Here’s a phone screen shot from a recent official La Plata County job posting. It looks like I may have chosen the wrong career path. No wonder our county budget is looking kinda slim. Sign me, Dewey, Cheatem & Howe
The bad news: It seems that our cash-starved county has taken the prudence out of jurisprudence.
But on the bright side, the new assistant attorney just might be able to afford a house in the county he or she represents.
It will take some belt-tightening and maybe a down-payment subsidy.
You don’t get much for $2.3 mil these days. Maybe an A-frame, nested in the pines with La Plata views and lots of potential.
In any case, it’s an obvious typo posted through NeoGov, a firm that provides software for human resources departments in the public sector, including La Plata County.
To put $2.3 million in perspective, that one paycheck alone would represent 2.19% to 2.52% of the county’s entire budget outlays for 2019.
In private practice, that salary is the equivalent of billing clients $1,105.77 per hour for an entire year – including a two-week vacation.
That rate is generally reserved for the most experienced senior partners at white-shoe firms in Manhattan.
A quick check at Salary.com shows the average assistant county attorney position pays between $62,364 to $82,470 annually.
The current – and corrected job announcement – has the La Plata County position at $78,000 to $90,000 yearly.
But you can wear cowboy boots instead of wingtips.
So obviously, that annual salary was entered or calculated as a biweekly check.
“It was definitely a glitch,” confirmed the folks at La Plata County’s human resources department, which had 400 employees on its roll call.
“The error was caught within the day and fixed.”
So Action Line had to ask the Two Million Dollar Question: “Did the listing result in a flood of applicants?”
“Afraid not,” said the HR representative. “Like I said, it was caught quickly and corrected.”
So if you are looking for county jobs – and current and correct salary or pay rate – check out the county’s website at www.co.laplata.co.us. Click on the “I Want To” tab. Go to Apply For drop-down and click on “Employment Opportunities.”
Thanks a million for considering a career as a public servant.
Now that we’re in the dog days of summer, it’s time to fetch items with biting commentary from the Mea Culpa Mailbag.
A loyal reader snarls at a number of howlers in two recent local news reports.
One story used mongrel geography, citing a north-of-town term to describe a south-of-town location.
Another dispatch was barking up the wrong tree in identifying what tree species grow on Durango’s ballyhooed and shady Boulevard.
“Now that La Posta Road has moved to the Animas Valley and the elms on East Third Ave have transformed into oak trees, it is difficult to wait for the next edition of the Durango Herald in order to read what else has changed in our little world,” writes a loyal reader “Amazed and Amused,” who wanted anonymity lest he end up in the dog house.
“I have noticed that my tomato plants have been producing apples and that the raccoons have quit wearing masks, but that doesn’t seem out of the ordinary anymore.”
Email questions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 80301. You can request anonymity if the future isn’t what it used to be.
