Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Judge proposes $657,000 placeholder to begin implementing salary study; goal: move employees toward mid‑market pay
Summary
The County Judge proposed using a $657,000 placeholder in the draft budget to begin aligning county pay with a recent salary study, favoring individualized adjustments over an across‑the‑board percentage increase. He cited recruitment challenges because many employees live outside Kerr County.
At the workshop the County Judge said the budget includes a $657,000 placeholder to begin addressing pay disparities identified in a recent salary study conducted by Steve Worling. He described the approach as individualized adjustments to move employees into the study’s second quartile rather than a uniform cost‑of‑living increase.
“That placeholder number is there, so we can figure out what to do about the salary situation and the wage adjustment,” the judge said. He explained the placeholder represents an initial planning level and that if the salary study prescribes higher increases for particular positions, the court would adopt the salary‑study amount for those employees.
Participants discussed mechanics: some suggested moving everyone toward target pay over multiple years and replacing step increases with merit or grade adjustments. Commissioners emphasized the goal is to be competitive in the local market while avoiding a budgetary spike if the full study were implemented immediately.
The judge also highlighted recruitment pressures tied to housing costs, saying more than half of county employees have mailing addresses outside Kerr County—an argument he used to justify making pay changes to retain staff and ensure the county can perform mandated functions.
