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Burnet County Sheriff Calvin Boyd voices his displeasure at the Tuesday, Aug. 24, commisioners court meeting with changes in the county’s longevity plan that Boyd said will cost his deputies money in their paychecks. County Judge James Oakley said Boyd’s statements are inaccurate and the deputies will actually make more money when the longevity plan is approved. Find out more in next week’s Bulletin. Lew K. Cohn/Burnet Bulletin
Burnet County commissioners agreed Tuesday, Aug. 24, to raise the four primary JP court clerks two steps in classification — a move that will give each nearly $5,750 more in salary and benefits.
The move preceded a voice vote by all five court members to adopt the 2021-22 budget and set the total tax rate at 39.97 cents per $100 valuation, down from the 39.99 cents adopted last year.
Originally, the county’s four justices of the peace had asked commissioners to consider reclassifying their court clerks from a 60 to a level they considered commensurate with the amount earned by other departments’ court coordinators.
The JPs made the case their “chief” clerks act more as court coordinators and perform a variety of duties, both clerical and fiscal, which could see them reclassified as high as a level 68. However, at Tuesday’s meeting, Precinct 2 JP Lisa Whitehead and Precinct 3 JP Jane Marie Hurst asked the court to consider a nominal bump from 60 to 62.
County Auditor Karin Smith said a change in classification from 60 to 62 would cost the county an extra $23,000, while a move from 60 to 68 would cost more than $80,000. She said the money for the salary increases would have to be taken out of unallocated fund balance since the county already had created a balanced budget prior to Tuesday’s meeting and there were no other line items to amend with enough money to offset the increase.
Commissioners and the JPs discussed the matter for more than 30 minutes before Precinct 4 Commissioner Joe Don Dockery made the motion to increase the clas sification. All four commissioners and County Judge James Oakley voted for the measure.
A more detailed story about the budget will appear in next week’s Bulletin.
