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Council directs draft ordinance tying municipal judge pay to magistrate salary; asks staff for broader salary comparisons
Summary
After discussion with elected and appointed officials, the council voted to request an ordinance that would set the municipal court judge salary at 90% of the magistrate judge salary effective at the next term and to return with comparative data for other elected positions.
The County Council on Sept. 9 voted 4–2 to direct staff to draft an ordinance that would set the municipal court judge’s salary at 90% of the New Mexico magistrate judge salary for the next term beginning Jan. 1, 2027, and to allow future increases consistent with changes to the magistrate judge salary, subject to budget availability and subsequent council action.
The motion followed a broader discussion about elected-official compensation after the 2024 constitutional change that removed statutory caps on county officials’ salaries. Several elected officials and appointees spoke: the municipal judge requested alignment with magistrate pay to maintain competitiveness and to address the fact that judicial salaries at the state level have been adjusted upward in recent years; Probate Judge Claire, the assessor and others described recruitment and retention challenges for elected posts in a high-cost county.
Councilor Wrighty made the motion (restated and seconded by Councilor Herman) to have the county manager and county attorney draft the municipal-judge ordinance tied to 90% of magistrate pay and to return with an ordinance containing a savings clause clarifying funding and implementation timing. The motion passed 4–2 with Councilors Regor and Hand voting no and one member absent.
Councilors also requested additional comparative salary data for a set of similarly sized counties (Taos, Rio Arriba, Chavez, Lincoln, McKinley and Otero) to inform possible separate ordinances or adjustments for other elected offices such as probate judge, assessor and councilors. Staff and legal counsel said they would research statutory constraints, certification-pay options for the assessor, and public finance implications of tying future increases to state salaries.
