GOLDEN — Jefferson County Commissioners on Tuesday approved the county’s 2016 budget, which includes a $40 million and again gives raises to county employees.
The $515.9 million budget includes a 2.6 percent merit-based increase in salary and a 6.9 percent bump in benefits for county employees.
The county will also have about 55 additional employees from what was approved last year. Jeffco hired nearly 50 full-time equivalent employees during 2015 as amendments to the budget and just over five more were approved for 2016. In total, the county will have 3,012.45 full-time equivalent employees for the 2016 fiscal year.
Jeffco has struggled in previous years to keep its experienced employees, many of whom have left for other municipalities with higher pay rates, particularly in the sheriff’s office and human services department. The since last year.
“We’ve had issues with attrition and have tried to address that in a responsible way and pay a fair wage,” Commissioner Casey Tighe said. “That’s reflective in this budget.”
The commissioners took a more hands-on approach in working with staff on the budget, having more than 40 meetings since April. Commissioners expressed their appreciation for staff at the meeting.
“We are stewards of taxpayer dollars,” Commissioner Don Rosier said. “Do we have an absolute perfect budget? No, but it’s good and reflective of what voters of Jefferson County want.”
Joe Vaccarelli: 303-954-2396, jvaccarelli@denverpost.com or @joe_vacc
