County prosecutor asks commissioners for three new positions and 6.5% attorney pay increase

Miss Stanek, the presenter for the county's criminal office, asked Lubbock County Commissioners Court during the June 2025 budget work session to approve three new positions and to consider a 6.5% pay increase for attorneys.

Stanek said recruitment and retention remain the office’s ‘‘continued issues,’’ noting that recent departures have outpaced hires. ‘‘Whenever the feds are ready to take 2 of them, they've offered them jobs and they're accepting, and one's going into private practice,’’ she said, describing how experienced staff are leaving for federal and private-sector positions.

She asked the court to fund: one legal assistant dedicated to the misdemeanor division (seven misdemeanor attorneys currently share a single legal assistant); one investigator assigned for courtroom and field work to increase safety and investigative capacity; and a third attorney for the appellate division, which has not had an additional appellate attorney since about 2008.

Stanek said the investigator role is intended to be a sworn, armed investigator who would do interviews, subpoenas and courtroom support—functions she said a security guard could not perform. She described the current investigator staffing model as a rotation of senior investigators that is “not ideal” and said adding one investigator assigned to the courthouse would reduce operational strain on investigators who now rotate across high‑priority dockets.

On compensation, Stanek asked for a 6.5% increase that would move a reported $80,000 entry pay toward roughly $85,000, citing statewide salary comparisons and Texas Tech graduate starting pay averages. She framed the increase as part of keeping the office competitive: ‘‘That 6.5% would take the $80,000 starting pay to 85,000, which would be more consistent with around the state,’’ Stanek said.

Stanek also asked the court to consider a county‑wide cost‑of‑living adjustment for all county employees and separately noted she would request merit raises for top performing staff in her office.

Commissioners asked how many investigators the office currently has and whether investigators could be reassigned rather than hiring new staff. Stanek replied the office has senior investigators who rotate to courtroom duties but emphasized that reassigning them reduces capacity for other essential investigative work; she said the ideal solution to preserve both court coverage and investigative capacity is an additional investigator.

Stanek also reviewed contract and professional services in her budget: she said contract services include two lab analysts at the DPS lab paid under a two‑year contract that prioritizes Lubbock County cases, and professional services account mainly for medical examiner costs and trial exhibits.

She told the court the office can house the proposed personnel within existing space but acknowledged some internal reorganization would be required if the new positions are approved.

Why it matters: The prosecutor’s office said turnover and the loss of mid‑career attorneys to federal and private jobs are creating recurring staffing gaps that affect case processing and courtroom safety. The requests combine personnel, compensation and operational changes aimed at stabilizing the office’s capacity to prosecute and manage higher caseloads.

What remains open: The commissioners did not vote on staffing or pay at the session. Stanek said the office will continue to provide data to the court and that the prosecutor’s budget will be considered alongside other departmental requests as the commission develops the FY‑26 budget.