Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Jonathan Zitzmann presented a pay parity plan for officer salaries to the Montgomery County Commissioners Court on Aug. 12. Previously, local law enforcement leaders had raised concerns about Houston’s plan, announced in May, that will raise police pay by 36.5% by 2030. Montgomery County’s pay plan was approved under the county’s fiscal year 2025-26 budget Sept. 5.
Zitzmann said the approach in Montgomery County will focus on recruiting, retaining and rewarding law enforcement personnel.
“A lot of our guys are working a second job,” County Judge Mark Keough said. “[The pay parity plan] ... gives them some freedom to choose not to.”
What you need to know
Zitzmann said the team that developed the Montgomery County pay parity plan believes it will keep the county competitive in the region.
During the Aug. 12 budget hearings, Zitzmann said the number of vacancies in Harris County and Houston—at least 1,400—exceeded the total number of peace officers in Montgomery County, which is about 1,000.
Turnover in the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department is only 1%, and there were only 20 vacancies as of Sept. 3, Sheriff Wesley Doolittle told the Commissioners Court in May. However, he also said that negotiations in Houston have created potential retention challenges.
In a Sept. 11 emailed statement, Precinct 4 Commissioner Matt Gray said Montgomery County’s pay parity plan will allow agencies to find and retain good personnel. Gray’s precinct covers east Montgomery County, including New Caney and Porter, according to the county commissioners’ website.
“This is critical to keeping our rapidly developing community safe,” Gray said.
Under the city of Houston’s pay parity plan, a first-year Houston Police Department officer will now have a base salary of $75,000, according to the plan, which went into effect in July. Previously, the same officer would have been paid a base salary of $62,574.
Digging deeper
Montgomery County’s pay parity plan was also influenced by pay changes made for Harris County law enforcement departments, as well as the Dallas Police Department, Lt. Jim Slack, the public information officer for Montgomery County Constable Precinct 4, said in an email. Precinct 4 covers east Montgomery County, including New Caney, according to the precinct’s website.
“The pay raises ... will pay off for years and years with amazing deputies to serve our residents, business owners and visitors,” Slack said.
Prior to Montgomery County’s new pay parity plan, keeping pay competitive was a challenge, and hiring and retention are always a challenge, Slack said. Precinct 4 has 54 full-time officers, and in the last year, has lost four to five officers to other agencies, he added.
“The law enforcement pool isn’t as big as it used to be,” Slack said. “We have a rigorous testing process, but it’s necessary to get the best of the best we can find.”
The regional law enforcement job market is active, said Glenn Riddle, the director of Lone Star College’s Law Enforcement Academy, which will be relocated to LSC-Kingwood in January. The academy has a 95% hire rate for graduates, he added.
“Since most police agencies do not have their own police academies, regional academies such as the LSC Law Enforcement Academy are a major pipeline for filling their job openings,” Riddle said.
Growing challenges
Since law enforcement pay has increased throughout the Greater Houston region, smaller departments, such as the 12-officer Roman Forest Police Department, have also adjusted starting pay, Chief Stephen Carlisle said Sept. 2.
“Some of the small towns are left scratching the bottom of the barrel to try to somehow keep up. ... It is very challenging,” Carlisle said.
Roman Forest’s budget, adopted Sept. 9, includes higher starting salaries, Carlisle said. Officers’ starting pay was bumped from roughly $52,372 to $62,772. The city has also invested $350,000 in a police station expansion, which is slated to break ground at the end of this year.
“[The expanded station] will definitely help with retention, because ... that portion will be new, modern and up to date, and it’ll be a nicer environment,” Carlisle said.
“Without [state] support, small towns will be priced out of the market for qualified officers,” Carlisle said in a joint Sept. 8 statement with Capt. Jeff Campbell.
Looking forward
Montgomery County has $9 million slated in the preliminary budget for FY 2025-26 for the pay parity plan, which will begin to hit paychecks in October. Oct. 11 is the first day the pay parity plan will take effect for deputies, while the raises for jail staff will take effect in March.
