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| Commissioners To Appoint County Surveyor Larimer County's Elected Surveyor Post To Be Vacated |
Larimer County Surveyor, Tom Donnelly, has won a seat on the Larimer County Board of Commissioners by
just over 900 votes after the final tally of the provisional ballots was counted. His election victory means he will
now be forced to vacate his current elected post in the county, County Surveyor, before being sworn-in as a
Larimer County Commissioner in early January.
appoint a replacement from among applicants who contact the county and express an interest in the non-The
Donnelly.
The new Board of Commissioners beginning in 2009 will include Kathay Rennels, Steve Johnson and Tom
Donnelly.
JR Engineering's survey group leader, Chad Washburn, has thrown his hat in the ring for consideration as
Larimer County Surveyor. Washburn, a Republican party precinct captain, has been contacting people in
county offices and Republican party in an effort to be recommended to the post. Washburn has been
employed by JR Engineering since October of 2003.
The Larimer County Commissioners are responsible for appointing the replacement for this position to serve
until the next election in two years. The County Surveyor is a part-time elected post that pays approximately
$5,000 per year. Often misunderstood, the position serves as the county’s official arbitrator in the event there
is a property boundary dispute between two licensed surveyors. Therefore, the position is not terribly well
understood as the County Surveyor does not provide general survey services to the public.
The official job description for the county is below.
The Larimer County Surveyor is a professional land surveyor and is responsible for representing the
county in boundary disputes. When authorized by the Board of County Commissioners, the Surveyor
conducts surveys of county property including rights-of-way.
Recent changes in state statute have also limited the authority of County Surveyors across the state including
limiting their budget authority. None of the Larimer County Commissioners have voiced a preference for the
position nor have other names surfaced for the job according to sources within the county.
Any surveyors interested in the position are being encouraged to contact Larimer County and to request being
added as a candidate to the list of interested applicants for the position.
Donnelly received positive publicity from the position before running for County Commissioner by slashing his
own budget by 20%.