Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District attorney gets state apportionment raises; court approves DA salary adjustments using SB 22 funds
Summary
The court approved district‑attorney office salary adjustments funded by state apportionment (Senate Bill 22) and moved the DA chief investigator position from nonexempt to exempt; commissioners asked staff to examine parity implications for sheriff's investigators.
The Grimes County Commissioners Court on Sept. 3 approved a set of salary adjustments requested by the district attorney’s office to be funded from state apportionment (Senate Bill 22) and moved one DA position from nonexempt to exempt.
District Attorney representation presented four changes the office requested to address recruitment and retention: raising the DA’s chief investigator Raul Gonzales’s salary from $73,062.62 to $78,208.42; increasing a vacant misdemeanor prosecutor position from $102,056.62 to $108,000; increasing the felony ADA position from $115,000 to $118,096.70; and raising a legal‑assistant/archives position to $46,800. County staff and the DA noted these increases would be funded exclusively from state apportionment/SB 22 funds allocated for rural prosecutors’ salaries.
The court approved the DA’s requested salary adjustments and authorized the auditor and human resources to implement budget changes and place remaining apportionment funds in a separate line item for the DA office. Commissioner Philip Cox moved the motion; Commissioner Chad Mallett seconded. The court recorded vocal affirmations in favor and the motion carried.
The request prompted a broader discussion about parity across law‑enforcement investigators. Commissioners and staff asked the auditor and HR to review whether the sheriff’s office should be given the same flexibility to use SB 22 funds to raise investigator pay so that investigators across agencies remain competitive with surrounding counties. County Auditor Jesse Murphy and HR (Talita Coleman was on vacation) flagged that adjustments using SB 22 are restricted to salary uses and will need administrative steps to ensure consistency with the county’s pay structures.
Why it matters: The approved increases are intended to make Grimes County’s DA office more competitive for experienced prosecutors and investigators. Commissioners requested follow‑up to determine whether similar apportionment adjustments should be applied to sheriff’s investigators to avoid interagency pay disparities.
