Commissioners hope to give raises

by Larry Patrick
WALSENBURG — It’s been four years since Huerfano County employees have received a pay increase. John Galusha, County Administrator, has put a 5% salary increase in his preliminary budget. Whether it stays at that figure is hard to say right now. Galusha said it is important to have some salary increase to keep up morale and help their employees meet rising expenses. Huerfano County does pay all or most of the health insurance benefits for employees which no other county in the state offers. The county is seeing a nine percent increase in insurance costs for the coming year.
It’s not known yet how much money the county will receive from the wind farm development but is estimated at around $85,000. The county is looking at a capital projects budget of $1.7M for the ambulance building, improvements at Fiesta Park and purchasing property for a Road and Bridge building. Galusha will continue working the budget numbers to make things work in this tough economy.