County considers adding an additional term to limits

El Paso County elected officials would be allowed to run for an additional four-year term under a proposal the county commissioners will consider today.

Most county elected officials can serve only two four-year terms, but the commissioners will consider asking voters to allow them to run for a third term. The change would apply to the five county commissioners, assessor, clerk and recorder, surveyor and treasurer.

The proposal, which could be on the Nov. 4 ballot, has had no public discussion before today, which is the day before the deadline to submit items for the election ballot. Commissioner Sallie Clark said she sought a commissioner vote on the ballot measure at the request of other elected officials. Clark said she "can't answer" why the issue came up publicly at the last minute, but she noted holding a special election on the question would cost taxpayer money.

Clark said she sees advantages to allowing officials to run for a third term. Several highly skilled officials are in office now, Clark said, citing the assessor, treasurer and clerk and recorder. Those officials might be more effective if they had a chance to serve longer, she said. The same advantages might be at work with the commissioners, she said.

"Especially with the challenges we're facing with our budget ... we want to make sure we provide a sustainable government and deal with the issues at hand, and make sure we have enough time to put the thing on a good track before we step off," she said.

Dennis Hisey, who's chairman of the Board of County Commissioners, said Wednesday he expressed reservations about putting the measure on the ballot during private discussions in recent months.

"I was willing to let it die a natural death. It's not good timing. There's a big ballot coming up, including the tax increase," Hisey said, referring to a 1 percent sales tax for public health and safety agencies the commissioners approved for the ballot last week. "Any time you put your own position out there and say ‘Let me keep doing this longer than what I originally signed up for,' it's kind of self-serving."

County voters in 2006 gave a mixed response to ballot measures that covered some of the same ground. The measures would have allowed up to three terms for the clerk and recorder, sheriff and treasurer. Voters approved only the sheriff, by a margin of a quarter of a percentage point. Unlike the 2006 measure, the proposal commissioners will consider includes all elected officials in a single ballot question.

Former county Commissioner Douglas Bruce, who left office in January, voted against sending the 2006 measure to the ballot and blasted the idea again Wednesday.

"The reason they do it at the last minute is they don't want people to have time to formulate opposition," he said. "It's hypocritical that commissioners complain that they don't have enough money, and are now asking for the largest increase in county history, and yet want to increase their ability to feed at the public trough."

Term limits were imposed statewide in 1994. Voters in many counties have approved exceptions to the rule, said Chip Taylor, legislative director of Colorado Counties Inc., a lobbying group for county governments. In 2005, term limits were extended for all elected officials in Larimer County, and in Boulder and Delta counties they were extended for all elected officials except the commissioners, Taylor said.

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Contact the writer: 636-0187 or perry.swanson@gazette.com

PUBLIC MEETING

The El Paso County commissioners meet 9 a.m. Mondays and Thursdays on the third floor of the County Office Building, 27 E. Vermijo Ave. Anyone may attend.

COUNTY OFFICIALS AND TERM LIMITS

• Commissioner Jim Bensberg, elected in 2002 and re-elected in 2006, subject to the twoterm limit. Annual salary is $87,300.

• Commissioner Sallie Clark, elected in 2004 and seeking re-election in November. Annual salary is $63,203, which would be increased to $87,300 with the beginning of the next term in January.

• Commissioner Dennis Hisey, elected in 2004 and seeking re-election in November. Annual salary is $63,203, which would be increased to $87,300 with the beginning of the next term in January.

• Commissioner Amy Lathen, appointed in January to serve the remainder of Douglas Bruce's term and seeking election to the office in November. Annual salary is $87,300.

• Commissioner Wayne Williams, elected in 2002 and re-elected in 2006, subject to the two-term limit. Annual salary is $87,300.

• Clerk and Recorder Bob Balink, elected in 2002 and re-elected in 2006, subject to the two-term limit. His annual salary is $87,300.

• Surveyor Christopher Brewer, elected in 2002 and re-elected in 2006, subject to the two-term limit. Annual salary is $5,500

• Coroner Robert Bux, elected in 2006 and could run for a second term in 2010. Under a measure voters approved in 2001, Bux is not subject to term limits because he's a forensic pathologist. Annual salary is $87,300.

• Treasurer Sandra Damron, elected in 2002 and re-elected in 2006, subject to the twoterm limit. Annual salary is $87,300.

• Assessor Mark Lowderman, elected in 2006 and could run for a second term in 2010. Annual salary is $87,300.

• Sheriff Terry Maketa, elected in 2002 and re-elected in 2006. He may seek a third term in 2010 under a 2006 voter-approved measure that applies only to the sheriff. Annual salary is $111,100.