Montezuma County commissioners reopen discussion on elected-official term limits, consider ballot approach

Montezuma County commissioners on Feb. 9 reopened a discussion about term limits for county elected offices, debating whether to retain, broaden or eliminate caps on terms for positions such as clerk and recorder, treasurer, assessor, sheriff and district attorney.

Unidentified Speaker 1 said term limits enacted in past years have led to vacancy risks in specialized, statutorily driven roles and proposed the board consider extensions or exceptions for positions whose duties are primarily administrative rather than policymaking. Unidentified Speaker 2 and others said some offices — notably treasurer, assessor and clerk — perform statutorily prescribed duties and argued those roles could be exempted from term limits or have limits lengthened. The board discussed options including a per-office ballot question rather than a single blanket measure.

Legal and clerical guidance will be required: commissioners agreed the clerk should advise on precise ballot language, and one commissioner suggested reviewing how neighboring counties structured changes. Commissioners also noted that the district attorney post may need coordination with Dolores County because both counties sit in the same judicial district, and state statute could limit changes for judicially affiliated offices.

No formal motion or ballot language was adopted; commissioners agreed to continue research and potentially return the matter to a future agenda with draft questions and legal recommendations.

Next step: staff will research statutory constraints and examples from other counties and the clerk’s office will be asked to advise on ballot drafting and timing.