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Carla Wyatt, Harris County treasurer, center, is shown with attorney Christopher Downey, right, as they arrive for court appearance on her misdemeanor burglary charge in Houston Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. She is accused of breaking into another person\u2019s vehicle with intent to commit theft.<\/p>\n
Melissa Phillip\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
A hastily convened panel of nine Harris County residents voted 6-3 to recommend that Commissioners Court approve a\u00a030% raise for county Treasurer Carla Wyatt<\/a> following a salary grievance hearing Thursday.\u00a0<\/p>\n The committee recommended her pay be increased to $181,411 despite testimony from county officials who pointed to the office\u2019s dwindling duties and commissioners\u2019 ongoing efforts to pursue abolishing Wyatt\u2019s position entirely. Commissioners are not obligated to act on the recommendation.\u00a0<\/p>\n The embattled Democrat, who has twice been arrested in Harris County<\/a> and is facing a drunken driving charge in Galveston County<\/a>, initially asked for $250,000, but increased her request to $305,000 during Thursday\u2019s meeting. That figure would match a recent slate of raises commissioners approved for all countywide elected officials except the treasurer, sheriff and county judge.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Wyatt\u2019s request would more than double her current pay of $139,547. She argued that, despite her small staff and limited duties, she was elected by Harris County voters and should earn the same as other countywide elected officials.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey left me out. I don’t know why. They didn’t give me a reason. If there’s a reason, I’d like to know what it is,\u201d Wyatt said. \u201cHarris County has the authority to establish elected official salaries, and I intend to be treated just like every other countywide elected official, department head, or senior (staff member).\u201d<\/p>\n Daniel Ramos, the county\u2019s budget director, and Francis Nugent, deputy director of\u00a0Intergovernmental and Global Affairs, pointed to commissioners\u2019 recent decision to strip Wyatt\u2019s office of a key financial oversight role<\/a> after her staff failed to stop fraudulent checks, and the possibility that it could be dissolved as early as next year.\u00a0<\/p>\n