SEE CRISIS

through a public records request.

“Failure to create a system that addresses this issue in real time will simply create chaos, retention/ retrain costs and a larger monster to address as we kick the problem down the road,” Klotz wrote in a Jan. 12 email.

In other emails, Klotz said in 2021, his offi ce brought in nearly 20% more revenue compared to the previous year. In April, he said his offi ce’s turnover rate was 10%.

“My fear is that at some point the current unacceptable attrition rate will become a mad rush to the door,” he wrote April 12.

Commissioners have met with Klotz, Coroner Jill Romann, Treasurer Dave Gill and Assessor Lisa Frizell regarding compensation complaints, Commissioner Abe Laydon said.

In May, the commissioners received an anonymous letter on the topic from someone who identifi ed themself a Douglas County employee. The author, who declined to speak with Colorado Community Media on the record out of fear of retribution, described diffi culties coming from the low wages.

“We appreciate our new Douglas County open space. Unfortunately, we can’t afford to drive there or pay for food to enjoy on a picnic,” they wrote.

Douglas County, one of the wealthiest counties in the country, announced this year that its budget is balanced and is virtually debt-free. In the April 18 staff presentation, fi nance director Martha Marshall said raises would cost about $2.25 million this year.

“All funds can handle that without a problem,” she said.

In the meeting, Laydon said he was hesitant to enact the raise because he didn’t want “to be accused of pulling a stunt before the primary election.” Laydon is running for re-election this year and is uncontested in the June primary.

In a June 3 interview, Laydon said the commissioners are “taking a very hard look” at raises this month and that he anticipates a signifi cant cost of living adjustment.

“I think as a commissioner our citizens rely on the board to be good fi scal stewards and not to be reactionary to momentary fi nancial pressures,” he said. ”If there’s a signifi cant market correction and we’ve made a signifi cant commitment on a signifi cant fi nancial commitment that we can’t adjust in the future, or it would be hard to adjust in the future, we’re putting the county in jeopardy.”

Commissioner George Teal also didn’t support the measure in April, saying he wanted to wait to see how the ongoing war in Ukraine and interest rate changes will impact the economy.

“Not everybody is getting it in the private sector,” he said.”They’re getting the infl ation but they’re not getting the infl ation to their paychecks.”

Commissioner Lora Thomas said she would be in favor of the 3% raise.

“They’re not going to get rich off this but it’s going to help them pay for their gas and put food on the table for their kids,” Thomas said. “So I would like to encourage us to help our employees who help our residents.”

Thomas said she requested another meeting on the topic be scheduled for June 3 but it didn’t occur. She added she’s concerned that employees may feel the need to turn to collective bargaining if a raise is not provided.

ELECTION

make her voting history available to The Sun. It shows she’s voted consistently since 1988.

Most candidates running this year have regularly voted in recent primary and general elections in Colorado. Here are a few exceptions: • Allcorn and Keltie only voted in Colorado’ 2020 general election in 2020 • Walker voted in the 2018 general election and the 2020 presidential primary election, but not the 2018 primary election and or the 2020 general election • Michael Colombe, a Colorado Springs Democrat running against Torres in the 5th Congressional District, voted in the 2016 general election and then didn’t vote again until November 2021 • Aadland voted in general elections from 2016 through 2020, but didn’t vote in any primary contests in those election years

Residents can register to vote in the June 28 primary election at govotecolorado.com.

This story is from The Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support The Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun. com. The Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

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Policing Property Crimes in Douglas County

Since the Democrats took over Colorado at the state level, property crimes such as burglaries, thefts, and vehicle break-ins have been steadily increasing in Douglas County. While Douglas County boasts a much lower crime rate than other metropolitan communities, it’s important to residents living in Douglas County that we protect our community from the crime problems that plague larger urban areas. As your Sheriff, I will implement a multi-faceted approach to reducing property crimes. This includes a community-involvement component and implementing policing models that have been proven to reduce crime. As Sheriff our resources will be focused on the fundamentals of crime ghting.

The rst step to addressing any problem is to understand the problem and underlying factors. As a member of the Douglas County law enforcement community for the last 28 years, I am well-educated about evolving crime trends. I plan to dedicate civilian crime data analysis staff for this research. Commissioned patrol deputies will utilize a data driven approach of crime hot spot areas that are identi ed. In short, we will be working smarter.

In addition to data analysis, we will use what is called proactive policing. This is not a new strategy, and it oftentimes gets overlooked as new strategies are introduced, but it has a long history of success. Proactive policing requires adequately staffed patrol teams to ensure that deputies have undedicated time (not responding to calls for service) to conduct increased patrols, proactive traf c enforcement and citizen contacts in crime hot spot areas. As Sheriff, I plan to realign existing staf ng levels to increase the number of uniformed deputies in marked patrol cars for each shift. It’s also critical that we ll any vacancies with a sense of urgency and with highly quali ed personnel.

Lastly, to reduce the occurrence of theft and other property crimes, we need to strengthen security. This involves the residents of our community. As your Sheriff I will educate community members about ways to protect their property and will provide crime prevention tips. Community meetings and social media campaigns will be used to educate our residents about strategies to prevent crime in their neighborhood. Neighborhood crimes statistics, as well as crime and traf c accident hot spot maps will be readily available on the Sheriff’s Of ce website.

As Sheriff, I will be able to implement this day one. There won’t be a learning curve for me. I have worked in and have overseen just about every department in the Sheriff’s Of ce. I know what resources law enforcement needs, and I know how to keep our community safe.