Two DPS office assistants ask Commissioners Court for midpoint pay adjustments

Two county employees who staff Texas Department of Public Safety regional offices asked the Commissioners Court to approve midpoint wage adjustments for their office-assistant positions, citing expanded duties and multi-agency coordination that they say exceed the original job description.

Laura Leija, a county employee who supports multiple trooper areas, said the positions have existed for decades but have taken on increased workload tied to regional task forces and interagency coordination. She described managing administrative responsibilities for 16 troopers across multiple areas and said the positions previously were sustained by citation revenue — a stream she said the employees were told no longer covers their pay. Leija requested the county set the positions at the advertised midpoint (approximately $53,256 for the pay level cited) rather than leaving them below midpoint.

Budget staff said the two positions have already received an average 33% pay increase since 2021 via market and cost-of-living adjustments and warned that approving a midpoint increase for these two would raise parity concerns for other county office assistants. Commissioners asked staff to provide a cost-benefit analysis, including a clearer accounting of how ticket revenue is distributed among agencies and the net fiscal impact to the county of supporting the positions at higher pay.

The court did not make an immediate decision; commissioners asked county finance staff to return with revenue-distribution details and other comparative analyses.