La Plata County is seeking applications for the position of county surveyor after no one ran for the seat in the general election.
If that’s causing a bit of déjà vu, it’s because this is the second time in two years the county has found itself in this position.
Surveyor Steve McCormack was appointed to the part-time role in early 2023 by the Board of County Commissioners after no one ran to replace him in the 2022 general election.
His term ends Jan. 14.
The county surveyor must represent the county in boundary disputes and locate lost, destroyed, or disputed corners and boundaries; notifies the county attorney of any unsettled boundary disputes or boundary discrepancies; and files all surveys, field notes, calculations, maps, and any other records pertaining to work authorized and financed by the board of county commissioners.
McCormack held the position from 1986 to 1994. He was reappointed to finish out his successor’s term in 1996, and reappointed again in 2015 after the previous surveyor died. He won reelection in 2016 and 2018.
He had intended to run for a four-year term in 2022, but a “bad series of coincidences” led to his absence on the ballot, he told The Durango Herald in early 2023. McCormack then waffled on whether he would throw his resume on the stack when the BOCC was considering an appointment, and ultimately decided to do so.
Individuals appointed to the office serve a shortened term that ends following the next regularly scheduled general election. However, no one, including McCormack, ran to fill the role this past November.
He could not be reached for comment this week.
It is not uncommon that the county surveyor position is difficult to fill, in La Plata County or elsewhere in Colorado, said Clerk and Recorder Tiffany Lee, who runs elections. La Plata County didn’t even have a surveyor from 1978 until 1986 because no one would take the job.
“It's a position that people don't even understand why it's elected, but it's also a really important position,” she said.
According to the Professional Land Surveyors of Colorado, 30 of the state’s 64 counties have a vacancy in the surveyor’s office.
It also does not pay particularly well. While most other elected county offices are full-time jobs with six-figure salaries set by the state Legislature (the treasurer, assessor, coroner, clerk and recorder and commissioners in La Plata County make $125,000; the sheriff makes $152,000), the surveyor is a part-time job with an annual salary of $7,600.
“It's something they do on top of their business,” Lee pointed out. McCormack previously said he spends about four hours each week attending to county business.
The county is accepting applications through 5 p.m. Jan. 13.
Applicants must be licensed surveyors in Colorado and should submit a letter of interest, along with a detailed resume or curriculum vitae, to the La Plata County Board of County Commissioners by email at countyadmin@lpcgov.org or in person at the administration building located at 1101 East Second Ave. in Durango.
rschafir@durangoherald.com
