Sheriff's association urges commissioners to approve voter‑approved rate, cites pay and staffing shortfalls

Leaders of the Nueces County Sheriff's Officers Association addressed the Commissioners Court on Sept. 10 and asked the court to approve the voter‑approved tax rate and to fund pay increases to address recruitment and retention problems.
Mark Villareal, the association president, and Nathaniel Perez, vice president, told commissioners the association represents corrections officers, sheriff's deputies and deputy constables and said county pay lagged competing jurisdictions. "We can't say we have an effective tax rate and we can't afford public safety," Perez said, urging the court to adopt the proposed budget and tax rate as a vote for public-safety capacity.
Commissioners and the judge discussed pay-rank comparisons and said the proposed 10% across‑the‑board increase aims to bring county employees closer to market levels and to reduce turnover. Several commissioners asked staff to compile comparisons of local pay ranks for patrol and correctional positions so progress could be measured.
Why it matters: law-enforcement staffing and compensation affect response capacity, jail operations and liability risk. Association leaders warned that failing to fund competitive pay would exacerbate officer shortfalls and public-safety risks.
The court heard the association request during the budget hearing and later approved the county budget and tax rate; commissioners said they would continue to monitor staffing and pay metrics.