[CALL TO ORDER] [00:00:10] TO GO AHEAD AND JUST HAVE EVERYBODY INTRODUCE THEMSELVES, AND THEN WE'LL RECOGNIZE THE CONSTABLES THAT ARE IN ATTENDANCE AS WELL. AND THEN I BELIEVE WE HAVE MORE OR LESS KIND OF AN AGREEMENT THAT'S BEEN REACHED. AND I'M GOING TO GIVE SOME BACKGROUND ON THAT AND PRESENT SOME INFORMATION, AND THEN WE'LL ALLOW THE COMMITTEE TO, IF THEY CHOOSE TO VOTE ON THAT. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SO LET'S START DOWN THERE. JOAN. JOAN WALLER, COUNTY TREASURER. LIZ PIRKLE, DISTRICT CLERK. CAROLYN BEDKE, TAX ASSESSOR. SANDRA JAMES, PUBLIC MEMBER. JAMIE COLLINS, COUNTY CLERK. ALL RIGHT. I'M TREY DUHON, COUNTY JUDGE. WALNUT COUNTY SHERIFF. CRIMINAL. DISTRICT ATTORNEY SEAN WHITMORE. ALL RIGHT. AND I ESPECIALLY WANT TO RECOGNIZE MISS SANDRA. DID I SAY THAT CORRECTLY, JAMES? SHE IS THE MEMBER OF THE OF THE PUBLIC MEMBER OF THE GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE. AND WE APPRECIATE HER BEING HERE AS WELL. AND JUST TO BE CLEAR, SO EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS THE WAY THIS WORKS. I AM NOT A VOTING MEMBER OF THE COMMITTEE. I WILL JUST BE BASICALLY DIRECTING THE THE THE COURSE OF THE MEETING AS WE GO. SO I WILL BE PRESIDING OVER THE MEETING, BUT I WILL NOT BE A VOTING MEMBER. BUT EVERYONE ELSE HERE, HERE ON THE DAIS IS A VOTING MEMBER. SO WITH THAT, LET ME GO AHEAD. ROBERT, CAN YOU HAND THIS OUT TO THE CONSTABLES FOR ME? AND I'VE GOT A FEW EXTRA COPIES FOR ANYBODY [2. Public Hearing: Salary Grievance Hearing for Elected Officials. ] [3. Discuss and take action on the salary grievance request of Elected Officials. ] ELSE. WHAT'S BEING HANDED OUT? I JUST WANT TO GIVE SOME BACKGROUND. SO WHAT WE JUST HAD, WE HAD A ELECTED OFFICIAL SALARIES WHICH WERE RECENTLY POSTED. AND IN THAT I HAD PROPOSED THE CONSTABLE SALARIES, I THINK IT WAS AROUND 73,000. PRIOR TO THAT, I THINK THE SALARY WAS 63, 849 I BELIEVE, IF THAT'S CORRECT. AND SO WHAT I DID AND I DID THIS WITH ALL ELECTED POSITIONS, TO BE HONEST, I WENT THROUGH AND FIRST I TRIED TO IN ORDER TO HAVE APPLES TO APPLES, I WENT THROUGH AND IDENTIFIED OTHER COUNTIES THAT ARE SIMILARLY SITUATED, LIKE WALLER COUNTY, BOTH IN POPULATION AND PROXIMITY TO LARGE URBAN AREAS. SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE THESE COUNTIES. AND I'VE KIND OF MADE SOME NOTES WHERE, WHERE THEY, YOU KNOW, WHERE THEY ARE POPULATION WISE. AND THEN ALSO, YOU KNOW, THE AREAS THAT THEY'RE ADJACENT TO. AND THESE ARE COUNTIES THAT VARY ANYWHERE FROM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT ON THE LOW END WARREN COUNTY AT 42,000, BUT THEN MOST OF THEM ARE BETWEEN 50,000 ALL THE WAY UP TO, I THINK, 116 OR 17,000. AND THAT'S LIBERTY COUNTY AT 117,000 BASED ON THOSE COUNTIES I WENT THROUGH. AND JUST JUST LOOKING AT BASE SALARY, I DIDN'T REALLY FACTOR IN LIKE SOME OF THEM HAVE SUPPLEMENTS, THERE'S SOME THAT PROVIDE CAR ALLOWANCES, THERE'S SOME THAT PROVIDE TRAVEL ALLOWANCES. THERE'S SOME THAT DON'T EVEN PROVIDE A CAR, WHICH I WAS KIND OF SURPRISED AT. BUT BUT THEN THEY GIVE LIKE A $25 CAR, A $25,000 CAR ALLOWANCE, LIBERTY COUNTY BEING ONE OF THOSE, WHICH WAS A LITTLE SURPRISING, WHICH I'M SURE KIND OF MAKES UP FOR THE FACT THAT THEY. LIBERTY COUNTY, ALTHOUGH THERE ARE 117,000 PEOPLE PAY THEIR CONSTABLE 64,000. SO ANYWAY, THE AVERAGE. WHAT CAME OUT TO 697 90. SO CLEARLY OUR CONSTABLES WERE DEFINITELY UNDER THE AVERAGE SALARY. THAT'S WHY WE HAD CAME UP TO 73,000, WHICH KIND OF PUT IT IN THE SAME BALLPARK AS THE PARITY RAISE THAT WE ARE GOING TO BE GIVING TO LAW ENFORCEMENT, WHICH IS ABOUT A $7,500 BUMP. YESTERDAY DURING COMMISSIONERS COURT, WE HAD A BUDGET WORKSHOP AND WE HAD SOME SPEAKERS. AND CONSTABLE NOEL, I THINK, WAS SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF THE CONSTABLES AND MADE SOME MADE SOME POINTS REGARDING THE DEPUTY CONSTABLES AND THEIR PAY RATES AND. AND THOSE POINTS WERE VERY WELL TAKEN IN REGARDS TO THOSE DEPUTIES BEING ON THE SAME LEVEL AS THE SHERIFF'S DEPUTIES IN TERMS OF EXPERIENCE. SO THAT WOULD MEAN THOSE DEPUTIES ARE ARE THE DEPUTY CONSTABLES ARE PROBABLY GOING TO GET BUMPED UP TO 75. SO NOW YOU HAVE A SITUATION WHERE YOU HAVE AN ELECTED OFFICIAL MAKING [00:05:03] 73,000, AND THEY HAVE DEPUTY CONSTABLE MAKING 75,000. THAT'S DIRECTLY UNDERNEATH IT. SO ONE THAT CREATES A PROBLEM, IN MY OPINION, THAT'S AN OPTICS ISSUE. BUT IT ALSO BECOMES A BIGGER ISSUE AS WELL. SO. WHEN THAT CAME ABOUT I WENT BACK AND LOOKED AT THIS LIST. AND YOU WILL NOTE THAT THERE ARE SOME COUNTIES THAT ARE DEFINITELY ON THE LOW END, MEDINA COUNTY BEING THE THE LOWEST AT 41,000, WHICH I'M NOT SURE WHAT THEIR CONSTABLES DO THERE FOR 41,000. I CAN'T IMAGINE THAT'S YOU KNOW, THEY'RE EXPECTING THEM, BUT THEY DO HAVE A TRAVEL ALLOWANCE OF 17 ANYWHERE FROM 17.5 TO 33,500. BUT SO MEDINA IS ON THE LOW END. AND THEN YOU'VE GOT WILSON AND HARDIN. THOSE ARE BOTH AT 51 AND 52,000 RESPECTIVELY. IF YOU TAKE THOSE OUT OF THE EQUATION, THE AVERAGE BECOMES A 79,051. SO I THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT WAS A GOOD NUMBER. AND AT THAT POINT WE WERE AT 73. THE CONSTABLES HAD ASKED FOR 85. SO I THOUGHT MAYBE MEETING IN THE MIDDLE. ACTUALLY, I THINK WE'RE GIVEN A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN THAN HALF. AND DOING THIS AT 80,000, I THOUGHT WAS A GOOD SOLUTION. AND IT AND IT KIND OF MADE THINGS RIGHT WITH THE DEPUTY CONSTABLE'S RATE OF PAY. SO I HAVE EXPRESSED THAT TO THE CONSTABLES, AND THEY HAVE INDICATED TO ME THAT THEY ARE IN AGREEMENT WITH THAT. AND I GUESS, ARE Y'ALL STILL OKAY WITH THAT SALARY? OKAY. AND JUST FOR THE FOR THE RECORD, WHY DON'T WE GO AHEAD AND GET YOU ALL TO INTRODUCE YOURSELVES? SO WE SO WE HAVE IT THAT Y'ALL ARE HERE. JOE TRIM CONSTABLE PRECINCT FOR 28 YEARS. OKAY. CONSTABLE HERSCHEL SMITH PRECINCT 314 YEARS. OKAY. GARY HALL, PRECINCT TWO FOR TWO YEARS. OKAY. AND THEN MY UNDERSTANDING, CONSTABLE LANE COULD NOT JOIN US TODAY. CORRECT. THAT'S WHY I'M HERE. HE HAS A PRIOR THING GOING ON. AND BUT BUT Y'ALL ARE STILL HERE REP HE'S Y'ALL ARE SPEAKING FOR HIM AS WELL. OKAY. AND HE IS IN AGREEMENT WITH THIS AS WELL. YES, SIR. OKAY. SO IF IT WOULD PLEASE THE COMMITTEE SINCE THE PARTIES HAVE REACHED AN AGREEMENT, WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE WOULD BE A MOTION AND A SECOND FROM THE COMMITTEE TO VOTE ON MAKING A RECOMMENDATION TO COMMISSIONERS COURT, BECAUSE THAT'S HOW A GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE WORKS, THAT THE CONSTABLE SALARIES BE SET AT 80,000. AND THEN THAT WILL THEN ENABLE US TO MAKE THAT AMENDMENT WHEN WE HAVE THE BUDGET HEARING. I MUST, I MUST, I MUST HAVE SAID, SIRI, SOMETHING IN THERE. YEAH. IN THAT WAY WE THAT WAY, WHEN WE HAVE OUR BUDGET HEARING ON THE EIGHTH, WE CAN AMEND THE BUDGET. I'LL MAKE A MOTION. SECOND, OKAY, I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND MOTION BY SHERIFF GUIDRY AND A SECOND BY DA SEAN WHITMORE. IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? DID I AFFECT THE OFFICERS UNDER THEM? NO, BECAUSE, I MEAN, WHAT IT DOES, IT KIND OF JUST PUTS THEM IT PUTS THEM ABOVE THEIR DEPUTY CONSTABLE. YEAH. BY ABOUT $5,000. EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT AS TO WHY MAYBE YOU'RE SEEING THE, THE, THE PAY IN THESE OTHER COUNTIES. A LOT OF THAT IS, IS WHERE YOU LIVE AND THE COST OF LIVING TO LIVE HERE AND RUN FOR OFFICE. YOU HAVE TO LIVE IN THE IN THE PRECINCT AND OR THE COUNTY JUST TO LIVE HERE. IT COSTS TWICE AS MUCH. MEDINA COUNTY. I GO BY THOUSAND ACRES FOR WHAT I HAVE IN MY PLACE OVER THERE. YEAH. AND THAT'S REALLY WHAT YOU'RE SEEING. YEAH. WHICH WHICH PROBABLY IS A GOOD REASON WHY THOSE THOSE THREE IN PARTICULAR. AND IT'S FUNNY BECAUSE MEDINA, WILSON, HARDIN, THEY ARE ALL BEXAR COUNTY. THEY'RE ALL IN BEXAR COUNTY AREA. SO PROBABLY IS SOME, MAYBE SOME COST OF LIVING STUFF GOING ON THERE, WHICH IS, I THINK PROBABLY A GOOD REASON WHY MAYBE WITH THOSE THREE COUNTIES. NOT EXACTLY. EXACTLY. APPLES TO APPLES. SO 79 IS, YOU KNOW, GOOD IS A BETTER NUMBER. AND THAT'S WHY, YOU KNOW, WE CAME TO 80,000. SO WITH THAT, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR DISCUSSION. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THEN. ALL IN FAVOR OF AND I CAN'T VOTE. ALL IN FAVOR OF MAKING THE RECOMMENDATION OF 80,000 FOR THE CONSTABLE PAY TO COMMISSIONERS COURT, SAY I I. ANY OPPOSED? ALL RIGHT. SO BY VIRTUE OF A UNANIMOUS VOTE, IT PASSED. THE GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE HAS MADE THE RECOMMENDATION TO THE COMMISSIONERS COURT OF THE SALARY OF $80,000 FOR THE CONSTABLE'S. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE FOR THIS GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE TO. I THINK THAT'S ALL WE HAD. ALL RIGHT, VERY GOOD. THEN IT IS 1:43 P.M. AND [00:10:07] THIS GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE IS HEREBY * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.