Denver District Attorney-elect Beth McCann will receive 2 percent salary hikes in each of the last two years of her four-year term, similar to other salary increases given to her metro-area and statewide colleagues under state statutes.

Denver City Council approved an ordinance Tuesday, Jan. 3, that set McCann’s incoming salary at $219,606, the current amount paid to outgoing DA Mitch Morrissey. McCann will earn the same amount in 2018, then her salary will increase to $223,998 in 2019 and $228,478 in 2020.

“I didn’t realize the DA’s salary had to be set four years in advance,” McCann told the Council’s Safety, Housing, Education and Homeless Committee on Dec. 14, 2016. “It’s a little bit of an awkward situation, but I understand this is what’s been done since the 1980s. But I didn’t feel it was appropriate to get a salary raise for my first two years.”

State statutes require any salary for the district attorney above a statutory minimum amount “shall be set by the City Council of the City and County of Denver for the 2nd Judicial District.” The current minimum salary for district attorneys in Colorado is $130,000, with the state paying 80 percent. McCann said the city’s share of the DAs salary over the last four years was 76 percent.

McCann provided salary amounts sought by district attorneys in the metro and Front Range areas that show comparable amounts. For instance, the 1st Judicial District (Jefferson County) DA will earn a $220,000 salary by 2020, the 4th Judicial District (Colorado Springs) DA was earning $183,000 and was seeking an increase for 2017, the 8th Judicial District (Larimer County) DA will be paid $216,000 in four years, the 17th Judicial District (Adams County) and the 20th Judicial District (Boulder) DAs will both get $212,000 salaries.

“I believe I should be the highest paid of the surrounding area DAs since we handle a higher volume of crime, particularly violent crime,” McCann said. “Felony filings were up by almost 1,000 (in 2016) and we’ve seen huge increases in our caseloads.”

McCann said 62 homicides had occurred in Denver shortly before the end of the year, compared to 57 in 2015. Sexual assault cases were at 158, about the same as 2015, she added. Case filings by the Denver Police Department had increased “pretty significantly,” McCann stated, with felony filings up 22 percent in the last 10 years and the number of filings accepted for charges was up 13 percent over the last five years.

An annual requirement if salary hikes given

Assistant City Attorney David Broadwell said the statutory requirement of the City Council to consider the DAs salary is unique, and in his lengthy tenure with the city he had never seen a DA salary be “ratcheted back.” Broadwell also noted the statute did not require City Council to increase the DA salaries, only to set the amounts.

McCann noted the Colorado District Attorney’s Council plans to get a bill introduced in this year’s General Assembly to increase the minimum salary amount.

Councilman Paul Lopez said in his nine years on the Council, “We never asked a district attorney to take a retroactive salary or a salary reduction.”

“Even in the Great Recession, we increased the pay commensurate with the population, the workload and the job,” he added. “This is no different now that we have the first woman DA in Denver’s history. It’s a matter of equal pay and equal work and we recognize that.”

Councilwoman Robin Kniech said 2 percent increases may not end up even equaling the inflation rates in McCann’s final two years in office.

Cases looked at for bias

McCann also addressed some of her plans once she is sworn into office. Those include analyzing cases as they are turned over to the DAs office to ensure there is no bias based on race or other factors.

“We want to look at whether we charge anything, what charge we file, what type of plea bargains and sentencing recommendations,” McCann said. “Those are all points where bias can occur. This is something I’m going to be very committed to address.”

She planned to hold training sessions for DA staff to learn how to recognize inherent bias and also wants to be out in the community and form citizen advisory councils.

“DA offices tend to be pretty insular and we focus on cases all the time,” McCann said. “But I want to be more transparent and accountable with more access to the public.”

The U.S. criminal justice system is over-represented by minorities, she added, “So I want to be very clear to my deputies and investigators that there’s no place for that in this office, not that I’m saying it is present now.”