Gilpin commissioners will tackle issues over worker pay, lack of stafng and forthcoming 2024 budget next week

By Don Ireland Senior Reporter

With Tuesday’s election behind them, Gilpin County’s commissioners and administrative leaders are racing to make several key decisions in the weeks ahead as they work on the proposed 2024 budget.

At their next regular meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 14, the Gilpin Board of County Commissioners (BoCC)ing compensation plan that will improve salaries for several employees and change job descriptions for others. The plan was formally presented to county leaders -

HRQ, during the commissioners’ workshop meeting on Tuesday (Nov. 7).

County Manager Ray Rears said he and several discussed the proposal with Department and plans to meet with public works and other departments in the days ahead. It is possible the BoCC may also schedule some special meetings adopted.

The county commissioners, who approve compensafor employees, will be studying recommendations in the weeks ahead, hoping to have several potential changes approved prior to early December, when the 2024 county budget is expected to be adopted.

Hannan Wakeem, Brian Wilkerson and other Corespent more than two hours strengths and potential issues with the BoCC, Rears, County Human Services Director Chanda Johnson, other department leaders.

Among Gilpin’s greatest challenges will be to imme- public works. In addition tomended that four full-time sergeants and two part-time specialist positions shouldpartment. Public works also with a lack of workers who have Commercial Driving Licenses, which enables them to handle such heavy equipment as snowplows and road-grading equipment.

Armstrong said about 70 outside the county and travel to work because Gilpin, which has less than 6,000 residents, doesn’t have a from which his department can recruit. Rears said the county might need to conto help recruit new law-enforcement members.

According to the CoreGilpin would need to spend approximately $210,000 for salary increases. The report noted base salaries shouldn’t be reduced next year, although not all employees will receive a pay increase, either. Gilpin currently has 133 full-time employees and 44 part-time workers. The county has nine elected commissioners, and 16 departments.

Wakeem said increases – averaging three percent - should be authorized for tions to keep them competithe metropolitan Denver and Boulder areas. Rears commented that the public works department recently lost an employee who left for another position in Boulder County because it paid more than what Gilpin does. Wakeem also recommended that some paygrades should be reduced from 12-step increases so that employees could advance more quickly. Adjusting the pay rates for employees – depending on their number of years of service – could cost more than report noted. factor between male and female employees, noting that several women are paid at a higher rate than their male counterparts, although experience and time on the job were factors. About 61 percent of county employees are females, the report said. recommended that Gilpin hire a communications director who would oversee outgoing communications, including updating the county’s website, posting to social county information. The proposal is being considered as part of the forthcoming budget.

A survey of county employees, conducted during the past four months, resulted in 85.5 percent saying for Gilpin and that they would recommend to others to seek employment from the county. The number was high compared to other counties, where sometimes only 30 percent of employees would recommend to friends and families working for the same employer.

Rears suggested that Gilpin model for employees. “We’re moving toward a performance-based program,” he involved in this process.”

In July, the BoCC approved a $129,800 contract assessment and compensation study.