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October 30, 2014 VOLU M E 51 | I SS UE 1 1 | 5 0 ¢
Northglenn-ThorntonSentinel.com A D A M S C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
A publication of
Salary increases, road projects proposed County staff works on finalizing next year’s budget By Tammy Kranz
tkranz@coloradocommunitymedia.com The Adams County proposed 2015 budget includes a modest salary increase for certified, sworn officers and money carved out for several road projects and additional staff. The overall revenue for 2015 is a projected $394,487,847 while the expenditures are projected to be $408,435,377. That leaves a difference of $13,947,530, which County Manager Todd Leopold said will be covered mostly by the fund balance for one-time capital projects. “We aren’t using fund balance to pay for ongoing expenses,” he said. There is $31,500,740 slated in the proposed budget for nonrecurring capital and operations and maintenance projects. Some of those projects include carpet replacement at the District Attorney’s Office, various IT work, installing emergency power to the elevators and replacing the recording system at the detention center and replacing security screening equipment at the courthouse. Leopold went over budget highlights with the board of county commissioners during their Oct. 14 regular meeting.
The proposed budget calls for the addition of eight full-time employees for a total budget cost of $622,070. Those new positions include the newly created District 4 and District 5 Board of County Commissioners, for an annual salary of $115,407 apiece. The other positions include a deputy district attorney with an annual salary of $84,482, a victim’s advocate, $58,000; a talent development specialist in the Human Resources Department $80,485; an animal care technician, $47,138; and a community support case service aide, $54,928, and social caseworker, $66,223, in the adult protection administration department. Leopold said that excluding the two commissioners and deputy district attorney, the salaries for the remaining positions were absorbed by either reductions in expenses or increases in revenues for those particular departments. The budget also eliminated 4.5 positions through attrition for a budget reduction of $359,000. Those positions include a communications specialist ($69,857), assistant county administrator in the county manager’s department ($152,153); two grounds maintenance workers ($18,829 each), a victim’s advocate assistance ($33,130) and a fleet technician master ($66,209). The net difference from the additional and eliminated positions is $263,063.
The Adams County Board of County Commissioners will approve the 2015 budget in December. One of the items being proposed for funding is design work on the build out of the Adams County Justice Center. Photo by Tammy Kranz The budget also proposes a 3 percent merit plan for employees and market adjustments for certified, sworn officers and public safety personnel (4 percent), labor personnel (2 percent) and professional and technical personnel (1 percent). Another expenditure factored into the 2015 budget is a 7 percent increase for
natural gas and electricity costs for all the county facilities. “It’s important to say that although we’re seeing that increase, we’ve also done things in the last year or two to offset those Projects continues on Page 7
Darr faces final weeks as sheriff By Tammy Kranz
tkranz@colorado communitymedia.com
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P L EA SE R ECYC L E T H I S C OPY
Packing up his office — stuffing family pictures, awards and his son’s maturing artwork over the years into boxes he’ll put in the bed of his F-150 truck — isn’t as simple as some might think it would be for Sheriff Doug Darr. When you’ve managed 520 fulltime employees and a $58 million annual budget for the past 12 years, handing over the keys to the next guy is a more delicate process. Darr began preparing for his successor in September — sifting through mounds of paperwork strewn across two large conference tables and his desk. “It’s bittersweet,” he said while dusting off a plaque and putting it in a box. “I’ve been here most of my adult life.” On Nov. 4, voters will choose a new leader for the Adams County Sheriff’s Office. Darr, 63, is termlimited. Voters elected Darr as their sheriff in 2002 and again in 2006. As Darr neared the end of his second and final term, voters in 2009 extended term limits to three for most Adams County positions, including sheriff. “Twelve years says something about the level of commitment he has with the community,” said Adams County Undersheriff Roger Engelsman, who has worked with Darr for nearly 20 years. “Twelve years says something about the trust the community has had in him.” He’ll be long remembered for his work ethic, proactive approaches to law enforcement and the relationships he built, he added. For the past 12 years Darr hasn’t just been a leader at the Adams County Sheriff’s Office, but for other law enforcement officers across the state. Chris Johnson,
Adams County Sheriff Doug Darr hands out certificates for free turkeys during the annual Operation Free Bird, which he helped launch in 2003. The program provides certificates for free turkeys and other food items around Thanksgiving. Courtesy photo board and wealth of knowledge,” he said. “His experience and wisdom is going to be missed.”
A legacy of leading
For many years, this stuffed ape rode alongside Adams County Sheriff Doug Darr before he retired him to the office. The ape was given to Darr by his then-5-year-old son who thought he was lonely during his commute to work. Photo by Tammy Kranz former Otero County sheriff and current executive director of the County Sheriffs of Colorado, de-
scribed Darr as a friend and mentor. “He has been a great sounding
Darr’s long list of accomplishments include fighting for safety improvements at the jail, establishing programs to not only reduce crime but help the less fortunate, and lobbying successfully for a regional law enforcement training facility. “I think his willingness to listen to people, try to be inclusive and carefully weigh his decisions has led to his success as a sheriff,” said Johnson said. Darr was a self-described strong-willed, challenging 21-year-old when he started working with the Sheriff’s Office as a jail deputy in 1972. He rose through Darr continues on Page 9