Sheriff urges pay‑scale lateral adjustments; court opens countywide review

Sheriff’s office leadership pressed the commissioners court to address perceived pay inequities for staff hired in recent years, asking for targeted step increases for employees who brought prior experience to Kendall County. The sheriff framed the request as a fairness and retention measure, asking commissioners to allow lateral‑transfer adjustments so some new hires start at higher steps on the county scale.

“You have 1 full time that would still not get an increase based on the 4%,” county HR/budget staff explained, summarizing which employees would and would not receive raises under the judge’s 4% proposal. County budget staff produced a preliminary tally to show fiscal impact: moving a set of sheriff‑office hires to step 4 would cost about $25,097 for salary and about $36,741 including fringe, staff said. More expansive scenarios that applied similar moves countywide were estimated at as much as roughly $400,000 in the worst case, though staff said the full‑county estimate depends on which departments and positions qualify.

Commissioners agreed to give other elected officials and department heads a chance to submit comparable lateral‑transfer requests using a standard template and a July 10 deadline, so the court can evaluate similar claims consistently across departments. Commissioners also signaled they will consider implementing approved changes with an October‑1 effective date in the FY2027 budget if financially feasible.