GEORGETOWN— Pay for sheriff’s deputies, constables and corrections officers in Williamson County just got a big boost, and officials hope it will help fill dozens of open positions.
At the Jan. 24 meeting, the Williamson County Commissioners Court voted 5-0 to approve a long-awaited compensation plan that raises salaries for deputies and correction officers to among the highest in the region, with a starting salary of $51,000, up from just over $44,000, for corrections officers, starting Feb. 3.
Williamson County Sheriff Mike Gleason said the pay increase was overdue.
“Let me tell you how my weekend went,” Gleason said. “I lost three of my corrections officers to Cedar Park and Leander … They have left me, said, ‘Hi and Bye,’ and we have years with them. They are going to start as police officers and will be paid a full police officer’s salary.”
“This court I believe has had a strong history of supporting law enforcement, and I think we have done a good job, but I think the proposed salaries that we are talking about aren’t good, I think they move us to a level of great,” said County Judge William Gravell.
The county has 62 vacancies for corrections officers, according to officials.
“Our problem that we are trying to solve is that we have a lot of openings,” said Precinct 3 Commissioner Valerie Covey. “This is supposed to solve that problem.”
The new pay package increases the annual budget by about $4 million for salaries and will include raises for Sheriff’s Office personnel, including corrections officers, peace officers, sergeants, lieutenants and commanders as well as personnel in the constables’ office and other departments.
Precinct 4 Commissioner Russ Boles said the salary adjustment was important not only to fill new positions, but to keep existing people in place.
“When we don’t have enough (staffing), we burn out the ones who are there, so I suspect this will start to fix the problem,” Boles said.
According to the county, in the fiscal year 20222023 budget, the Commissioners Court allocated about $1.2 million for mid-year salary increases based on a study of the pay of surrounding counties. The court’s decision creates an additional expense of $2.5 million, which will be funded through unpaid law enforcement and corrections surplus salaries, as well as cash reserves and other areas.
According to a prepared release from the Williamson County Deputies Association, competitive compensation has been a top priority for Gleason since he took office in 2021.
“I am grateful,” Gleason said. “Maybe now I can afford to live in the county I love to serve.”
