(Seguin) – Three Guadalupe County elected officials will be making their case this morning for a 3 percent cost-of-living adjustment during what county officials say is the first salary grievance hearing of its kind.
As reported last week by the Seguin Daily News, Justice of the Peace Precinct 3 Judge John Terry, County Clerk Teresa Kiel and Precinct 1 Constable James Springer have filed salary grievances after elected officials were excluded from the 3 percent COLA approved for eligible county employees for the upcoming fiscal year.
The special hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. today (August 31), at the Guadalupe County Courthouse.
The elected officials are asking the Salary Grievance Committee to consider their requests as the county moves toward adoption of its next budget.
Terry has said his grievance is about more than the amount of the potential increase. He argues the county’s personnel policy addresses across-the-board pay increases and cost-of-living adjustments and questions why elected officials were excluded from this year’s increase.
Kiel has also pointed to the scope of her responsibilities as county clerk, including additional duties involving elections. She has said the workload has expanded significantly while vacancies remain within the elections office.
Terry has also argued that “keeping elected officials’ salaries competitive is important for future county budgets,” saying smaller adjustments now “could help avoid the need for much larger increases later.”
Under Texas Local Government Code Chapter 152, county and precinct officials have a salary grievance process through which they can challenge salaries, expenses and allowances proposed for their positions in the county budget.
The nine-member Salary Grievance Committee is made up of individuals selected from those who served on a grand jury during the previous year.
Processing for the Salary Grievance Committee begins at 8:30 a.m. followed by the public hearing at 9 a.m.
The hearing is open to the public and may be attended in person at the Guadalupe County Courthouse or online through Zoom. A link to join via Zoom can be found on the county’s website.
Members of the public who want to address the Salary Grievance Committee must attend in person and sign up before the hearing begins.
The hearing comes as the county this week prepares to finalize its budget for the upcoming fiscal year.