Carlsbad Municipal Court Judge Collis Johnson given nearly $28K pay raise
Carlsbad Municipal Court Judge Collis Johnson received a substantial pay increase from city councilors Feb. 13.
The last time city council approved a raise for a municipal judge was in 1996, read a memo from City of Carlsbad Attorney Denise Madrid Boyea to councilors.
Council members unanimously approved a $62,000 a year salary for Johnson, an increase from the $34,000 a year salary set nearly 30 years ago.
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“This amount has been approved by the (Carlsbad City Council) Budget Committee, and New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration (NMDFA) for the (fiscal year) ’24 budget cycle,” Madrid Boyea said during the meeting.
Ward 3 City Councilor Mary Garwood said the pay increase for Johnson was long overdue.
Johnson was elected in 2018 after serving as the court administrator. Former judge Janet Ellis resigned in 2017 and was replaced by the late Janell Whitlock who was a city councilor and appointed to the position after Ellis stepped down.
The pay raise was retroactive to Jan. 1 of this year.
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Johnson pay raise not linked with pay increase for state judges
Feb. 10 New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed House Bill (HB) 141 “Supreme Court Justice Salaries,” which passed both the New Mexico House and New Mexico Senate.
Madrid Boyea said municipal judge salaries are set by statutes passed by city governments in each municipality. She said money for the judges comes out of a municipality’s budget.
The legislation signed by the governor increase salaries for New Mexico’s supreme court justices to $232,000 a year with the chief justice receiving $2,000 more, according to a news release from the governor’s office.
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Judges from the Court of Appeals will receive 95% of the annual salary of the Supreme Court.
District court judges will collect 95% of the annual salary of the Court of Appeals justices and Metropolitan Court judges will get 95% of the annual salary of district court judges, stated the news release.
“Our municipal court judge is not considered a metropolitan court judge; that court is only in Albuquerque,” said Madrid Boyea.
Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 or by email at MSmith@currentargus.com or @ArgusMichae on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Carlsbad Municipal judge gets pay increase
