Van Zandt County commissioners direct 3% across‑the‑board pay increase for 2025 proposed budget

Van Zandt County Commissioners Court on Thursday instructed staff to put a proposed 3% across‑the‑board pay increase for county employees into the budget the county will file, while deferring a decision on increasing the county retirement match until staff can provide detailed cost estimates.

The direction came during a budget workshop in which the court considered multiple salary scenarios (3%, 4% and 5%) and discussed how falling taxable values and protested property valuations were reducing estimated tax revenue. County leadership emphasized the tradeoff between employee pay, pension match changes and other demands on available funds.

The court’s presiding judge framed the choices around revenue that the appraisal district has reported and the county’s legal tax rate options. Officials said the county’s current taxable‑value estimates produced an approximate collections figure in the low‑$20 million range; staff applied a 3% delinquency assumption to estimate budgeted property‑tax collections. County staff presented the projected additional cost to the operating budget if salaries were raised by 3%, 4% or 5%, and included a line for expected increases in health‑insurance costs.

Commissioners debated alternatives. Some members favored a broader 5% raise to retain staff and reduce turnover; others warned that a larger increase would make it harder to fund planned capital projects and building restorations. Several commissioners supported an approach that pairs a moderate immediate raise with a retirement‑match change (a “3% + match” hybrid), which would benefit longer‑term employees more than one‑time higher raises, but they agreed to postpone any retirement‑match change until the auditor provides firm cost figures.

At the workshop’s conclusion, the court reached consensus guidance to: (1) include a 3% across‑the‑board salary increase in the proposed budget to be filed by the statutory deadline; and (2) continue researching the financial impact and implementation mechanics of increasing the county retirement match (the clerk will return with exact dollar impacts and options). The court emphasized that this guidance is for the proposed filing and that adjustments are possible before final adoption after public hearings and receipt of certified tax‑rate data from the appraisal district.

Why it matters: County staff must file a proposed budget by the statutory deadline and then publish required notices and hold public hearings. The pay‑increase guidance will be used to populate the spreadsheet staff will file; a decision later this month will set elected‑official salaries separately per state law.