(Ed.'s Note: Tonight's Elected Officials Salary Grievance Committee Public Hearing will be held at 6 p.m. on the second floor of the Dancy Building on Monroe St. The meeting will be live-streamed on the public access channel. We ask that the nine members of the committee consider these numbers after they hear the justifications made by JPs representative Jonathan Garcia, JP 2-2, the only lawyer among them.)
FOR GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE MEMBERS: JP SALARIES PLUS BENEFITS
JPs' Salary Car Allowance Cell Phone (All)
$47,172 $5,400 $960 = 53,532
Aug. 30, commissioners passed a 2 percent increase: $53,532 + 943= $54,475
(Additional Income)
Texas law allows JPs to keep wedding ceremony fees (Fees average $150-$350), averaged out to $200 X number of weddings. If we add that to salary, we get:
WEDDINGS + SALARY, BENEFITS
JP 2-1 Linda Salazar 644 X $200 = $128,400 +$53,000 = $181,400
JP 5-1 Sally Gonzalez 228 X $200 = $45,600 +$53,000 = $98,600
JP 2-2 Jonathan Gracia 137 X $200 = $27,400 +$53,000 = $80.400
JP 4-1 Juan Mendoza Jr. 109 X $200 = $21,800 +$53,000 = $74,800
JP 5-2 Eloy Cano 82X $200 = $16,400 +$53,000 = $69,400
JP 2-3 Mary Esther Sorola* 75 X $200 = $15,000 +$53,000 = $68,000
JP 1-1 Benny Ochoa 63 X $200 = $12,600 +$53,000 = $65,600
JP 3-1 Guadalupe Ayala 62 X $200 = $12,400 +$53,000 = $65,400
JP 3-2 David Garza 58 X $200 = $11,500 +$53,000 = $64,000
JP 5-3 Mike Trejo 24 X $200 = $4,800 +$53,000 $57,800
*JP Sorola did not file salary grievance
UNCOLLECTED FINES BY JP PRECINCT
JP CASES AMOUNT
JP 1-1 Benny Ochoa 22,596 $5,633,602
JP 2-1 Linda Salazar 22,615 $5,313,064
JP 2-2 Jonathan Gracia 20,904 $5,512,265
JP 2-3 Mary Esther Sorola 5 $1,066
JP 3-1 Guadalupe Ayala 17,578 $4,651,430
JP 3-2 David Garza 10,285 $2,718,286
JP 4-1 Juan Mendoza Jr. 7,922 $3,780,640
JP 5-1 Sally Gonzalez 10,295 $2,718,286
JP 5-2 Eloy Cano 14,077 $3,780,540
JP 5-3 Mike Trejo 11,939 $3,393,216
__________________________________________________________
Total cases and fines: 134,390 $34,757,302*
*These are the totals of uncollected fines outstanding as of July 2015. These totals may very well have increased as of today and be closer to $40 million.
Notes:
Commissioners gave county workers an across-the-board 2 percent raise in the 2016-2017 budget. If the average county worker makes $30,000, that equals to an additional $600. County workers will likely see their deductible go from $500 to $750 to make up a $2 million deficit in county medical payments that were not in the 2015-2016 budget. Additionally, their premiums will likely be raised and their spouses removed from their coverage.