Harris County commissioners are looking to adopt the fiscal year 2025-26 budget Sept. 18 with various approved pay parity adjustments including the renegotiated raises for the county’s eight elected constables.
A motion to increase each elected constable’s salary to $260,000 passed Sept. 9 with a 3-1 vote. Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis cast the dissenting vote, and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo was absent.
The debate
Law enforcement pay parity has reached various points at Commissioners Court, starting with the approved motion commissioners voted on May 22 that paved the way for increasing county law enforcement pay—a decision that came with a $104 million price tag that required identifying necessary savings to provide for raises. The move came as Houston City Council approved an $832 million police union contract May 21 that will raise Houston Police Department officer salaries by 36.5% by 2030.
The last salary increase awarded to the county’s eight constables was implemented in September 2024. The final salary numbers approved by commissioners for the elected constables is an $81,000 bump from their current annual salary of $178,506, according to Brooke Boyett, director of communications for the Harris County Office of County Administration.
Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey brought back the $292,000 salary on Sept. 9, a proposed $114,290 annual salary bump which was a motion that died at the Aug. 26 Commissioners Court meeting. Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia countered with a $235,000 salary that would consider consolidating efforts within its dispatch initiatives, but both ended up agreeing with the $260,000 salary for FY 2025-26.
The approved pay raise, county officials said, will be a budget-neutral item, with funds coming out of each of the eight constable precinct’s own budget with no additional funding required from the county.
“After months of deep engagement through numerous town halls and hundreds of survey responses, the community told us what mattered most: public safety, public health, infrastructure and disaster readiness,” Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones said in a statement. “I’m proud we delivered a balanced budget that protects core services, without having to ask hardworking women and men to vote on raising their taxes.”
Preliminary budget documents show the increases in constable department budget funding since fiscal year 2022-23.
Ellis’ motion to equalize the pay raise amount to all elected officials if the constable pay passed did not garner support from commissioners.
"I prefer we not do it at all, but if we are going to do it, I think we ought to do it for everybody,” Ellis said.
Going forward
Harris County is in the process of assembling its salary grievance committee after unanimous commissioner approval Sept. 9. The committee will consist of a mix of elected officials and nine public members. A list of randomized individuals eligible to serve as public members and 40 alternates will be overseen by the Harris County Clerk's Office, Harris County District Clerk Marilyn Burgess said.
