By Beth Dodd:
In these hard times, everyone is stretching their dollars a little further, but some of us have fewer dollars to stretch. How does your job stack up? The figures below reveal what we are earning based upon where we live. Then we compare it with what local government employees are earning.
Keep in mind that these numbers are base salaries and may not show whether or not these positions include benefits like health care, retirement pension, paid sick and vacation time, and per diem for meals and travel. Actual compensation including benefits is probably higher. Also realize that these numbers may reflect an individual’s length of time in service or the degree of complexity and responsibility inherent to their positions. Senior public servants also may have started in entry level positions and moved up after fifteen or twenty years in their field of expertise.
In Colorado, the salaries of county elected officials are set by state statute CRS 30-2-102 based on the county’s population. These positions include the county treasurer, public trustee, assessor, commissioners, sheriff, clerk, coroner, and surveyor. Department head positions where salary levels are determined locally include county administrator, emergency management, social services, public works, finance, and IT/Support Services. City government salaries are also determined locally.
Colorado counties are sorted into six categories based on population with large counties like El Paso, which has the largest population in the state, in Category I, and the smallest counties like Kiowa in Category VI. Other Category I counties besides El Paso include Denver, Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Douglas, Jefferson, Larimer, Pueblo, and Weld Counties. Fremont County is in Category II along with Eagle, Summit, Garfield, La Plata, Mesa, and Pitkin Counties. Teller is in Category III with Park, Alamosa, Archuleta, Chaffee, Clear Creek, Delta, Gilpin, Grand, Gunnison, Las Animas, Moffat, Montezuma, Montrose, Morgan, Otero, Rio Blanco, San Miguel, Routt, and Logan Counties.
The county district attorney has a minimum pay level set by the state, but county commissioners can approve higher compensation. According to El Paso County Public Information Officer Dave Rose, El Paso/Teller D.A. Dan May has the highest caseload and population to serve of any Colorado D.A. and his salary is well below other large Colorado Counties. By way of comparison, the Denver D.A. made $232,000 in 2012 and Mesa County (Grand Junction) earned $154,000.
Having been a public servant myself at the municipal, state, and federal levels, I have seen government employees come in early and stay late without extra pay, work nights, weekends, and holidays, negotiate complex and sometimes senseless regulations dictated to them by politicians with no knowledge of their jobs, and shoulder the extra workload when budgets shrank and their co-workers lost their jobs. It’s easier to criticize someone than to fill their shoes. Hats off to the folks who keep the wheels turning!
Median Average Household Income by City:
Victor $37,847
Colorado Springs $40,688
Cripple Creek $46,160
National Average $51,914
Colorado Average $56,456
Manitou Springs $64,361
Woodland Park $67,034
Source: www.Metasalary.com. Data from U.S. Census Bureau and user surveys.
Victor City Employee Salaries or Stipends 2013
Councilor Stipend $4,800
Buck Hakes, Mayor Stipend $7,200
Sandy Honeycutt, City Clerk $33,488
Dan Delaney, Public Works $41,407
Deb Downs, City Administrator $65,000
Source: City of Victor
Cripple Creek City Employee Salaries 2013
Bruce Brown, Mayor/City Council $7,179 (average)
Debra Blevins, City Clerk $63,907
Carol Stotts, Human Resources Director $67,103
Jim Blasing, Interim Public Works Director $75,668
April Peterson, Police Chief $77,459
Randall Baldwin, Fire Chief $82,801
Paul Harris, Finance Director $90,843
Ray White, City Administrator $96,316
Source: City of Cripple Creek
Woodland Park City Employee Salaries 2013
David Turley, Mayor and the City Council $0
Kip Wiley, Utilities Director $70,680
Sally Riley, Planning Director $78,402
Brian Fleer, DDA Director $85,111
Kellie Case, Finance Director $91,199
Bob Larson, Chief of Police $93,331
Cindy Morse, City Clerk $100,226
Bill Alspach, Public Works $103,524
David Buttery, City Manager $114,525
Source: City of Woodland Park
Colorado Springs City Employees Salaries 2012:
City Council Members $6,250
Steve Bach, Mayor $96,000
Pete Carey, Police Chief $142,697
Rich Brown, Fire Chief $147,657
Laura Newman, Chief Admin Officer $165,000
Bob Cope, Chief of Econ Vitality $182,488
Christopher Melcher, City Attorney $183,000
Source: Colorado Springs Gazette, Colorado Springs Employee Salary Database
Median Average Household Income by County:
Fremont County $37,847
Denver County $45,501
National Average $51,914
El Paso County $56,268
Colorado Average $56,456
Teller County $58,080
Park County $64,098
Douglas County $99,198
Source: www.Metasalary.com. Data from U.S. Census Bureau and user surveys.
Teller County Employee Salaries 2012
Bob Campbell, Treasurer $58,500
Bob Campbell, Public Trustee $12,500
Betty Clark-Wine, Assessor $58,500
Krystal Brown, Clerk & Recorder $58,500
Norm Steen, Dave Paul, Marc Dettenrieder,
Commissioners each $58,500
Steven Steed, Dir. Emergency Management $66,340
Kim Mauthe, Dir. Social Services $70,423
Mike Ensminger, Sheriff $76,000
Fred Clifford, Director of Public Works $79,135
Laurie Litwin, Director of Finance $86,872
Craig Alexander, Director of IT $87,768
Sheryl Decker, Administrator $98,378
Source: Teller County
Fremont County Employees Salaries 2013
Preston S. Morrisey, Emergency Mgt $45,200
Lisa Hall, IT Administrator $49,525
Carla Dionne, Public Health $65,984
Sunny Bryant, Budget and Finance $70,000
Pat McFarland, Treasurer $72,500
Stacey Seifert, Assessor $72,500
Debbie Bell, Ed Norden, Tim Payne,
Commissioners each $72,500
Jim Beicker, Sheriff $87,700
Steve Clifton, Human Services $93,084
George Sugars, County Manager $95,450
El Paso County Employee Salaries 2013
Robert Balink, Treasurer $87,300
Mark Lowderman, Assessor $87,300
Wayne W. Williams, Clerk & Recorder $87,300
Dennis Hisey, Amy Lathan, Sallie Clark,
Darryl Glenn, Peggy Littleton,
Commissioners each $87,300
Interim Employee, Emergency Services $100,530
Terry Maketa, Sheriff $111,000
Monnie Gore, Public Services/Deputy
Administrator $123,000
Richard Bengston, Human Services $123,000
Nicola Sapp, Budget & Economic Devel $123,000
Imad Karaki, Support Services $123,000
Jeff Greene, Administrator $142,000
Dan May, El Paso/Teller District Attorney $144,000
Source: El Paso County
