Two Lubbock County Elected Officials Lobby for a Salary Increase
Last Friday, Lubbock Country Treasurer Chris Winn (pictured) and Lubbock County Constable Precinct 4 Tony Jackson appeared before the nine-person Lubbock County Salary Grievance Committee.
Both elected officials made presentations concerning their experience, workload, current salary, and desired salary.
The Lubbock County Salary Grievance Committee voted unanimously to approve Treasurer Winn's request for a raise from $71,900 to $81,340. As noted by Lubbock County Judge Curtis Parrish, a unanimous approval for a salary increase by the salary grievance committee means it has to be automatically adopted in the next budget.
Treasurer Winn noted that when he was first appointed to his office in September 2015, his public official bond was in the amount of $10,000. After one year on the job, the county auditor increased the public official bond for Winn to $500,000, matching the county clerk.
Winn noted that the increase in the amount of the bond was due to the larger amounts of money he was working with through his official capacity as county treasurer.
Winn also said the salary increase would put the treasurer's office on equal footing with the salary for the County Clerk, District Clerk, and Tax Assessor-Collector. He stated to the committee that all four elected offices have unique and important functions which help the county government function, plus provide some checks and balances.
The same committee voted 5-4 to keep Constable Jackson's salary unchanged at $51,590. Constable Jackson was seeking a raise to $61,296.
He cited numerous reasons for a pay increase, including his 26 years as a law enforcement officer (working for Lubbock Police before becoming appointed Precinct 4 Constable in November 2018), his holding of a Master Proficiency Certificate as a Texas Peace Officer, his college education, a desire by the Commissioner's Court to increase the amount of "professionalism" from the constables, and the nature of working as a "one-man department" as a constable.
During the salary grievance hearing, one of the committee members asked Lubbock County Judge Curtis Parrish if Constable Jackson was provided information concerning salary and overall compensation when he was appointed Precinct 4 Constable last November. Judge Parrish said he was.
The Lubbock County Commissioner's Court formally approved the recommendations of the salary grievance committee during Monday's regularly scheduled meeting. The Commissioner's Court is also continuing to work through the process of crafting and approving the Fiscal Year 2020 budget.