It'll take a one and one-half tax increase for all county taxpayers on their property, but for the first time in nearly a decade, Cameron County Public Works employees will get a $1,500 raise and a $500 Christmas bonus.
One cent of the one-and-a-half cent property tax increase will go toward bond payments which paid for the projects in each precinct and the other half will go toward the raises.
All other county employees aside from the Public Works workers will also get a raise, albeit a smaller one. They will all get a $500 raise but it will be sweetened with a $1,000 Christmas bonus.
The vote was unanimous.
Cameron County commissioners voted today to advertise the tax rate next week and to include the raises for the lowest-paid workers. What is not included in the pay hike is a $23,000 raise recommended by district judges for Cameron County Auditor Martha Galarza.
The district judges recommended that the commissioners give Galarza a pay increase that would raise her salary from $97,000 to $120,000. The judges also recommended the court give auditor department employees a raise, as well.
Commissioner Alex Dominguez asked if the court was obligated to give Galarza the $23,000 increase dictated by the district judges or whether it was merely a suggestion. He suggested that the auditor's salary remain the same until the court could get guidance in the form of a Texas Attorney General opinion on the matter and it was unanimously approved.
The judges made the recommendation after they held a hearing where they also recommended raises for their office staff and the court reporters. At the time, all the commissioners were attending a legislative agenda session in Austin and they returned to find the judges' recommendation on their plate."I wish they had done it while we were here so we could have had some input into the issue," Dominguez said.
Commissioners are now faced with the prospect of having a huge disparity in the salaries between the court reporters for the district judges and the court reporters for the county court-at-law judges.
Raising taxes is always an unpopular proposition, but the commissioners apparently have come to grips with the issue citing a growing county population that needs more services, the desertion of prosecutors and deputy sheriffs to other entities because they can get better pay, and a tax rate that has remained the same for over a decade.
Recently, the salaries of some county employees has become an issue, with Pct. 4 commissioner Dan Sanchez getting back the $5,710 that he had "donated" in order for Cameron County Clerk Joe Rivera and District Clerk Aurora de la Garza to get increases of $2,855 each.
Sanchez said that he voted for the proposal in order to get De la Garza's and Rivera's $78,105 salaries as close as possible to the $86,690 salary that is paid to Tax Assessor-Collector Tony Yzaguirre.
The increase granted the two from Sanchez's salary line item brought their compensation to $80,960.
The collector's compensation was $85,690.
If Galarza's salary goes up to the proposed $120,00 she will be making more than any of the four commissioners (between $43,423 and $48,133), the county judge ($69,642) and other elected officials. About the only one she will not be making any more than will be County Administrator Pete Sepulveda ($141,000 from Cameron County plus an annual stipend of $75,000 from the CCRMA for a total of $216,000 a year), the district and county court-at-law judges.
Below is a list of the salaries of the county's highest-paid elected officials:
Sheriff Omar Lucio: $97,160
Tax Assessor-Collector: $87,190
County Clerk Joe Rivera: $81,960
District Clerk Aurora de la Garza: $81,960
The other non-elected officials – aside from Sepulveda– who earn more than the elected officials listed above is Sepulveda's administrative assistant David Garcia, who earns $115,000 and used to make an extra $75,000 stipend from the CCRMA before the commissioners asked the authority to reimburse the county for the time Garcia performed any work for it.
Other high-paid appointed officials who earn high salaries are Tobin Lefler at $121,617 and Chief legal counsel Bruce Hodge at $121,500. Health Administrator Yvette Salinas earns $84,500.
Commissioners were told that a one and one-half cent tax increase on a $100,000 home would be about $15 more, less than a meal for two at local restaurants, or $1.25 a month. The commissioners will vote to approve the new tax rate and vote to advertise it in the next meeting.
If Galarza's salary goes up to the proposed $120,00 she will be making more than any of the four commissioners (between $43,423 and $48,133), the county judge ($69,642) and other elected officials. About the only one she will not be making any more than will be County Administrator Pete Sepulveda ($141,000 from Cameron County plus an annual stipend of $75,000 from the CCRMA for a total of $216,000 a year), the district and county court-at-law judges.
Below is a list of the salaries of the county's highest-paid elected officials:
Sheriff Omar Lucio: $97,160
Tax Assessor-Collector: $87,190
County Clerk Joe Rivera: $81,960
District Clerk Aurora de la Garza: $81,960
The other non-elected officials – aside from Sepulveda– who earn more than the elected officials listed above is Sepulveda's administrative assistant David Garcia, who earns $115,000 and used to make an extra $75,000 stipend from the CCRMA before the commissioners asked the authority to reimburse the county for the time Garcia performed any work for it.
Other high-paid appointed officials who earn high salaries are Tobin Lefler at $121,617 and Chief legal counsel Bruce Hodge at $121,500. Health Administrator Yvette Salinas earns $84,500.
Commissioners were told that a one and one-half cent tax increase on a $100,000 home would be about $15 more, less than a meal for two at local restaurants, or $1.25 a month. The commissioners will vote to approve the new tax rate and vote to advertise it in the next meeting.
6 comments:
Come on Dan Sanchez.......IS DOING THE RIGHT THING too much to ask for? You sir, accepted to give up that money.....and now you want it back? Do you have a conscience?
Its about time the little guys n gals get something cuz its always the big guys who get raises every year no matteer what if the times are good or bad
Nothing to do with an election coming up, no? Why not do it the real PRI way and give them Soriana vales?
It's a shame how much the upper heads of this county keep on getting raises for doing the same poor jobs cause it is a reallity that this County has poor management just rediculous Politicians getting paid more for being dum asss. He ones that really need the raises are the employees that are on the front lines every day exposing their lives so that county citizens can sleep better every night and don't have worries about their houses being burglerise ir worry about home invasions or kidnappings like Hidalgo County has and getting worst yea you kniw who i am talking about it's our County Sheriff Deputies that lay it all on the line for our County citizens for miserrable $13ddls an hour pay. Why can they offer a better way of lifes for their families but yet they have to go make a safer way of lives for our citizens and take care if their problems but who has consideration fir them WELL NOT THE HIGHER PAYING POLITICIANS THAT WE HAVE IN THIS COUNTY WHO CAN CARE LESS FOR THIS EMPLOYEE. Oh but if they are going out of town they just call their grampa Lucio to have the Deputies go do foot patrol around theur house like if they were more inportantant then the average citizen in the County. SORRY ASS OF COUNTY MANAGEMENT THAT WE HAVE THAT AS LONG AS THEY HAVE A GOOD QUALITY OF LIFE THATS ALL THAT MATTERS. PURA MIERDA Raza
Why do politicians get paid so much money just to sit on their asses and do nothing. Why does law enforcement personnel who works hard every day , work weekends and are not corrupt get paid a lousy 13 or 14 an hour. We need politicians who are pro law enforcement
Wow is Cascos now approving a little increase for the County employees just to get there vote, seems like only when his time for reelection is coming up is when he decides to give a little increase to the employees, what are the employees taking home after the increase a merely $20.00 a paycheck and less after taxes, wow I can see you really care for your employees.
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