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A Report on the State's Law Enforcement Salary Schedule (Salary Schedule C) for the 2018-2019 Biennium

July 2016

Report Number 16-704

Overall Conclusion

The 84th Legislature authorized salary increases for the State's law enforcement employees classified within the State's law enforcement salary schedule (Salary Schedule C) and authorized adjustments to Salary Schedule C. As a result, direct compensation for employees classified within Salary Schedule C remains generally competitive with the direct compensation that the seven largest local law enforcement departments in the state provide.

Analysis Based on Maximum and Mid-range Base Pay

Although Salary Schedule C is generally competitive, certain adjustments would still be necessary to match the maximum base pay in Salary Schedule C to the average maximum base pay of the seven largest local law enforcement departments in the state. Specifically:

- The maximum base pay for positions in salary groups C3 and C4 (for example, Troopers and Sergeants) is 3.0 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively, below the average maximum base pay of the seven largest local law enforcement departments in the state.

- The maximum base pay for positions in salary groups C5 and C6 (for example, Lieutenants and Captains) is 4.2 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively, below the average maximum base pay of the seven largest local law enforcement departments in the state.

Mid-range base pay for positions in salary group C3 (for example, Troopers) is 2.5 percent above the average mid-range base pay of the seven largest local law enforcement departments in the state. However, for some positions, adjustments would still be necessary to align the average mid-range base pay with the seven largest local law enforcement departments in the state. Specifically:

- The mid-range base pay for positions in salary group C4 (for example, Sergeants) is 1.1 percent below the average mid-range base pay of the seven largest local law enforcement departments in the state.

- The mid-range base pay for positions in salary groups C5 and C6 (for example, Lieutenants and Captains) is 3.6 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively, below the average mid-range base pay of the seven largest local law enforcement departments in the state.

This report offers two options for maintaining the competitiveness of Salary Schedule C:

- Option 1 - Align Salary Schedule C with the market average maximum base pay. Texas Government Code, Section 654.037(b), requires a comparison of Salary Schedule C with the market average maximum base pay. Aligning Salary Schedule C with the market average maximum base pay would have a total implementation cost to five state agencies of approximately $10.1 million in each year of the 2018-2019 biennium. The Department of Public Safety would incur approximately 76.3 percent of that cost.

- Option 2 - Align Salary Schedule C with the market average mid-range base pay. Aligning Salary Schedule C with the market average mid-range base pay would have a total implementation cost to five state agencies of approximately $2.4 million in each year of the 2018-2019 biennium. The Department of Public Safety would incur approximately 78.5 percent of that cost.

Additional Recommendations for the State's Position Classification Plan

The State Auditor's Office also reviewed the portion of the State's Position Classification Plan related to the law enforcement positions and recommends:

- Adding a new job classification (Agent Trainee) for an Agent position for the Alcoholic Beverage Commission.

- Changing the title of one existing job classification from Agent Trainee to Probationary Agent for the Alcoholic Beverage Commission.

There would be no cost to implement those changes.

Contact the SAO about this report.

Download the Acrobat version of this report. (.pdf)