Hidalgo County, sheriff, deputies, compensation, budget, commissioners court, law enforcement
Arnoldo Mata
EDINBURG TX - On Friday afternoon at around 4:o0 PM, Hidalgo County issued a statement defending its compensation decisions for sheriff’s deputies while acknowledging a separate salary adjustment for the Commissioners Court in the fiscal year 2027 budget without specifying exactly what those adjustments were.
On multiple occasions, The McAllen News Tribune had requested specific details on what the final salary for the County Judge and the County Commissioners was approved in the recent budgeting process. During the budget process, it was revealed that County Judge Richard F. Cortez would receive a 15% increase in base salary, rising to about $199,000/year. The our elected commissioners would get a 16.6% increase in their base salary, rising to about $170,000/year.
The statement issued by the County did not clarify if those proposed salary increases for the five remained in the final approved budget. The McAllen News Tribune will continue to press for details. A review of the budget did not include a detailed breakdown of the salaries for the County Judge and the County Commissioners.
The county said all deputies are eligible for a 3.5% step-and-grade salary increase under the county’s classification and compensation plan. Over the past five years, the starting salary for a new deputy has increased by 21%, the county said.
The FY 2027 budget includes two separate compensation decisions, the county said. All county employees, including law enforcement officers, received a 5% cost-of-living adjustment.
In addition to base pay, the county said deputies receive take-home vehicles and gas, valued at approximately $8,000 a year, health insurance, a two-to-one retirement plan and the ability to earn extra pay through outside detail or grant programs.
“Our deputies are ranked among the top locally compensated law enforcement officers in the county, and we are retaining the vast majority of our officers,” the statement read, noting that only 11% retired or left for other agencies.
A separate adjustment was made for the Commissioners Court. According to the press release, the adjustment was based on a review of comparable positions in similarly sized Texas counties and was intended to bring those salaries more in line with offices carrying similar responsibilities.
Source - Hidalgo County