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TipSheet: Travis County, 1.21.20

Tuesday, January 21, 2020 by Jack Craver

The Travis County Commissioners Court meets every Tuesday at 9 a.m. To help our readers stay informed, each week we offer a selection of interesting items from the voting session agenda. The entire agenda is available at the Travis County website.

16. Consider and take appropriate action to:
A. Receive update on recruitment for Intergovernmental Relations Officer position
B. Approve food allowance for purchase of refreshments for Intergovernmental
Relations Officer finalists meet-and-greet
(Commissioners Travillion & Gómez)

Monitor’s Take: The search for Travis County’s next top lobbyist continues! The HR department reports that 75 people applied for the position, of whom 15 were asked to provide additional information. That group was then narrowed down to seven candidates, who did Skype interviews with county executives. Tomorrow the five remaining candidates will be interviewed by a subcommittee consisting of commissioners Gerald Daugherty and Brigid Shea and three county executive staff members. The full Commissioners Court will grill the three finalists two weeks from now and make a final decision on who to hire. It’s not clear what will happen today except for discussion from commissioners about what they’re looking for in the next intergovernmental relations officer.

17. Receive recommendations regarding compensation priorities for FY 2021.
(Commissioners Travillion & Gómez)

Monitor’s Take: Every year the compensation committee, which is made up of employees of each county department, submits recommendations for the court on employee compensation. The committee’s top recommendation for FY 2020 is a “true across the board pay increase,” followed by premium pay for bilingual employees, boosting funding for new non-entry-level positions, retention of employees in low-wage positions, and addressing disparity in pay equity.

This will almost surely prompt a discussion among commissioners about the challenges of paying county employees competitive wages in the coming era of state-imposed revenue caps.

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Key Players & Topics In This Article

Travis County Commissioners Court: The legislative body for Travis County. It includes representatives from the four Travis County Precincts, as well as the County Judge. The County Judge serves as the chair of the Court.

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