Bexar County Justices of Peace's pay raises approved

Citizens panel votes 6-3 in favor of 13% hike

SAN ANTONIO – Bexar County's six Justices of the Peace want a pay raise that will bring their annual adjusted salaries in line with what JP's are earning in other major Texas cities.

On Wednesday, a citizens panel voted in favor the request, which would boost the judges' annual adjusted pay from $89,000 to just over $101,000.

"All we're asking is that we be brought up to the state average," said Precinct 4 Judge Rogelio "Roger" Lopez.

County Judge Nelson Wolff said he had no quarrel with the job the judges are doing.

"They work hard, there's no doubt about it," Wolff said.

But he takes exception to the argument that judges should make the same as judges in other cities.

"If you took any elected official's salary here in San Antonio and compared it to Houston or Dallas, (in) those other areas, we would all be behind," he said.

He said that if the citizens panel vote had been unanimous, instead of 6-3 in favor of the raise, commissioners would have been bound to approve the increase.

But the split vote means approval is up to the court and he said that probably will be a tough sell given current county budget requests.

He said that commissioners could take up the pay request as early as Aug. 6.

For a list of recent stories Paul Venema has done, click here.


About the Author:

Paul Venema is a courthouse reporter for KSAT with more than 25 years experience in the role.