The Harris County Commissioners Court denied a recommendation for County Treasurer Carla Wyatt to receive a 30% raise. As a result, Wyatt will not join the slate of other county elected officials who received pay raises this year.
What happened
The county’s eight elected constables, the district attorney, county attorney, district clerk and tax assessor-collector will earn $305,000 annually.
The court approved those raises in August. Per an Aug. 24 press release, Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth denied the raise.
An all-citizen salary grievance committee recommended increasing Wyatt’s annual salary to $181,411 during a meeting Aug. 20 after she submitted an appeal. At the committee meeting, Wyatt said it was disrespectful to not include her position in the wave of raises.
“Pay equity does not mean every position must receive the same salary,” Wyatt said. “It simply means that there’s different compensations for different reasons that have to be legitimate, understandable, consistent and respectful of the job that’s being done here in Harris County.”
Commissioners heard the recommendation during its special meeting Sept. 8, moving to take no action and automatically rejecting the request.
Zooming in
The recommendation came as the county seeks to shutter the treasurer’s office.
As part of its legislative priorities, Harris County officials will ask the state House and Senate to approve cutting the office. Other large counties in Texas, such as Galveston and Tarrant, have eliminated their treasurer’s offices.
If the legislature approves, voters will have the final say through a state proposition on the November 2027 ballot. Wyatt is running for re-election in November against Republican challenger Marc Cowart.
During public comment, Cowart urged the court to “reject this offensive request.”
“Wyatt’s demand for a pay increase is a slap in the face to Harris County taxpayers who are struggling to make ends meet,” Cowart said.
