Commissioners approve 2% COLA for elected officials after amendment reallocates judge’s raise

Lubbock County Commissioners Court on July 28 voted to set salaries, expenses and allowances for elected county and precinct officers for fiscal year 2026, approving a 2% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) as published and adopting an amendment that reallocated the county judge’s COLA to several other elected officials.

The court’s initial published proposal called for a 2% increase for most elected officials; the county judge noted certain judicial salaries (county court-at-law positions) were being raised by the state and pointed to those mandated increases. The court discussed a separate 3% COLA option tied to county employees’ planned raises but proceeded with the 2% as the baseline for elected officers.

Judge Curtis Parrish offered Amendment No. 1 to delete the county judge’s proposed salary increase and instead increase the salaries of four elected county clerks (district clerk, county clerk, tax assessor-collector and county treasurer) so that each would receive $91,005.75. Parrish said he would not accept a COLA himself and proposed reallocating his adjustment to those clerks. The amendment was seconded and passed by a 4–1 vote.

A subsequent motion to set the 2% COLA “as amended” carried 4–1, with Commissioner Mike Dolby recorded as the lone dissenting vote. Several commissioners said they personally would decline the raise even as the court approved the adjustment in…