(1) For the purpose of establishing the salaries of county officers whose terms of office begin prior to January 1, 2016: (a) Category I counties shall consist of the counties of Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Douglas, El Paso, Jefferson, Larimer, Pueblo, and Weld; (b) Category II counties shall consist of the counties of Eagle, Fremont, Garfield, La Plata, Mesa, Pitkin, Routt, and Summit; (c) Category III counties shall consist of the counties of Alamosa, Archuleta, Chaffee, Clear Creek, Delta, Gilpin, Grand, Gunnison, Las Animas, Logan, Moffat, Montezuma, Montrose, Morgan, Otero, Park, Rio Blanco, San Miguel, and Teller; (d) Category IV counties shall consist of the counties of Custer, Elbert, Huerfano, Kit Carson, Lake, Ouray, Prowers, Rio Grande, Washington, and Yuma; (e) Category V counties shall consist of the counties of Baca, Bent, Cheyenne, Conejos, Costilla, Crowley, Dolores, Hinsdale, Lincoln, Mineral, Phillips, Saguache, and San Juan; (f) Category VI counties shall consist of the counties of Jackson, Kiowa, and Sedgwick. (1.5) (a) For the purpose of establishing the salaries of county officers whose terms of office begin on or after January 1, 2016: (I) (A) Category I-A counties consist of the counties of Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Douglas, Eagle, El Paso, Jefferson, Larimer, Pueblo, Routt, Summit, and Weld; (B) Category I-D counties consist of the county of Mesa. (II) (A) Category II-A counties consist of the counties of Garfield, Grand, and La Plata; (B) Category II-B counties consist of the counties of Fremont and Pitkin. (C) Repealed. (III) (A) Category III-A counties consist of the counties of Archuleta, Chaffee, Clear Creek, Delta, Elbert, Gunnison, Moffat, Montezuma, Montrose, Morgan, Ouray, Park, Rio Blanco, San Miguel, and Teller; (B) Category III-B counties consist of the counties of Alamosa, Gilpin, and Logan; (C) Category III-C counties consist of the counties of Las Animas, Rio Grande, and Otero. (D) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2023.) (IV) (A) Category IV-A counties consist of the counties of Custer and Prowers; (B) Category IV-B counties consist of the counties of Kit Carson, Lake, and Washington; (C) Category IV-C counties consist of the counties of Huerfano and Yuma; (D) Repealed. (V) (A) Category V-A counties consist of the counties of Baca, Conejos, Costilla, Hinsdale, Lincoln, Mineral, Phillips, Saguache, and San Juan; (B) Category V-B counties consist of the county of Crowley; (C) Category V-C counties consist of the counties of Bent and Dolores; (D) Category V-D counties consist of the county of Cheyenne. (VI) (A) Category VI-C counties consist of the counties of Jackson and Sedgwick; (B) Category VI-D counties consist of the county of Kiowa. (b) On and after January 1, 2016, the general assembly may amend the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection (1.5) by bill to move a county to any of the categories for which salaries are specified in subsection (2.3) of this section to another category. Such amendment shall be made only after giving due consideration to the variations among the counties including population, the number of persons residing in unincorporated areas, assessed valuation, motor vehicle registrations, building permits, military installations, and such other factors as may be relevant to reflect the variations in the workloads and responsibilities of county officers and the tax resources of the several counties. (2) The annual salaries of county officers whose term of office begins prior to January 1, 2002, shall be as follows: County Treasurers, County County Assessors, Commissioners Sheriffs and Clerks (a) Category I 63,203 71,293 63,203 (b) Category II 51,827 57,768 51,827 (c) Category III 41,714 53,091 41,714 (d) Category IV 35,394 47,782 35,394 (e) Category V 32,613 36,405 32,613 (2.1) On and after January 1, 2002, but prior to January 1, 2007, the annual salaries of county officers whose term of office begins on or after January 1, 2002, but prior to January 1, 2007, shall be as follows: County Treasurers, County County Assessors, County Commissioners Sheriffs and Clerks Coroners (a) Category I 63,203 95,000 75,500 75,500 (b) Category II 51,827 75,000 62,000 32,000 (c) Category III 41,714 65,000 50,000 25,000 (d) Category IV 35,394 57,000 42,500 17,000 (e) Category V 32,613 42,000 37,500 6,500 (2.2) On and after January 1, 2007, but prior to January 1, 2016, the annual salary of a county officer whose term of office begins on or after January 1, 2007, but prior to January 1, 2016, is as follows: County Treasurers, County County Assessors, County County Commissioners Sheriffs and Clerks Coroners Surveyors (a) Category I 87,300 111,100 87,300 87,300 5,500 (b) Category II 72,500 87,700 72,500 44,200 4,400 (c) Category III 58,500 76,000 58,500 33,100 3,300 (d) Category IV 49,700 66,600 49,700 22,100 2,200 (e) Category V 43,800 49,100 43,800 9,900 1,100 (f) Category VI 39,700 46,500 39,700 9,000 1,000 (2.3) (a) Except as provided in subsections (2.3)(b) to (2.3)(f) of this section, on and after January 1, 2016, the annual salary of a county officer whose term of office begins on or after such date is as follows: Insert PDF file -- Contact pub team for WP file (b) Prior to January 1, 2018, and prior to January 1 each two years thereafter, the director of research of the legislative council appointed pursuant to section 2-3-304 (1) shall adjust the amount of each annual salary in each category specified in subsection (2.3)(a) of this section in accordance with the percentage change over the period in the United States department of labor, bureau of labor statistics, consumer price index for Denver-Aurora-Lakewood for all items and all urban consumers, or its applicable predecessor or successor index. The director of research shall post the adjusted annual salary amounts on the website of the general assembly. The annual salary of a county officer whose term of office begins on or after the date the salaries have been adjusted pursuant to this subsection (2.3)(b) must be as adjusted by the director of research. (c) The annual salaries of full-time coroners for category II, III, and IV counties, as displayed in bold text and within parentheses in the table in subsection (2.3)(a) of this section, apply only to coroners whose terms begin on or after January 1, 2023, and must be adjusted prior to January 1, 2024, and prior to January 1 each two years thereafter in accordance with subsection (2.3)(b) of this section. (d) The salary of a full-time category II coroner is equal to the salary of a category II county commissioner, category II county treasurer, category II county assessor, and category II county clerk as indicated by the table in subsection (2.3)(a) of this section. The board of county commissioners may decline the full-time status of a category II coroner for cause, but only after the coroner is given notice and an opportunity to be heard by the board of county commissioners in a public hearing. (e) A coroner in a category III county may, in consultation with and with approval by the board of county commissioners, determine if a full-time position is appropriate. If a full-time position is agreed upon, the salary of a full-time category III coroner is equal to the salary of a category III county commissioner, category III county treasurer, category III county assessor, and category III county clerk as indicated by the table in subsection (2.3)(a) of this section. (f) A coroner in a category IV county may, in consultation with and with approval by the board of county commissioners, determine if a full-time position is appropriate. If a full-time position is agreed upon, the salary of a full-time category IV coroner shall be equal to the salary of a category IV county commissioner, category IV county treasurer, category IV county assessor, and category IV county clerk as indicated by the table in subsection (2.3)(a) of this section. (2.5) Repealed. (2.7) (Deleted by amendment, L. 97, p. 308, § 1, effective August 6, 1997.) (2.8) The general assembly hereby finds and declares that: (a) The rate of compensation of elected county officers shall be provided in accordance with the provisions set forth in section 15 of article XIV of the state constitution; (b) The salaries of county commissioners, sheriffs, treasurers, assessors, clerk and recorders, coroners, and surveyors have been fixed by law through the enactment of this section. (c) (Deleted by amendment, L. 98, p. 409, § 1, effective April 21, 1998.) (3)(a) to (d) Repealed. (e) Except as provided in subsection (3)(f) of this section, no elected county officer shall have his or her compensation increased or decreased during the term of office to which he or she has been elected or appointed. All actual and necessary expenses of an elected officer incurred while engaged in business on behalf of the county may be allowed by the board of county commissioners and paid out of the county treasury. (f) An elected county officer in a county classified for salary purposes under subsection (1.5)(a)(III), (1.5)(a)(IV), (1.5)(a)(V), or (1.5)(a)(VI) of this section may elect in his or her sole discretion to receive an amount of salary that is lower than the amount provided for in this section. The amount of the lower salary received by an officer shall be fifty percent of the amount of the salary otherwise provided for the officer as set forth in this section. Any such election shall be set forth in writing and recorded with the office of the county clerk and recorder during the month of November. Any additional money available to a county as a result of an elected county officer making an election pursuant to this subsection (3)(f) shall remain available for expenditure in the county general fund. An elected county officer who elects to receive a lower salary pursuant to this subsection (3)(f) may subsequently elect to receive a higher salary so long as the amount of the higher salary does not exceed the amount provided for in this section. In no event shall an elected county officer make more than one election per year pursuant to this subsection (3)(f). (4) The board of county commissioners may adjust the salaries established in this section pro rata for county officers working part-time. (5) The salaries established pursuant to this section shall remain in effect until such time that section 15 of article XIV of the constitution of the state of Colorado is amended to authorize or direct the board of county commissioners in each county to fix the compensation of county officers. (6) If any provision of this section is found to be unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions of this section are valid, unless the court determines that the valid provisions, standing alone, are incomplete and are incapable of being executed.
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