At Tuesday's Williamson County Commissioners Court meeting, County Judge Dan Gattis opened up discussion on transitioning the compensation of county peace officers from a tenure-based pay chart to a merit-based one. Gattis stressed that moving to the new pay scale would cost the county significant money, but that he believes it is "the right thing to do." The merit-based system is currently used for all non-law enforcement positions within the county and works using a grade scale. Tara Raymore, Senior Director of Human Resources, said it is a 45 percent jump for the bottom to the top grade with three percent increases between each step. Raymore also said when someone reaches the top of the scale they can receive a lump sum. The court had a lengthy discussion with comments from Precinct 3 Commissioner Valerie Covey who said she had not come to any conclusion on the matter. Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody said he was open-minded to the change, but if approved a lot of work would be required on the administrative side. No decisions were made and discussion will continue next week at the June 13 commissioners court meeting.