More than two dozen county officials are in line for pay raises according to a notice published July 31 by the Cameron County Commissioners Court, with compensation increases of $11,000 proposed for each of five positions, including that of county judge.
According to Texas Local Government Code Section 152.013, the commissioners court is required to set salaries, expenses and other allowances for elected county or precinct officers each year during a regular meeting. A public notice of any proposed increases must be published no less than 10 days before the meeting, according to the code section. The commissioners court has set a public hearing for Aug. 10 at 9 a.m. in the commissioners courtroom at the 1912 Cameron County Courthouse/Oscar C. Dancy Building, 1100 E. Monroe St.
According to the notice, County Judge Eddie Treviño Jr.’s total compensation would be increased from $65,343 to $70,343 for the 2022 budget. His compensation for serving on the county juvenile board, which controls and oversees all county facilities used for the detention of juveniles, would not change, though Treviño would also receive a $6,000 annual vehicle allowance whereas currently he receives none. His total compensation would increase to $81,743.
Treviño is currently the second lowest paid county judge among Texas counties with 100,000 population or more, according to the Texas Association of Counties 2020 Salary Survey.
Raises in the amount of $11,000 have also been proposed for the county’s four commissioners: Sofia Benavides, David Garza, Joey Lopez and Gus Ruiz. All would see their total compensation increased to $60,076 except for Benavides, who does not receive a phone allowance.
District Clerk Laura Perez-Reyes and County Clerk Sylvia Perez Garza would each receive raises of $5,000, bumping up their total compensation to $86,960 and $88,580 respectively.
The county’s 10 justices of the peace would receive total compensation increases of $5,600 except for Precinct 5 Justice of the Peace Eloy Cano, who does not receive a $960 phone allowance and would instead get a $4,694 increase in total compensation.
Remaining officials on the list would each receive $5,000 increases according to the proposed adjustments, with County Treasurer David Betancourt seeing his compensation increase to $70,992 from $65,992, while Tax Assessor/Collector Tony Yzaguirre would go from $88,915 to $93,915.
Three of the constables from the county’s five precincts would see their total compensation increase from $62,002 to $67,002. The exceptions are Precinct 2 Constable Abel Gomez, whose compensation would increase from $64,462 to $69,462, and Precinct 5 Constable Everardo Solis, whose compensation would rise from $62,962 to $67,962 including a $960 phone allowance.
Sheriff Eric Garza’s total compensation would go up from $108,896 currently to $113,896 under the proposed changes.
