Collin County staff outline new elected-official pay policy; court warned of mandated judge supplement increases

Collin County Human Resources presented the county’s newly adopted elected-official compensation policy and walked the court through salary comparisons, statutory constraints and potential costs the county will face in the coming budget year.

Cynthia Jacobson, director of human resources, said the policy uses the average of the fifth- and sixth-ranked comparable counties as the county’s marker for elected-official pay. Jacobson told the court two elected officials — the county judge and the sheriff — are currently above both markers; others such as justices of the peace and certain clerks are below the marker and would be candidates for adjustment if the court chooses to move toward the fifth-sixth target.

HR highlighted a separate state action affecting judge pay. The Texas Legislature adjusted district judge pay, and county supplements for county court-at-law judges are tied to those state statutes. Jacobson told the court the county will face a required increase for county court-of-law judges and private judges because state adjustments for district judges raised the statutory floor for related supplements. She estimated those changes create a near-term mandatory cost to the county budget.

Jacobson asked the court to consider a technical amendment to the county’s new policy to clarify that the county exclude Collin County itself from the comparison set and to make the fifth-sixth marker the primary target rather than an average that could be skewed by outliers. She said under the current wording, if an elected official is above either the average or the fifth-sixth average, the policy prevents raises; that produced an example where some commissioners felt justices of the peace would remain below the fifth-sixth marker but not receive an increase because of the overall average calculation.

Commissioners said they did not expect a decision at the meeting but requested advance notice ahead of budget workshops. Jacobson said she is presenting the topic now to avoid surprises during budget drafting.

Why it matters - State-mandated adjustments to judicial pay will require the county to increase supplements for county court-of-law judges; HR estimates the county exposure for mandated increases is significant and must be accounted for in the FY2026 budget process.

What commissioners asked for - HR to provide clear, line-item estimates of the fiscal impact of required judge-supplement increases and to propose language amendments that would make the fifth-sixth comparator the primary policy marker.

No votes were taken on compensation policy at this meeting; HR presented the information for the court’s budget planning.