Santa Fe County OKs pay raises for elected officials, staff

Commission OKs increase for staff, elected officials

Santa Fe County elected officials will make more money as a result of the County Commission’s approval Tuesday of pay hikes that take effect after the next election for each office.

The move means a higher salary for the next elected sheriff, county clerk, assessor, treasurer and probate judge, as well as the five part-time commissioners.

The 13 percent increases for all positions except county assessor, who will get a 9 percent increase, will be phased in over the next four fiscal years, a county budget memo says.

Meanwhile, county employees making less than $50,000 annually — both union and nonunion — will see a 2.5 percent cost-of-living increase this year under the county’s interim budget, and employees making more than $50,000 will see a 2 percent increase.

Commissioners, without any discussion, approved the increases, with the exception of Commissioner Henry Roybal, who abstained, thereby avoiding the appearance of voting for his own pay raise. Roybal, a civil designer at Los Alamos National Laboratory, is the only commissioner this year seeking reelection; he is running unopposed in the Democratic primary for the northern county district and there is no Republican in the race.

The pay hikes are provided for in a new state law that raised the salary ceilings for differentsized counties.

The sheriff, the county’s highest-paid elected official, will see an increase to $90,338 annually from $78,555. Four Democrats are seeking to replace termlimited Sheriff Robert Garcia in the June 5 primary; there is no Republican candidate.

The county clerk, treasurer and assessor will each see their pay increased to $86,626 annually. Clerk Geraldine Salazar is serving her second consecutive term through 2020; her successor would enjoy the pay increase. Treasurer Patrick Varela also is serving his second consecutive term, through 2020. Assessor Gus Martinez is unopposed in seeking his second term this year; his pay would rise when he retakes the post.

The sum of the increases will lift the total amount budgeted annually for elected officials’ salaries by 12.4 percent to $583,860 by 2022.

Commissioners, who serve in what are part-time policymaking roles, would see their annual pay increase to $39,106 from $34,005.

One county board seat is contested this year. There are four candidates, three Democrats and one independent, in the running for the seat now held by term-limited Commissioner Robert Anaya. The seat covers the southern section of the county.

The three other commission seats, occupied by first-term Commissioners Anna Hamilton, Anna Hansen and Ed Moreno, will come to term in 2020, after which point the pay increase would take effect.