County Comissioners divided on raise hike for elected officials beginning in 2025

In a three-two decision, the Socorro County Commissioners approved giving elected officials a raise beginning in 2025 for those entering a new term.

Commissioners Craig Secatero, Joe Gonzales, and John Aguilar voted in favor of the resolution. Out-going Commissioners Ray Martinez and Glen Duggins voted against it.

The salary rates requested by Betty Saavedra, county clerk, in the previous meeting were based on the former “Class B High” classification in July of this year, which was the state-mandated cap for elected official salaries. On November 5, 2024, the caps were removed in the adoption of the Senate Joint Resolution, which gave the county commissioners the power to establish those salary caps.

The new salary rate passed will add $9,963.79 to the county commissioner’s salaries, $12,360.35 to the probate judge, $15,081.41 to the county assessor, treasurer and clerk’s salaries and $15,522.09 to the sheriff’s salary. It will take effect January 1, 2025 only for newly elected officials.

For those elected officials who are midterm, including commissioners Gonzales and Aguilar, Sheriff Armijo and the probate judge, they will not see the raise during their term. The incoming elected officials for their positions will see it in 2027.

The proposal drafted by the Socorro County Manager Andrew Lotrich, countered Saavedra’s request with a two-step increase that would give elected officials 90% of the salary requested in 2025 and 100% in 2027.

“I attempted to find middle common ground with those elected officials,” Lotrich said, “The recommendation is to eventually get them to where they want to be, but not all in one jump. Rather, we’re going to do this staggered to where it’s going to be over the next two years so that we’re going to be able to get them up to that top salary that they want,”

Duggins disagreed with the raise; he said he felt that being an elected official was a public service and was concerned about how they would keep up with the bills and debts that needed to be paid, “It looks like a train wreck to me,”

“When I drive around and look at the (county’s) poverty, and I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again but when the government is living higher than the people, it’s serving, I have a problem with that,” Duggins said.

Aguilar, Secatero and Gonzales said they were concerned about elected officials continually falling behind in salaries while regular county employees were getting regularly scheduled raises.

“I don’t believe in the food Tooth Fairy. I don’t believe in Santa Claus. I don’t believe in the pot of gold. But I know that there’s other revenue sources in the county, property taxes, gross receipts, taxes, constantly going on projects that are going on in Socorro County that generates revenue that I feel will support this,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales moved to change the manager’s proposal to 100% of the request to start in January 2025. After the approval, Martinez said he voted against the 100% raise because he preferred the county manager’s original two-step proposal.

“Any time that we raise the salaries, or we do anything, it is easy to say, ‘yes’, when you have the money,” Martinez said, “He (Lotrich) is crunching the numbers of what he recommended, you know, the 90% and then in two years, 100%, it’s pretty good.”

Duggins asked what he needed to sign and left the meeting after the vote.