Williamson County Commissioners approved pay raises for elected officials, district judges and county court at law judges at their July 30 meeting.
In all, the raises call for an extra $62,514.90 in the county's 2013–14 fiscal year budget.
The court approved a 5 percent raise for constables and justices of the peace and a 4 percent raise for all elected officials, including the county judge and commissioners.
County Judge Dan Gattis originally sought a 2 percent raise for his position, but Commissioner Ron Morrison requested the county judge receive the same raise percentage rate as the rest of the court.
"I want the judge to take the same heat we do," Morrison said.
Each commissioner will receive a salary increase of $3,369.47 per year, raising their yearly income to $89,508, according to a Williamson County public notice. The county judge's salary would increase by $4,227.81, creating a yearly income of $109,923.12 per year, including $4,800 earned for serving on the Juvenile Board.
Discussion regarding raises for county employees was sparked by a presentation at the July 23 meeting on the findings of an employee survey presented by Evergreen Solutions LLC, a group from Tallahassee, Fla.
Evergreen's survey did not focus much attention on elected positions, Gattis and Commissioner Valerie Covey noted, but found Williamson County employee compensation to be lower than pay for similar jobs in comparably sized counties in the state.
