Why are County Commissioners full time paid positions and not regular citizens like the city councils?

The short answer: Because we, the people of Colorado, said so.

County commissions are unusual beasts – elected by voters, commissioners serve both executive and legislative roles. 

In Larimer County, even though the county has a full-time county manager, the three commissioners help directly run the government and also attend public meetings on behalf of constituents. They also make county regulations themselves.  In Weld County, there are five commissioners, who directly run the government with the assistance of a finance and administration director. And in Boulder County, the three commissioners run the county themselves, with assistance from appointed staff. 

Supporters of this system say the amount of day-to-day work that arises in managing a geographically large area like a county is best handled in partnership between the commissioners and their professional staff. In some smaller counties, like Mineral, the county commissioners consider themselves part-time, and as such only take a part-time salary. 

But the long and short of why comes down to this: Because that’s what the Colorado Constitution says they are.