Commissioner clarifies salary estimate

Curry County Commissioner Wendell Bostwick was a little off Tuesday when he said county commissioners in Texas — even those just across the state line — receive up to $80,000 in annual salary.

“That’s way, way wrong,” Bailey County Commissioner Floyd Vandiver said. “We’re just on $20,000 a year, maybe $21,000, right in that neighborhood.”

Bostwick’s comments were made during discussion on whether Curry County’s elected officials should receive a pay raise, which they approved unanimously for those elected in 2016.

The hike will raise Curry County commissioners’ pay from $23,653.32 to $24,599.45 annually. The salaries will go into effect:

• In 2017 for those elected in Districts 2, 4 and 5 during the next general election.

• In 2019 for those elected to Districts 1 and 3 in the 2018 election.

Commissioner Ben McDaniel asked Bostwick during the discussion, “So you’re saying in Bovina, commissioners are getting paid $80,000 a year?”

Bostwick confirmed.

But on Wednesday, Bostwick clarified his comments.

He said he was referring to commissioners in large urban Texas counties, like in Randall County and Dallas County.

“I was not singling out any specific county,” Bostwick said. “What I was quoting was what I had been told at a conference a few years ago, when I was talking about commissioners’ salaries. I was astonished at what some of them told me they made.”

Vandiver said the Bailey County commissioners voted themselves a 3 percent raise last year.

Bailey County Judge Sherri Harrison said commissioners are paid annually $19,088.68, plus benefits and a $300 check when they use their pickup trucks to check the conditions of county roads.

Parmer County Auditor Larry Johnston said via email that Parmer County commissioners are paid $28,194.36 annually, which includes a 3 percent raise from 2014.

Parmer County Commissioner Kenny White said there is no road superintendent in Texas counties like in New Mexico. White said commissioners in his county oversee road crews, take care of the county’s bills and work on the county’s budget.

“We’ve got our own farms and stuff like that we operate,” White said. “It’s just kind of a service. None of us are in it for the money.”

According to a salary survey from the Texas Association of Counties, published in 2014, commissioners’ annual salaries in urban areas in Texas (with populations of 100,000 or more) range from $32,000 to $154,000.

• Commissioners in Randall County (Amarillo) made $32,357

• Commissioners in Lubbock County (Lubbock) made $57,600

• Commissioners in Dallas County (Dallas) made $134,511

• Commissioners in Montgomery County (adjacent to Austin) made $154,483.

Curry County Commission Chairman Ben McDaniel said he does not plan to bring the salary increase back up to a vote, noting that other elected officials may not appreciate it.

“The only one that would maybe vote against it would be me, so it wouldn’t be worth it,” McDaniel said. “I could put it on the agenda, but there is no point in doing so.”