AUSTIN, Texas — EDITOR'S NOTE: A previous version of this article stated that the Travis County commissioners voted to increase their own and other officials' salaries. The article has been updated to reflect that the commissioners won't vote on the salary increase until after a public hearing.
This week, the Travis County commissioners have proposed to give themselves raises, according to KVUE's media partners at the Austin American-Stateman.
Before the pay raises happen, the commissioners court will hold a public hearing and then take a final vote. The four Travis County commissioners would go from earning $119,508 a year to $151,817, a 27% increase.
Those raises are part of a larger plan to give raises to all elected officials that amount to nearly $650,000 in the 2020 operating budget, according to the Statesman. City constables would get a $6,544 raise, district and county clerks will get a $13,000 raise, the sheriff will receive $19,427 more and the county judge will get a $31,371 raise.
The commissioners said their salary increase would bring them in line with what officials in other Texas counties – like Bexar, Dallas, Harris and Tarrant counties – are paid, the Statesman reported.
According to the Statesman, a public hearing on the salary proposal is set for 9 a.m. on July 30. Commissioners plan to vote on the budget on Sept. 24.
The Statesman reported that this plan to grant raises comes as the commissioners have stressed tighter spending in recent weeks in anticipation of slower revenue growth in the next few years due to the 3.5% revenue cap approved by legislators with the passage of Senate Bill 2.
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