On Monday, county officials discussed the recent updates to recently passed Senate Bill 22, which mandates and provides funding assistance to counties for increasing law enforcement salaries. While some counties are further along in the application process than others, recent changes to alleviate confusion regarding varying budget cycles should allow each of the 236 rural Texas counties access to grant funds.
Championed by Senator Drew Springer, R-Muenster, SB-22 essentially increases the salaries for rural law enforcement personnel through the creation of a state grant funding program. Through the enactment of the bill, which Gov. Abbott signed into law in June, the state established a grant program for providing financial assistance that legislators hope will ensure high-quality law enforcement personnel throughout the state.
“Several studies have shown a positive relationship between salary and quality regarding law enforcement. In fact, one study indicated that the per capita number of crimes cleared (crimes resulting in arrests) was 12 percent higher in the months following pay raises for law enforcement officers,” wrote Springer, explaining his intentions for authoring the bill.
Inadequate pay has often been a challenging obstacle for rural departments, as larger counties and municipalities are able to offer considerably higher wages. Looking to help offset the cost of salary increases led Stonewall County officials to propose an interlocal agreement with the City of Aspermont in 2021.
Sheriff Bill Mullen pointed out then that if someone were to move into the county, especially if they have a family or are looking to start one, they would not make much of a living on the current $13 an hour deputy salary. He added that a law enforcement officer is not a job that you fill by hiring someone off the street and putting them in a sheriff’s vehicle, and that for too long the salary for those competitive positions has not been increased.
State Legislators agreed as Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said his 2022 tour through rural Texas was revealing. He said he was shocked to learn how little pay some sheriffs were earning. “There are elected sheriffs in Texas earning just over $30,000 per year, and their deputies earn less than that,” said Patrick. “It is difficult to find men and women to take these dangerous jobs at these pay levels.”
SB-22 received overwhelming support in both chambers during the 88th Legislative Session, which became law in June. According to the Texas Comptroller’s Office. “The new law provides supplemental salaries for various positions in rural areas,” mandating counties increase sheriff’s salaries to $75,000 and deputies to a $45,000 minimum.
The law also provides counties with financial assistance to cover the expense of those increases, which ranges from $250,000 for counties with a population of less than 10,000 to upwards of $500,000 for counties with a population of more than 50,000 but less than 300,000 people.
Although Stonewall County Commissioners included the salary increases in the current fiscal year’s budget, Judge Moorhead said he felt the chief deputy did not receive an adequate increase, proposing on Monday that the court offer an additional increase.
“Our chief deputy didn’t realize much of a raise out of that,” said Moorhead. “I think it would be appropriate, given everything else, that we boost that base salary up to $50,000.”
Stonewall County is also anticipating the arrival of a second deputy in the weeks ahead. Officials had a few questions about how the available grant funds would be dispersed among other law enforcement personnel.
SB-22 has caused a good deal of confusion among officials across rural Texas, with some counties opting out of the funding program, and others like Fisher County, hesitant to act. Fisher County Judge Ken Holt explained that when legislators established the grant program and set deadlines for its application, they didn’t consider that not every county in the state operates on the same budget cycle.
“They came out with all of this in August. By that time, we had already set our budget, which we voted on in September,” said Holt, adding that Fisher County was one of around 50 counties that were affected.
Eligible counties can apply for grant funds beginning Jan. 1, 2024, regardless of a particular county’s fiscal start date, according to the comptroller’s website. County offices may also submit electronically beginning this month. In future years, counties and prosecutor’s offices will apply according to the start of their fiscal year.
Other concerns for officials have been that in future years, should the grant program be discontinued, such as how would counties cover the cost of the salaries. This was a question reiterated by Fisher County Commissioner Micah Evans. “This isn’t set in stone. The state can take that away from us at any point in time. How are we going to cover that money in the future, if they do take that grant away?”
It was a concern Holt and numerous other judges across the state also shared. He said the state claims that the funding is guaranteed through the next two years. Additionally, should the county be awarded the grant the salary increases would not come from the county’s budget.
Holt said that when the county receives the funds—and there is little reason to suspect it would be denied the grant—then the revenues would be kept separate from the county’s ad valorem tax revenues. He explained that setting it up in this way would ensure that salary increases were designated as a state supplement to the county’s base pay and not the status quo should the grant not remain perpetual.
With better clarity and understanding of how the grant funds would affect the county long-term, Fisher County Commissioners voted in favor of submitting the application to receive the SB-22 funds. Fisher County Sheriff has been a strong advocate in the court for SB-22 since his appointment in July, saying Monday’s decision was a win-win for the county and the state.