What happened: The Midland County Commissioners Court met on Tuesday, June 16, and accepted a record $180,000 donation to the Sheriff’s Office from the Bustin’ for Badges fundraiser, opened the annual process of setting elected officials’ salaries, and continued an ongoing debate about whether Midland County should require stricter standards for privately built developments.

Key points:

  • Elected officials’ salaries: Commissioners opened the annual process to set elected officials’ salaries. County Judge Terry Johnson explained that Texas law requires that the court establish elected officials’ salaries before addressing employee compensation in the budget process. Commissioners will discuss specific salary amounts at the next commissioners’ meeting.

    Johnson, who sets the county budget as County Judge, said he has historically benchmarked elected officials’ salaries against similarly sized counties and aims to stay near or slightly above those averages to account for the cost associated with living and working in Midland. He also noted that the state partially sets the salaries of some elected officials.

    Commissioner Dianne Anderson recommended that county commissioners receive no raise this year. Commissioner Steven Villela said that the court effectively operates as a county manager. Unlike the City of Midland, where elected council members are unpaid and a professional city manager oversees day-to-day operations, county commissioners perform many of those administrative responsibilities themselves.

    Midland’s top stories. One quick email. Free, every Friday.
    Get Midland Wrapped, our free weekly email for busy Midland residents. Each Friday, we break down the week’s most important local stories — what happened, why it matters, and what to watch next — so you can stay informed without the noise.

    Villela also said he would like to see elected officials’ raises remain aligned with employee raises. He suggested commissioners could approve salary increases for elected officials while committing to providing county employees the same percentage increase during the upcoming budget process. Johnson noted that any elected official could exempt themselves from receiving an increase, noting that he did so in his first year in office.

  • Bustin’ for Badges donation: Commissioners accepted a record $180,000 donation from the Bustin’ for Badges sporting-clays fundraiser to the Sheriff’s Office. The annual fundraiser supports the Midland County Sheriff’s Office, Ector County Sheriff’s Office, and the Midland and Odessa police departments. Each agency will receive a matching $180,000 donation this year.

  • Private road variance: Commissioners voted 4-1 to approve a subdivision plat that relies on a homeowners association to maintain its roads. Villela opposed the proposal, arguing that Midland County has experienced problems with HOA-maintained roads in the past and that developers should instead dedicate roads to the county so they can eventually maintain them to county standards.

    Commissioner Jeff Sommers noted that the county had already approved similar terms for the subdivision’s first phase. The vote continues an ongoing debate among commissioners over whether the county should impose stricter, more costly requirements on privately built and maintained roads.

  • JP Precinct 4 raises: Commissioners approved two salary-grade increases and a stipend for employees in Justice of the Peace Precinct 4 John Barton’s office. Barton said the office missed a personnel-action deadline during a period of clerk turnover last fall but had sufficient budget to fund the raises without additional county spending.
  • JP Precinct 2 audit: Commissioners received the results of an internal audit of Justice of the Peace Precinct 2, Yadi Billeck. The audit found no issues in fiscal year 2025. Auditors identified two minor issues in 2024: a software problem affecting partial-payment fees and a shared receipt book between two JP offices. The office corrected both items before the audit concluded. Billeck requested the audit after taking office.