By Andy Sevilla.
Though Hays County Judge Bert Cobb is the highest paid member of the Commissioners Court, Pct. 4 Commissioner Ray Whisenant took in the largest pay hike this fiscal year.
Whisenant received an almost five-percent pay jump this year, while the other four members of the court were given only two-percent salary increases, according to county documents prepared for an open records request by the Hays Free Press.
In fiscal year 2013, Whisenant rejected a salary increase, which would have brought his base pay to $67,000, up from just over $65,000, like it did for Pct. 1 Commissioner Debbie Ingalsbe, Pct. 2 Commissioner Mark Jones and Pct. 3 Commissioner Will Conley.
Cobb’s salary was $79,815 last fiscal year, up from $77,490 the previous year.
With accepting the pay increase this fiscal year, Whisenant’s base salary increased to $68,340, the same base pay total as the other commissioners. In doing so, Whisenant received a $3,170 pay hike (4.85 percent increase).
Ingalsbe, Jones and Conley received a base pay jump of $1,340 (two percent increase) this fiscal year, bringing their base salaries to $68,340. Cobb also received a two percent pay increase, bringing his salary to $81,411.
Initially, Whisenant’s salary this fiscal year amounted to $66,473.53, almost $2,000 less than the other commissioners, according to the prepared documents. Hays County Treasurer Michelle Tuttle told the Hays Free Press that after the newspaper submitted an open records request seeking the county salaries for the highest paid employees, Whisenant’s salary was adjusted to reflect the $68,340 the commissioners court approved earlier this year.
Whisenant’s salary was originally adjusted with a two percent increase for this fiscal year, as were the salaries of all other county elected officials. The treasurer’s office, however, said that if commissioners accept the salary increase, their pay needs to reflect the amount the court approved – in this case $68,340 – and not a percentage figure.
Treasury officials also said commissioners are allowed to reject a salary increase, but they have to submit an affidavit declining the monetary adjustment. The county judge, nor any commissioner, did so this year.
On top of their base salary, the five members of the commissioners court will also received a $12,500 travel stipend. Ingalsbe and Conley also will receive longevity pay in the amount of $1,235 and $480, respectively.
Jones and Whisenant do not receive longevity pay as both commissioners are serving their first term in office.
On top of his base salary and travel allotment, Cobb will also receive a $15,000 state supplement, so long as at least 40 percent of the work he performs as judge is classified as judicial functions. The county pay, combined with the state money, will bring Cobb’s annual income to $108,910.92.
The Texas Legislature approved the state supplement for county judges in 1997, though the amount then was $10,000. In 2005, the legislatures increased that figure to $15,000.
“In order to receive a salary supplement a county judge is required to file an affidavit with the Office of Court Administration (OCA) stating that at least 40% of the functions that the judge performs are judicial functions,” the state resolution says. OCA then sends the filed affidavits to the Comptroller of Public Accounts, and has no other role in the supplement payment process, the resolution states.
