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Council directs manager to draft ordinances adjusting elected‑official pay ahead of 2026 elections
Summary
Council directed the county manager to prepare ordinances changing elected‑official compensation: councilor salary to $74,000, probate judge to $25,000 and assessor to $19,000; the council chose to defer county clerk salary review until 2027. Any approved ordinance would take effect for officials elected in the next cycle.
On Nov. 18 the Los Alamos County Council directed the county manager to prepare ordinances to update multiple elected‑official salaries ahead of the 2026 elections, with councilors voting separately on each recommendation.
Councilors voted to ask the manager to prepare an ordinance setting the councilor (commissioner) salary at $74,000 (motion passed 5–1 with one absence). The council also directed preparation of ordinances to set the probate judge salary at $25,000 and the assessor at $19,000; both motions passed unanimously in recorded roll calls. Councilors agreed to defer consideration of the county clerk’s compensation to 2027.
Councilors said the recommendations came from a comparative review of similar jurisdictions’ compensation, with staff using population, tax‑revenue and municipal‑league dues as reference points. Staff and councilors emphasized any change would not take effect immediately for current officeholders but would apply to those elected in the next relevant cycle; ordinance adoption and publication steps will follow the council’s direction.
No public comment was recorded on salaries during the meeting. Staff said the next step is to draft the ordinances and return them to the council for public hearing and formal adoption.
