The majority of El Paso County employees and elected officials – including county commissioners and the county judge, who received hefty raises last year – are not expected to receive raises in the coming fiscal year.

Instead, the El Paso County District Court on Tuesday unanimously approved four additional paid days off during the Christmas holiday. County employees not covered by collective bargaining agreements or the deputy pay plan will have the day off from Dec. 23 to Dec. 31 in lieu of a raise.

“I think it would help families plan the whole week,” County Commissioner Carlos Leon said during a budget hearing Tuesday.

The salaries would be formally approved when the court adopts its fiscal year 2025 budget in September. Most elected county officials can request a hearing before a county appeals board to protest their proposed salaries before the budget is approved.

The move comes as the county struggles with budget shortfalls due to having to pay millions more in salaries for county sheriffs and other police officers under already approved contracts while losing millions in federal revenue for use of county detention centers. Commissioners also voted this week to put a proposed $324 million bond before voters on Nov. 5. If approved, the county’s share of the tax bill for the average homeowner will increase by about $60 a year.

El Paso County Executive Betsy Keller said the salaries of the county judge, county commissioners, district attorney, sheriff and other elected officials would remain unchanged from this fiscal year. Last year, the court approved a controversial 16% pay raise for county commissioners and the county judge, as well as a 4.75% raise for other elected county officials.

With this raise, county commissioners will now make about $133,500 per year, while the county judge’s annual salary will be $152,700. The county attorney will make about $226,500 per year, and the county sheriff will make about $190,200 per year. This salary will also apply to the new sheriff, who will be elected on November 5 and will take office in January.

“This budget foregoes several important investments, with the exception of collective bargaining agreements and auxiliary police officers. We are not proposing any increases in other wages through phased or COLA (cost of living adjustment) increases for fiscal year 2025,” Keller said, adding that the majority of county departments have either cut their budgets or stuck to their line.

Some district employees, such as deputy police officers, may receive salary increases that were already approved in the previous fiscal year.

County Commissioner David Stout said the county implemented a policy last year that gives deputy constables and deputy sergeants the same pay increases as other police officers, even though they are not covered by the collective bargaining agreement.

An increase in personnel costs of USD 3.4 million is expected for the coming fiscal year. This includes increases in collective bargaining agreements and the payment of positions that were newly created in the current fiscal year.

“We have created new jobs, but spread them out over the year,” Keller said. “This year we have to pay the full annual salary.”

Budget and tax rate proposals for El Paso County

The county is considering adopting a total budget of about $600 million for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, including a general fund budget of about $468 million. The general fund budget covers day-to-day operations, while the comprehensive budget includes the general fund budget, debt service, capital funds and special revenue funds. The proposed budgets would be lower than last year’s total budget of $602 million and the general fund budget of about $476.5 million.

To help with the budget, the Commissioners Court on Monday proposed a voter-approved tax rate of 47.8 cents per $100 of value — the highest that could be adopted without a voter vote. If adopted, that rate would increase the county’s share of the tax bill by about $104 on an average home value of $200,956, county records show.

However, commissioners said they are seeking a lower tax rate. The court can adopt the proposed rate or a lower one, but cannot approve a rate higher than the proposed rate.

Commissioners Illiana Holguin and Leon moved to propose the current tax rate for the next fiscal year, citing concerns about public perception.

“I just felt like this (proposing a voter approval rate) is just going to make residents even more uncertain because they’re going to think we’re actually planning to implement the voter approval rate, which is not the case,” Holguin told El Paso Matters. “We’re really trying to meet the revenue rate (and) we think we can do it – we’re almost there, but the goal is to meet the revenue rate without any new revenue.”

Without new revenue, the tax rate would be 45.8 cents per $100 of value, an annual increase of about $65 on an average home value of $200,956, county documents show.

Stout and Coronado voted against, and El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego broke the tie. The three voted for the proposed voter approval rate, citing more flexibility in drafting the budget process.

The court will hold a public hearing on the proposed tax rate on August 26 and then adopt it. The budget is expected to be adopted by September 16.