Harris County Treasurer Carla Wyatt may get salary bump as she faces DWI charge
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- Harris County Treasurer Carla Wyatt, who faces a DWI charge out of Galveston County, may get a raise after a Salary Grievance Committee voted to recommend a bump in her pay.
It took three votes for a decision to be made Thursday before the Harris County committee passed a motion to increase Wyatt's salary by 30%.
Wyatt initially filed a salary grievance requesting $250,000 in pay, with her current pay at $139,547.20. Wyatt made that request during an annual county process that allows elected officials to petition a committee for a raise.
During Thursday's meeting, Wyatt formally moved to raise the salary to $305,000 to match the proposed salary of all Harris County elected officials except commissioners, the sheriff and the treasurer.
"I have been here. I'm a countywide elected official; the people of Harris County put me here, and so I plan to continue to serve them in this capacity," she said to the Salary Grievance Committee.
"You look like a group of reasonable people who are invested in good government and in serving as subject matter experts. And again, as I appear before you today, I am asking for an increase of my salary to $305,000, just like the other countywide elected officials, and I don't intend to be disrespected," she continued.
The Salary Grievance Committee did not approve the $305,000 that Wyatt requested, but instead approved a 30% salary increase to just over $181,000. Wyatt's raise still needs to be approved by Harris County commissioners.
Eyewitness News has previously reported on the big pay raises for Harris County constables and other county employees.
READ MORE: Some elected officials getting big raises as Harris County faces possible property tax hike
Two and a half years ago, records show Wyatt was charged with a DWI for driving while nearly twice the legal limit. She agreed to complete a court-issued program to get that charge dropped.
Then, last December, records show she was charged with burglary of a vehicle, but a grand jury declined to indict her.
Wyatt is also currently facing a DWI charge out of Galveston County from May.
"Just because someone implies that you did something, doesn't mean that you did it," Wyatt told ABC13's Joe McCoy on Thursday.
RELATED: New documents reveal details about the Harris County Treasurer Carla Wyatt's latest DWI arrest
On top of all of this, county commissioners are trying to eliminate the treasurer position altogether. Commissioners argue many of the office's duties could be performed by other departments. If passed by the legislature in the next legislative session, voters would then decide next November whether to eliminate the position.
If the commissioners approve Wyatt's raise, her salary, along with the other proposed increases, will have to be approved in the county's budget next month.
