide if elected officials in their districts will get a 10 percent, 20 percent, or 30 percent raise, or no raise. Salaries and benefits are paid out of the county budget, and reach $9 million to $10 million per year out of a $36 million budget.
The raises would apply to elected officials voted into office at the next election.
Listed with their current salaries, the affected positions are: clerk and recorder ($58,500), county commission ($58,500), sheriff ($76,000), county assessor ($58,000), county treasurer ($58,500), coroner ($33,100), and surveyor ($3,000).
The district attorney ($130,000) is not included in the raise decision because the state pays 80 percent of his salary.
Commissioners Larry Don Suckla and Keenan Ertel voted against the raises.
“I don’t think elected officials should vote on a raise – it should be the taxpayers’ decision,” Suckla said. “Serving in elected office should be to help the county, not for the money.”
The commissioners worried that voting in wage increases could come back to bite them when budgets tighten up.
“When the CO2 fields taper off, and the tax revenues go down, increased salaries could be a burden to the county,” said Ertel. “When you factor in benefits, the positions are well-compensated.”
Commissioner James Lambert said he didn’t think the commissioner position needed a raise, but he was concerned about the relatively low wages of the clerk and coroner. He voted against the motion to deny the raise.
Despite the no vote on a 10-30 percent raise, state law does require elected officials get an annual raise based on inflation. The raise, calculated from the consumer price index on the Front Range, is typically 2-3 percent.
jmimiaga@the-journal.com
