From Channel 5 News:
"BROWNSVILLE - A handful of Cameron County’s justices of the peace filed a grievance last week to get more pay fortheir employees.The hearing (is) set for Thursday night. Judge Jonathan Gracia will be representing the arguments of eight other JPs andtheir employees.He said they haven’t been given a raise in almost a decade."
http://www.krgv.com/story/32943780/cameron-co-justices-of-the-peace-seek-salary-raise-for-employees
![Image result for justice of the peace jonathan gracia]()
Do you see any item there that deals with giving the employees of the 10 Justices of the Peace petitioning the committee more pay?![]()
In fact, the JP employees were given a 5 percent raise last year, 5 percent less than the 10 percent the JPs had asked the commissioners for.
"BROWNSVILLE - A handful of Cameron County’s justices of the peace filed a grievance last week to get more pay fortheir employees.The hearing (is) set for Thursday night. Judge Jonathan Gracia will be representing the arguments of eight other JPs andtheir employees.He said they haven’t been given a raise in almost a decade."
http://www.krgv.com/story/32943780/cameron-co-justices-of-the-peace-seek-salary-raise-for-employees
By Juan Montoya
Take a gander at the agenda for the Cameron County Salary Grievance Committee meeting set for a public hearing a 6 p.m. at the Dancy Building (see graphic at right).
Do you see any item there that deals with giving the employees of the 10 Justices of the Peace petitioning the committee more pay?No.
The only people mentioned there are nine JPs asking the committee members for more pay for themselves.
So why did Gracia – the elected spokesman for the nine JPs asking for more money – JP 2-3 Mary Esther Sorola declined to join them despite intense pressure from Gracia – tell a mass medium that he was there on behalf of the employees?
Then, to make things even worse, he told Channel 5 that they hadn't been given a raise "in almost a decade."
In fact, the JP employees were given a 5 percent raise last year, 5 percent less than the 10 percent the JPs had asked the commissioners for.“It’s been a long time coming for them to receive a raise, on top of a normal cost of living adjustment,” he said.
“We are going to state our position at the grievance committee. Our anticipation is we are going to be there in a unified voice, and be able to state our position as to why we filed a grievance,” said Gracia.
The county commissioners on Tuesday approved a 2 percent increase for all county employees and Tuesday approved a similar increase for all public officials, except for Pct. 2 county commissioners Alex Dominguez who refused it and amended his motion to that effect and it was approved.
With that increase, the JP's $47,172 base salary was raised by $943 to $48,113. This does not include the $4,500 given each JP for a car allowance or the $960 for a cell phone which brings it to $53,173.
Those JPs filing the grievances who were not satisfied and seeking a $12,000 salary increase from the salary grievance committee made up of nine members of the jury pool are:
Gracia, JP 2-1 Linda Salazar, JP 3-1 Guadalupe Ayala, JP 3-2 David Garza, JP 5-1 Sally Gonzalez, and JP 5-3 Mike Trejo.
Those requesting $10,000 are JP 1-1 Benny Ochoa, JP 4-1 Juan Mendoza Jr., and JP 5-2 Eloy Cano.
Of the 10 JPs in the county, only Mary Esther Sorola, JP 2-3, did not file as salary grievance. Both Gracia and Sorola took office January 1, 2015.
Doesn't the Canons of Judicial Conduct dictate that judges tell the truth? Is Gracia aware he is bound to follow those canons?
“We are going to state our position at the grievance committee. Our anticipation is we are going to be there in a unified voice, and be able to state our position as to why we filed a grievance,” said Gracia.
The county commissioners on Tuesday approved a 2 percent increase for all county employees and Tuesday approved a similar increase for all public officials, except for Pct. 2 county commissioners Alex Dominguez who refused it and amended his motion to that effect and it was approved.
With that increase, the JP's $47,172 base salary was raised by $943 to $48,113. This does not include the $4,500 given each JP for a car allowance or the $960 for a cell phone which brings it to $53,173.
Those JPs filing the grievances who were not satisfied and seeking a $12,000 salary increase from the salary grievance committee made up of nine members of the jury pool are:
Gracia, JP 2-1 Linda Salazar, JP 3-1 Guadalupe Ayala, JP 3-2 David Garza, JP 5-1 Sally Gonzalez, and JP 5-3 Mike Trejo.
Those requesting $10,000 are JP 1-1 Benny Ochoa, JP 4-1 Juan Mendoza Jr., and JP 5-2 Eloy Cano.
Of the 10 JPs in the county, only Mary Esther Sorola, JP 2-3, did not file as salary grievance. Both Gracia and Sorola took office January 1, 2015.
Doesn't the Canons of Judicial Conduct dictate that judges tell the truth? Is Gracia aware he is bound to follow those canons?