The 10% pay increase is for employees in Grades 106-113 who are not bound by the collective bargaining agreement, or CBA, which was approved by the commissioners court on Jan. 31. A CBA is a contract that is reached after negotiations between representatives of a union and employer have been met.
Hays County Treasurer Daphne Tenorio sought the court's guidance on how to distribute the pay increase to employees.
“When we implemented the first 10% raise there were a lot of people who were already maxed out at their pay grade, so they were set up in this different category, which would have been paid out,” Tenorio said. “We categorized them as a lump sum, because if we had given them the additional 10% it took them into a new pay code.”
Tenorio questioned if the county paid the lump sum out in advance and individuals terminated their employment, they would have been paid in advance and “technically wouldn’t have received that income.”
“One thing that we did think about doing was going ahead and paying it out monthly in a monthly stipend-type category to assure that the employees were remaining within the county as employees,” Tenorio suggested.
“I am good with the monthly [payments],” Precinct 1 Commissioner Debbie Ingalsbe said.
Consultants from Management Advisory Group Inc., a management consultant firm, have been working on a salary survey since 2022, but there have been delays in gathering information.
The Hays County Commissioners Court will meet again on March 28 to review a new pay-scale system presentation from MAG with input from department heads and elected officials, and make adjustments as necessary, as well as review implementation and costs.
