While the issue of most Colorado prosecutors not being paid what they could make as attorneys in the private sector or in other government jobs is nothing new, it continues to be an ongoing problem in search of a staffing solution, sources in the 9th and 5th Judicial District Attorney’s Offices say.
Deputy District Attorney Don Nottingham, who prosecutes felonies and handles juvenile cases in Pitkin County, spoke recently about the situation he faces in the Aspen office. Nottingham commented following 9th Judicial District Attorney Jeff Cheney’s recent presentation to the Pitkin Board of County Commissioners in which he asked for an increase in funding toward the cost of running the three-county office, which includes Garfield and Rio Blanco.
Cheney, who was first elected to the office in 2016 and reelected in 2020, spoke to Pitkin commissioners about issues related to the cost of living in the Roaring Fork Valley and how funding levels have been generally flat in recent years, leading to high caseloads and retention problems.
The majority of his prosecutors deal with massive caseloads, he said. When prosecutors leave, hiring qualified attorneys to replace them has been a challenge, he said.
In the county budget work session on Nov. 9, Cheney also shared how the pay is low even for himself. As an elected official, his salary is set and paid by the state, not the counties; yet, he works a part-time job at Lowe’s Home Improvement in Glenwood Springs to help support his family and pay off his debts.
Nottingham said within the 9th District Attorney’s Office, pay for prosecutors is not at the bottom of the scale for prosecutors across the state, but it’s not even close to the top — despite the fact that Pitkin and Garfield have a solid tax base and a high cost of living.
His office has two attorneys: himself and a county prosecutor who handles misdemeanor cases. There also is a full-time office manager/assistant. Two other employees, a victim’s witness assistant and an investigator, are shared with Garfield County.
Nottingham said the Aspen office isn’t necessarily shorthanded; the issue is districtwide. That means he’s often called in to assist in Garfield, which also is where he lives.
“When we’re short anywhere, we all pitch in to help,” he said of the 9th District prosecutors. “We do whatever needs to be done; we cover what needs to be covered.”
Nottingham said he hasn’t been called upon to handle a Garfield County trial in a few years. But he does cover “docket days” and various hearings in Glenwood Springs.
Hiring for the Aspen office can prove difficult, he said. Recently, the misdemeanor prosecutor for Pitkin County was promoted to handle felonies in the Garfield office. While there is a new county court prosecutor in Pitkin, the hiring process wasn’t easy.
“We had more than one person say, ‘This seems like a really good job but I can’t afford to live there and work at the salary you can pay me,’” Nottingham said.
Not all of the DA’s offices are funded the same way. Cheney said the funding from the three counties in the 9th District is based on population. Nottingham said that in some years, Pitkin can have a disproportionate amount of crime compared with Garfield, depending on the number of cases involving visitors.
“The funding mechanisms can get complicated depending on where you are,” he said. While county taxpayers foot the bill for the DA’s Office, there is no dedicated funding formula that takes into account caseloads and the rise and fall of property values.
Fifth Judicial District District Attorney Heidi McCollum, whose office covers Eagle, Summit, Lake and Clear Creek counties, said she deals with many of the same issues as Cheney regarding pay and cost of living for prosecutors.
But retention of attorneys is not as much of an issue, she said.
“My staff has been great. Once I get people hired, I do seem to retain them,” McCollum said.
That said, compared with pay for other government attorneys, such as a county’s staff attorneys, “We get paid a fraction of what they get paid,” she said.
“It’s disheartening,” McCollum continued, adding that many first-year sheriff’s deputies with a high-school education make nearly as much money as prosecutors with advanced degrees, even doctorates.
She said the funding for her office — worked out through an agreement among the four counties — relies not only on population, but also caseloads, tax collections and property values. The portion that Eagle County pays is nearly half of her overall budget, McCollum said.
Nottingham said the Aspen office could probably use an extra attorney, but even if the funding could make it possible, it’s difficult to find qualified people.
Generally, lawyers who are looking to become prosecutors don’t expect to make as much money as attorneys in other areas, he pointed out.
“Attorneys say they can make so much more money doing this or that. I get it. But there are those of us who become prosecutors that are in it for other reasons.”
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November 26, 2021 at 05:00PM
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Prosecutor pay issues nothing new - Aspen Daily News
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