Travis County is in the preliminary stages of raising pay for its elected officials by 5 percent.
The news came during the Tuesday session of the Travis County Commissioners Court. Todd Osburn, the assistant director of total rewards with the county, explained that this is just an initial step, and the pay raise is not final. According to procedure, notice declaring the increase would first run in a local paper. It would be finalized at an Aug. 29 meeting at the Commissioners Court.
“Every year as part of the budget process, the commissioners court has the statutory obligation to set salaries for elected officials,” Osburn said. “Except those that are set by the state, which are the judicial positions: (the) district judge, county court at law judge and probate judge.”
A 5 percent salary raise was the higher of the two options given by Osburn and would cost the county $200,000, compared to $160,000 for a 4 percent salary increase.
“If you take action today, this article would get posted on The Austin Chronicle on the 11th. It would run for one week,” Osburn said. “And we would be required to have a public hearing before the vote setting salaries for elected officials.” The public hearing would also take place Aug. 29, Osburn said.
County officials said they planned to keep alive the tradition of increasing elected officials’ pay commensurately with other county staff salaries.
“I think that it has been a good tradition to tie the elected salaries to the general salaries,” said Commissioner Jeffrey Travillion. “I think we’re not sure at this point if we’re getting more information down the line. I like the idea of the up-to amount, and my understanding is that we will fall where the workforce falls.”
One member of the public who commented, Zenobia Joseph, called for a moratorium on pay increases for elected officials, pointing to homelessness and equity issues in the Austin area. (She specifically referred to a City Council vote to use the Marshalling Yard by the airport as a temporary homeless shelter, though commissioners noted that decision had nothing to do with the county.)
Commissioner Brigid Shea asked if it was possible to tie elected officials’ pay raises to county employee pay raises. Osburn answered that the newspaper notice will reflect the maximum amount elected officials can get.
“Obviously, you could vote for less if you want to. You just can’t do more,” Osburn said.
Photo by Larry D. Moore, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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Travis County Commissioners Court: The legislative body for Travis County. It includes representatives from the four Travis County Precincts, as well as the County Judge. The County Judge serves as the chair of the Court.
