Harris County commissioners rejected a recommended 30% salary increase for County Treasurer Carla Wyatt, leaving her pay at $139,547 while most other countywide elected officials earn $305,000.

Commissioners took no action on the salary grievance committee's recommendation during a special meeting Tuesday, Sept. 8, automatically killing the request. They held no discussion on the item, Community Impact reported.

The denial came after an all-citizen salary grievance committee voted 6-3 on Aug. 20 to recommend boosting Wyatt's annual pay to approximately $181,411. Wyatt, a 24-year county employee who oversees a 12-person office, had initially filed a grievance seeking $250,000. She raised that request to $305,000 at the Aug. 20 hearing to match the salary approved for the county's eight constables, the district attorney, county attorney, district clerk and tax assessor-collector.

The county faces a projected $181 million General Fund budget shortfall for the coming fiscal year.

More than 140 residents addressed commissioners during the meeting's public comment period, according to Houston Public Media. Among them was Marc Cowart, the Republican challenging Wyatt in November's election for the treasurer seat.

"Wyatt's demand for a pay increase is a slap in the face to Harris County taxpayers who are struggling to make ends meet," Cowart said during public comment.

The salary fight plays out against a larger push to eliminate the treasurer's office entirely. Harris County officials have listed dissolving the office as a legislative priority for the Texas Legislature's 90th session, which convenes in January. The measure would need a two-thirds vote in both chambers. If it passes, voters statewide would decide the office's fate through a proposition on the November 2027 ballot.

Other large Texas counties, including Galveston and Tarrant, have already dissolved their treasurer positions.

At the Aug. 20 committee hearing, Wyatt pushed back on the effort. "I am on the ballot in November. I have been elected by the people," she told the committee. "… So it's utterly ridiculous to try to get rid of the treasurer's office when the people say I should be there."

Harris County Budget Director Daniel Ramos told the committee that the court excluded Wyatt from the broader pay raises because of "consistent action to reduce and ultimately eliminate the position."

Wyatt also faces a pending misdemeanor DWI charge out of Galveston County from May, Houston Public Media reported. A separate burglary-of-a-vehicle charge from December was dropped after a grand jury declined to indict her.

Commissioners at the same Sept. 8 meeting voted 3-2 to advance a proposed 7.6% property tax rate increase, as we reported Sept. 9. A final public hearing and vote on that rate is set for Sept. 17.