by Harris County District Clerk Marilyn Burgess said when she told her staff last month that she was not seeking re-election, it was not a decision she made lightly.
But she said she felt it was the best decision for the county because she feels bridges have been burned with other county leaders after they asked for a raise and brought light to the county’s pay disparity.
“Do you think it was worth it?” 13 Researchers’ Mycah Hatfield asked Burgess.
‘Yes. I think the public needs to know. I want that light to shine on it,” she said.
Burgess, who oversees both the province’s criminal and civil justice systems, raised eyebrows when she recently asked for a substantial raise, but she said it wasn’t what it seemed.
Harris County has a salary grievance committee where elected officials can ask a group of people, in this case three elected officials and six members of the public, for a raise.
Burgess went to the committee and asked for a raise, but she also served on the committee and voted for her own raise.
Burgess said she questioned her ability to serve on the committee and file a complaint at the same time, and was told this was allowed.
“I understand it’s pretty weird that I’m on the committee and I’m also the complainant, so I agree with you on that,” Burgess told the province’s Salary Grievance Committee on Sept. 16.
But she said she felt compelled to ask for the raise after commissioners voted to increase officers’ salaries for the second year in a row.
“It was never about me,” Burgess said. “I wanted to shine a light on the disparity in salaries across the country between appointed department heads and elected officials.”
13 Research has requested salary data for all Harris County employees over the past nine years and found some differences in pay.
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All eight Harris County officers went from $133,598 in fiscal year 2024 to $178,505 in fiscal year 2025. Now they will make $260,000 for fiscal year 2026, according to data from Harris County’s Human Resources & Risk Management.
Today’s officers’ salaries are almost double what they earned two years ago.
Burgess asked for her salary to match that of the officers.
Records show that when she was elected in 2019, Burgess made $164,299. Her salary didn’t change at all during her first six years in the job.
She recently received her first pay increase since taking office six years ago. It was a 9 percent raise, bringing her salary to $179,420.
Burgess said she is happy with her salary, but thinks it is relatively unfair.
Overall, the data shows that the salaries of elected leaders and appointed department heads in Harris County are inconsistent across departments.
Department size and budget don’t seem to matter, and employees in the same positions in different departments bring home substantially different checks.
For example, the chief of staff of Harris County Commissioner Precinct 1 is one of the highest paid employees in the county with a base salary of $318,822.
That’s 20% more than the salary of the Harris County Commissioner Precinct 2 chief of staff, who gets a base salary of $$264,514, according to county data.
Meanwhile, elected commissioners make $199,347 a year.
The chief public defender, who is appointed, makes $315,016, but the district attorney, an elected position, makes $217,485.
The Executive Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, an appointed position with 11 employees and a budget of $3.6 million, makes $259,480.
The elected district judge is in charge of the entire county, co-manages a $2.7 billion budget and earns $208,416.
“We don’t come to government to get rich. That’s not the point, and we don’t need salaries that are higher than what the president of the United States makes. We need to be paid adequately for what we do, and it needs to be on par,” Burgess said.
Burgess took her case to the salary grievance committee, and a $260,000 officer pay increase was passed on a 6-3 vote.
The next step was for the recommendation to be submitted to the commissioners court for approval, which it did not receive.
“They never discussed the recommendation in any form. They are just using the agenda item to discredit me for having the audacity to ask for a pay increase,” Burgess said.
Burgess said she did not expect to get the raise, but was offended by the way it was handled, which she said led to her decision to step aside.
“I love my job. I hate politics and the division in it, and it has gotten so ugly lately,” Burgess said. “After what happened with the Grievance Committee, I thought, I think I’ve burned some bridges with some members of the Commissioners Court. I don’t want this to have a negative impact on this office, and so I think it’s time to retire and bring in a younger voice, someone with new eyes and new thoughts about what they can do with the office, and I hope we find someone who is very qualified to pick up where I was remained.”
Burgess said she believes asking for her raise will raise awareness and something will be done next budget season to ensure better pay equity between departments.
She has about 15 months left in her role, but said she has announced she will not seek re-election now as the candidate filing period opens in November.
“People need time to set up a website, build a campaign and appoint a treasurer. There are things you need to do before you can announce that you are running for office, so it’s important to give them time so we can find some qualified people to run for office,” she said.
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