TCSLEA Brothers and Sisters,

On Tuesday 5/9/2023, the Travis County Commissioner’s Court took a historic unanimous stance in supporting the employees of the Travis County Sheriff’s Office as it relates to the POPS scale. This pay raise continues to show our staff they understand where we are with vacancies and our working conditions. This is on the heels of another unanimous vote for a pay increase in October 2022. There should be no question about whether they care for the employees or not.

As I said during the Commissioner’s Court meeting, members of this court have demonstrated their willingness to support employees as aggressively as courts of the past. It cannot be overstated how our relationships with the court, PBO and HR have benefitted our members.

To clear up some rumors, this proposal was initiated by Sheriff Hernandez. TCSO initiated contact with PBO prior to Commissioner Shea bringing it up. PBO released their recommendation, and it was what Sheriff Hernandez proposed. To my knowledge, no Sheriff I have worked for has initiated a pay proposal.

Sheriff Hernandez and her team should take all the credit for initiating and moving this proposal forward. Our small part was speaking with PBO and each commissioner along with Judge Brown.

I have already started speaking with members of the court concerning compression issues and market concerns with the POPS scale and our concerns for our civilian staff.

I never take credit where credit is due. So when you see Sheriff Hernandez, know the truth.

Thank you for choosing TCSLEA to represent you.  We are committed to providing you with the best possible representation, and we will continue to work tirelessly to advocate for your interests.

Don Rios