by Mark Craddock
TRINIDAD — There are pay raises in the offing for Las Animas County’s elected officials, to the tune of roughly $6,000 per year.
But the county commissioners will not be sitting taller in their desk chairs because of fattened wallets anytime soon. The raises will be for public officials elected in the next county elections in 2024.
The schedule of salaries for county officers is set by state law and, on Tuesday, the board of county commissioners unanimously approved a motion to change the salaries from category III D to category III C for all subsequent office holders.
According to the Colorado Legislative Council, that would boost the pay as follows:
• County commissioners: From $67,887 to $74,676;
• County sheriff: From $88,195 to $97,015;
• County treasurer assessor and clerk: From $67,887 to $74,676;
• County coroner: From $38,411 to $42,252;
• County surveyor: From $3,830 to $4,212.
County Administrator Phil Dorenkamp said the change to schedule C is keeping in line with the county’s population, on which the rate schedule is based.
“Officials expressed to me that they are putting in a whole lot more work,” he said, “a whole lot more personal time into their elected-officials’ positions. So to walk that category from the D up to the C they think is justified and from a personal standpoint I can’t argue against that.”
Each county commissioner serves on myriad state and regional boards dealing with everything from mental health to transportation and infrastructure, and state legislative matters. Commissioner Luis A. Lopez II said “the additional amount of boards we are all sitting on,” with the accompanying travel justifies a pay bump.
Commissioner Tony Hass said, “We’re barely keeping up with inflation. An extra $6,000 would help.”
“Protecting the integrity of the office is even more important,” Lopez said. “Because if we don’t have that available to entice good people to run for office, what are we going to have? The compensation is not even handsome enough to garner the respect of the community.”
The three county commissioners are elected for four-year staggered terms, and are limited to two terms.
The change in pay would occur after the next general election, which will be held in November of 2024.
After approving the motion, commissioners added the matter to its executive session to get advice from their attorney on the proper procedure to implement the schedule change.
In Other Business
• The commissioners unanimously approved a motion to submit a road inventory to the Colorado Department of Transportation.
• The commissioners unanimously approved a motion to submit its annual renewal report on the branson gravel pit to the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety.
• The commissioners tabled acceptance of a Managed Service Agreement Amendment number-two with Dominion Voting System, in order to get more information about the terms of the agreement and to gather comparable information on Clear Ballot, the only other system approved by the Colorado Secretary of State for conducting elections.
