Harris County: Tempers flare between Commissioner, County Judge during deputy pay raise discussion

Harris County Judge, County Commissioner debate over deputy salary raises gets heated

During a Harris County Commissioners Court meeting on Thursday, one discussion regarding deputy salary raises got the County Judge and County Commissioner in a heated disagreement.

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - A discussion over salary for a Harris County Deputy led to a heated discussion between Harris County Commissioner Tom Ramsey and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo.

By the numbers:

The starting salary for a Harris County Sheriff's Deputy is about $57,000. It's about $64,000 for a Houston Police Officer. That jumps to $81,000 by this July, a $24,000 gap.

The discrepancy in pay, the sheriff says, will make it hard to keep ranks staffed.

What we know:

Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo got a little emotional while talking about the need for a pay raise for deputies.

"I'm going to be focused this year on statutory responsibility," Ramsey said. "The good news is what you all do is statutory. Not everything in the budget is statutory."

Judge Lina Hidalgo said: "That's very small, very small."

Ramsey said: "Would you not interrupt me, please. I didn't interrupt you when you were making some outlandish statements. I will continue my conversation without you interrupting me, period."

Hidalgo said: "You don't need to raise your voice. You're exaggerating."

Ramsey said: "Statutory responsibilities is what we will focus on. I'll try to explain that to the judge, what that means."

Hidalgo said: "I want you to see this headline. FOX 26 News, Harris County Commissioners Cagle and Ramsey Boycott 2023 budget vote, which meant we didn't have money. We rescheduled the meeting four or five times, they never showed up. That's politics at its purest. Of course, I want pay raises for law enforcement. No one is going to be upset about pay raises for law enforcement, everyone will be happy about it. The challenge is, are you there when it's time to ask for the money? And I was there along with my colleague, who is absent today. I'm emotional, because of the pope. I apologize."