McLennan County staff lay out scenarios to raise elected-official pay; county engineer request highlighted

Anna, McLennan County HR director, presented three scenarios for elected-official pay and cost estimates to the commissioners: a minimum compensation ratio of 0.90 for officials, a scenario that would move officials to a 1.0 compensation ratio, and a targeted option combining a modest flat increase for justice-of-the-peace and constable offices with whatever COLA the court approves. Anna said the 0.90 minimum scenario would cost about $33,617 and an option that applies a 3% flat rate to JPs and constables would cost $28,014; she cautioned that the full 1.0-ratio scenario would carry a much larger price tag.

Why it matters: elected-official pay runs on a different comparison basis than most civil-service roles because there is no private-sector market; the county compares against peer counties. Any change will affect recurring personnel costs and political expectations about parity among officials.

County engineer request: HR also reviewed a department-head request from the county engineer asking for an increase that would move that position’s compensation ratio from about 0.89 to roughly 0.91 in HR’s calculation. Anna recommended the court consider a larger adjustment—closer to the IT director’s existing ratio (about 0.96), which HR said helped attract applicants when that IT position was posted recently.

What commissioners said and next steps: commissioners asked for additional scenario detail and for printed materials. No vote or formal decision was taken; Anna said the court could apply any approved COLA after the initial adjustment or use a flat-percentage approach for JPs and constables. The county engineer position will be posted once the court finalizes direction; HR flagged the engineering vacancies as historically difficult to fill and recommended market-responsive pay if attracting qualified applicants remains a problem.