Week of June 9, 2022
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DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
LoneTreeVoice.net
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 17 | SPORTS: PAGE 24
VOLUME 21 | ISSUE 16
County government experiencing ‘staffing crisis’ amid low pay Managers, human resources director asking for raises BY ELLIOTT WENZLER EWENZLER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
The Douglas County government is struggling to find employees and seeing “historically high” turnover rates as the board of commissioners has delayed approving raises.
In April, human resources director Laura Leary asked commissioners to approve a 3% across-the-board raise for the county’s 1,350 employees. “Some directors would say, they would describe it as a staffing crisis right now,” Leary said. Leary recommended that a raise be enacted for June 30 paychecks, saying the latest the board could vote to meet that timeline was in May.
Commissioner Lora Thomas supported the raise increase while commissioners Abe Laydon and George Teal were not ready to move forward. While the board agreed to revisit the subject in May, no meeting was ever scheduled. A spokesperson said it will be discussed sometime in June. Last year’s turnover rate at the county was about 18% and this year is on par to be about the same. As of
More money. Less food. Greater demand: Inflation hits metro-area food banks Distributors continue to feed thousands in face of uncertainty BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Before he’s left the food bank’s parking lot, Zachary Mullins sits in partial shade and eats a handful of fresh strawberries and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich from his brown cardboard box. He’s been getting food from Integrated Family Community Services, one of the largest food banks in the Denver metro area, once a week for the past two years. “I rely on this food bank,” said Mullins, who lost his job and home in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now he lives homeless in Englewood, near where IFCS is based. But the nonprofit is facing a difficult reality as it contends with 40-year-high inflation rates and a SEE FOOD BANK, P22
June 3, there were 139 vacancies in the organization. “In jobs we used to get say 20 to 30 applicants pretty regularly, we are seeing things like two applicants, three applicants,” Leary said. County Clerk and Recorder Merlin Klotz has also been asking commissioners to pay his staff higher wages in several emails obtained by Colorado Community Media SEE CRISIS, P21
County homelessness initiative to discuss temporary housing solution Castle Rock council opposes plan BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Todd McPherson, IFCS’s director of development, prepares food boxes for a morning PHOTO BY ROBERT TANN rush Thursday, June 2.
DEVASTATION TO DELIGHT Artists forge wonderful works from wildfire’s remains P14
Douglas County’s Homelessness Initiative will be discussing a potential short-term housing solution in the form of a Pallet center at its June 9 meeting. The goal is to provide more local resources to unsheltered people. The committee will be evaluating possible locations for a Pallet center, which would include shelter space, bathrooms and an office for reintegration and human services. Douglas County Commissioner Abe SEE SOLUTION, P8
NEED TO SUCCEED
The cost of college drives students down P4
