The Montezuma County commissioners on Tuesday approved resolutions notifying the county clerk of two measures they intend to put on the November ballot They also passed a resolution appointing themselves as temporary acting county administrators.
One of the ballot questions seeks voter approval for raising the county lodgers tax from its current 2 percent to 5 percent. The lodgers tax is charged on hotel/motel stays and short-term rentals in unincorporated areas of the county.
The other measure will ask voters whether they want to eliminate term limits for the county assessor, surveyor, treasurer, and clerk and recorder.
The assessor, treasurer, and clerk are currently limited to three terms. KSJD wasn’t able to find out what the limit currently is for the surveyor, which by state statute is an elected office.
In previous discussions, the commissioners have said these positions are non-political but require professional expertise and it doesn’t necessarily make sense for the people in those offices to have to leave. Current Treasurer Ellen Black and Assessor Leslie Bugg both are coming to the end of their second terms. Current Clerk Kim Percell is term-limited and is leaving at the end of 2026.
If the measure passes, the incumbents in those offices would still have to run for re-election every four years, but they wouldn’t be limited in how long they could serve.
The resolution allowing the commissioners to act as interim county administrators was made necessary because Administrator Travis Anderson retired as of July 11 and a replacement hasn’t been found yet.
In the resolution, the board divided the administrative duties, with Commissioner Kent Lindsay taking on oversight of Social Services and Public Health; Gerald Koppenhafer overseeing the Road and Bridge Department, landfill, and fairgrounds; and Jim Candelaria handling the residual day-to-day administrative functions of the county.
