By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper.
The next Sandoval County sheriff, assessor, probate judge and two county commissioners will start their terms with a 12.11% raise. For the first time, residents, not politicians, picked the number.
The county’s new Elected Officials Salary Commission approved the increase 4-1 at its Sept. 30 meeting. District 2 member Romie Sandoval cast the lone “no” vote.
At the commission’s Sept. 15 meeting, Human Resources Director Angela Rodden recommended a raise of between 7.11% and 12.11%. The low end would have matched the raise all county employees received. Rodden and County Manager Wayne Johnson argued for the high end. They pointed to salaries in other counties, inflation and the cost of living.
The county’s own payroll shows the gap. In fiscal year 2024, the most recent salary data available, the sheriff earned about $17,500 less than his chief deputy and about $1,000 less than the undersheriff. The county clerk and the treasurer each earned about $4,400 less than their own deputies.
The new salaries take effect Jan. 1, 2027, when winners of the Nov. 3 general election take office. That covers the District 1 and District 3 commission seats, the sheriff, the assessor and the probate judge. The remainder of the commission seats along with the clerk and treasurer seats are not on this year’s ballot. Those officials keep their current pay until their terms end, because state law bars raises in the middle of a term.
Commissioners created the salary panel in June, voting unanimously to stop setting their own pay. Each commissioner appoints one resident from their district to the five-member panel.