What happened: During the Midland County Commissioners Court meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 6, commissioners voted 3–2 against a request from Sheriff David Criner to implement step increases for Sheriff’s Office employees under a pay scale the court had already approved as part of the budget process. Commissioners Charles Hall, Steven Villela, and Dianne Anderson voted against the request.

The big picture: Criner told the court that when commissioners approved a new grade-and-step pay structure for sheriff’s deputies and jailers earlier this year, he assumed the step increases tied to that structure would take effect on employees’ anniversary dates. He later learned that although the county approved the pay scale itself, the adopted budget did not include funding for the step increases.

The Sheriff said the request would affect 61 of the Sheriff’s Office’s roughly 250 employees and would not require additional county spending this year. He said the department would fund the step increases using salary savings from vacant positions the county already budgeted but does not expect to fill before year-end. County Judge Terry Johnson described the missing funding as a budget oversight.

What they’re saying: Anderson said she opposed the request because she believed there was an understanding that the approved pay structure would remain unchanged for the year.

“We had a deal,” Anderson said. “A deal is a deal.”

Villela said the court already approved a nearly 6% increase for Sheriff’s Office employees during the last budget cycle, instead of the typical 2% annual adjustment. He said approving additional compensation changes mid-budget raised transparency concerns. Villela asked to delay the item for two weeks to gather more information, saying the discussion raised “more questions than answers.” Hall did not give a reason for his opposition.

The other side: Johnson pushed back on the transparency argument, noting that the court has adjusted salaries during the budget year before.

“This is not unique to what we do,” Johnson said. “It happens.”

What’s next: After the commissioners denied the request, Criner said he plans to bring the item back for consideration at a future meeting. Johnson responded, “Hopefully, we won’t embarrass you a second time.”

The bottom line: The court debated whether to fund step increases tied to an already approved pay structure, but never publicly mentioned a total dollar amount for the request nor how large or small the cost would be relative to the county’s $244.0 million budget before voting to deny it.