Elected officials in Williamson County may get 3 percent raise

Williamson County Clerk Nancy Rister said the raise was about ensuring the quality of future candidates, and not about rewarding current elected officials.

"The kind of candidate you'll have running is people that you do not want in office," Rister said. "You need people with experience and you need people with a college degree."

Rister said waiting four years without raises puts Williamson County behind in comparison to other counties in Texas.

"If you keep doing this, it's going to get so far behind that you'll never be able to catch up," Rister said.

Williamson County Judge Dan Gattis estimated the total impact of the 3 percent increase on the county budget to be less than $50,000.

"I think we're going to dig ourselves a hole if we don't do something," Gattis said.

Connie Watson, Williamson County public affairs manager, said the vote is the first step in the process. Elected officials now have the opportunity to file a grievance about the proposed rate, she said.

If a grievance is filed, a committee made of randomly selected individuals who have served on a grand jury, will meet to determine what to present in the final budget, Watson said.

"Whatever the grievance committee decides is what will be included," Watson said.

Watson said elected officials got a 4 percent raise in the 2008-2009 budget.