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Jefferson County approves DA stipend policy, sets cap at $50,000
Summary
The Jefferson County Board of Commissioners approved a policy to set a supplemental stipend for the county's district attorney, adopting criteria for award and capping the stipend at $50,000. Commissioners discussed duties tied to the stipend, comparisons with other counties and whether the DA should oversee deflection efforts.
Jefferson County commissioners on May 16 approved a policy to provide a supplemental stipend to the county's district attorney and set a maximum stipend of $50,000.
The action was intended to let the county set a discretionary supplemental payment on top of the state salary for whoever holds the DA post; commissioners said the stipend would be tailored to an individual's experience, seniority and ability to handle high-profile cases. The motion to adopt the policy, including a change adding an item allowing representation of the county and sheriff in limited cases, passed with the board approving the policy and the stipend cap.
County leaders said the stipend is meant to help the county recruit and retain a DA with the experience needed to manage a heavy local caseload and coordinate with local criminal-justice partners. Commissioner discussion repeatedly tied the stipend to public-safety aims and to day-to-day collaboration between the DA's office, the sheriff and community corrections.
Acting District Attorney Steve Verich recommended the board include continued civil-commitment work and the ability for the DA's office to represent the county and the sheriff "whenever county counsel and the sheriff request," saying those duties are factors the county should consider when setting stipend amounts.
Robert Rodriguez, director of Community Corrections, described a long-running working relationship with the DA's office and urged commissioners to value experience. "Having an experienced DA has been able to keep us working together even if we don't agree all the time," Rodriguez said, saying that open communication and familiarity with local probation and diversion programs tangibly aid day-to-day supervision and recovery-court work.
Commissioners reviewed comparative figures discussed in the meeting: a current county stipend of $20,000, the state DA base pay cited in the meeting as $139,776, and a chief-deputy top pay mentioned at about $161,000. County staff calculated that a $50,000 stipend on top of the cited state base would create roughly $190,000 in total compensation for the DA.
The board debated alternative approaches: tying the stipend to a percentage above the county's chief deputy prosecutor, setting a fixed maximum, or leaving full discretion to the board to award any amount up to the cap based on the criteria in the adopted policy. Several commissioners said they favored keeping a flexible, merit-based standard rather than automatically tying the stipend to another job's pay band.
Commissioners and attendees also discussed whether the DA should have a role in local "deflection" (pre-arrest or treatment-referral) programs created under recent statewide policy changes. Speakers noted mixed results in neighboring counties and said any county role in deflection would require coordination across law enforcement, community corrections and treatment providers. Several participants suggested the program would more naturally sit administratively with Community Corrections while still involving prosecutorial input for legal points.
The board directed staff to pursue procedural follow-ups: contact the governor's office (the county identified Richard Lang as the governor's point of contact) about the appointment process for applicants to the DA post, and, if applicants are available, invite them for local interviews around a planned meeting on June 4. Commissioners emphasized they wanted to meet applicants early in the governor's selection window to provide local feedback.
The policy the board adopted includes (1) a set of criteria for awarding a stipend (experience, seniority, complexity of cases handled, leadership), (2) an explicit item allowing the DA to represent the county and the sheriff in limited cases when requested, and (3) a cap on supplemental pay of not to exceed $50,000.
Next steps: staff will finalize the written policy language incorporating the board's edits, reach out to the governor's counsel about applicant interviews, and schedule applicant interviews if the governor's office makes applicants available.
Votes at a glance: the board voted to approve the policy and the stipend cap; the motion passed with a majority of the commissioners present (motion passed; board recorded more ayes than nays). The transcript does not list a roll-call vote by name for each commissioner in the record provided.
