El Paso County elected officials, most staff won’t likely see pay raises next fiscal year

by Elida S. Perez, El Paso Matters
August 14, 2024

The majority of El Paso County staff and elected officials – including commissioners and the county judge who gave themselves a hefty salary bump last year – will not likely get pay raises in the coming fiscal year.

The El Paso County Commissioners Court on Tuesday instead unanimously approved four additional paid days off during the Christmas holiday break. County employees who are not covered by collective bargaining agreements or deputy pay policies will be off from Dec. 23 through Dec. 31 in lieu of a pay increase.

“I think it would help families plan the whole week,” County Commissioner Carlos Leon said during a budget hearing Tuesday.

The salaries would be formally approved when the court adopts its fiscal year 2025 budget in September. Most county elected officials can request a hearing before a county grievance committee to protest their proposed salary before the budget is approved.

The move comes as the county is facing budget shortfalls from having to pay millions more in salaries for county sheriff officers and other law enforcement officials under previously approved contracts while losing millions in federal revenue for use of county detention facilities. Commissioners this week also voted to take a proposed $324 million bond to voters Nov. 5 that, if approved, will raise the county’s portion of a tax bill by about $60 per year for the average homeowner.

El Paso County Chief Administrator Betsy Keller said salaries for the county judge, commissioners, county attorney, sheriff and other elected officials will remain the same as this fiscal year. Last year, the court approved a controversial 16% pay raise for commissioners and the county judge, as well as a 4.75% raise for other county elected officials.

With that raise, County Commissioners are now paid about $133,500 a year while the county judge’s annual salary is $152,700. The county attorney is paid about $226,500 a year, and the county sheriff makes about $190,200 annually. That salary will also apply to the new sheriff, who will be elected Nov. 5 and take office in January.

“This budget forgoes several critical investments, other than collective bargaining agreement and deputy constable employees, we are not proposing any increases to any other wages in FY25 through step or COLA (cost of living adjustment) increases,” Keller said, adding the majority of county departments either cut their budgets or held the line.

Some county employees, such as deputy constables, will see pay increases that were approved the prior fiscal year.

County Commissioner David Stout said the county implemented a policy last year that gives deputy constables and deputy sergeant constables the same increases as other law enforcement despite not being under the collective bargaining agreement.

There is a $3.4 million increase in personnel costs for the upcoming fiscal year, including the collective bargaining raises and to pay for positions that were added throughout the current fiscal year.

“We added new positions, but we staggered them over the year,” Keller said. “This year we have to pay the full year salary.”

El Paso County budget, tax rate proposals

The county is considering adopting an all-funds budget of about $600 million, including a general fund budget of about $468 million for the next fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. The general fund covers day-to-day operations, while the all-funds budget includes the general fund, debt service, capital funds and special revenue funds. The proposed budgets would be lower than last year’s total budget of $602 million and general fund budget of about $476.5 million.

To support the budget, the Commissioners Court on Monday proposed the voter approval tax rate of 47.8 cents per $100 valuation – the highest that could be adopted without going to voters. If that rate is adopted, the county’s portion of a tax bill would increase by about $104 on an average $200,956 value home, county documents show.

But commissioners said they are aiming to adopt a lower tax rate. The court can adopt the proposed rate or something lower, but cannot approve a rate higher than proposed.

Commissioners Illiana Holguin and Leon made a motion to propose the current tax rate for the next fiscal year, citing concerns about public perception.

“I just felt like that (proposing the voter-approval rate) is just going to add anxiety to our residents, because they're going to think that we are actually planning on adopting the voter approval rate, which we're not,” Holguin told El Paso Matters. “We're really trying to get to the revenue rate (and) we think we can get there – we're almost there, but the goal is to get to the no new revenue rate.”

The no new revenue rate would be 45.8 cents per $100 valuation which would be an annual increase of about $65 on an average $200,956 value home, county documents show.

Stout and Coronado voted against it, and El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego broke the tie vote. The three voted to propose the voter approval rate, citing more flexibility as they work through the budget process.

The court will hold a public hearing on the proposed tax rate on Aug. 26, when it can adopt the rate. The budget would be adopted by Sept. 16.

El Paso County Budget, Tax Hearings

Here are the upcoming meetings ahead of the county adopting its budget and tax rate:

• Aug. 26: Tax rate public hearing and adoption
• Sept. 16: Budget adoption

To review the county’s meetings and agendas, click here. You can view the Commissioners Court meetings on the county’s YouTube channel.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.