Commissioners cut raises

Ector County commissioners heard the abundant dissent against their plentiful salary increase during public hearings and responded Monday, cutting their own pay hike in half.

But that doesn’t mean citizens stopped complaining.

Commissioners compromised by nixing their proposed 23.5 percent salary increase in the 2007-’08 budget, opting for a 12.3 percent increase that raises their annual salaries to $42,543.

The $4,649 more they’ll receive next fiscal year, which passed on a 3-1 vote, is the same dollar amount raise they received in the last budget.

Precinct 2 Commissioner Greg Simmons voted against the increase while County Judge Susan Redford abstained, later explaining she didn’t believe it was her place to vote on their salary.

Simmons said he doesn’t believe they deserve more since they are part-time commissioners and can hold other jobs.

“I understand the arguments for it, but it’s bad PR,” he said after the evening budget meeting.

Judge Redford previously said the county performed a market value analysis that showed many county employees — including the commissioners — are underpaid compared to employees on other counties of similar size.

Pearl Henry of Gardendale asked the question so many wanted answered: “Do you feel like you deserve a raise?”

“Yes, ma’am I do,” Commissioner Freddie Gardner said. “I feel like I’m here every day. I’m out and about.”

Royce Bodiford, who is a Odessa city councilman but spoke at the public hearing as an Ector County citizen, disagreed with the commissioners’ rapid salary increase even after they voted to lower it.

The salary increase to align more with like-sized counties’ pay rates is understandable, Bodiford said, but it should be a gradual increase over time and not be excessive compared to the increases for justices of the peace and other elected officials.

“I would think somewhere in the range of 7.5 percent would be (better),” Bodiford said. “It gives them a boost over cost of living and gets them somewhat in line but it would take several years to do that.”

Commissioners received a 14 percent raise in the last fiscal year.

Six people spoke out against the budget Monday evening in the final public hearing. Five came to complain about the commissioners’ salary increase.

Chet Bales said the commissioners were “way off track with their raises” and questioned if they will get re-elected if they continue to run the county government with what he believes is fiscal irresponsibility.

Dawn Tucker followed up Bales’ sentiment, wondering how commissioners can justify their raise when the raises for sheriff’s office employees were substantially lower.

“If something were to happen, they would be right there putting their life on the line for me,” she said.

The proposed tax rate of 40.40910 cents per $100 valuation is .0376 cents under the maximum rate that would trigger a public vote in order to approve the tax rate.

The court is expected to vote on the tax rate at a Monday meeting.

The tax rate would cost a homeowner of a $100,000 property about $40 more in taxes.

The effective tax rate, which is the rate that would bring in the same revenue as last year, is 36 cents per $100 valuation, and the current proposed rate would bring in about $3 million more revenue to the county.

The Rev. Mark Miller, parochial vicar of St. Joseph’s and St. Anthony’s Catholic churches, also addressed the prices at the Ector County Cemetery for Saturday burials.

“People on a fixed income and people at the poverty level don’t have the choice but to be buried at Ector Cemetery,” Miller said. “… They’re going to have to choose to be cremated against their wishes … to save their family money.”