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Lubbock County\u2019s January 2026 Budget Summaries Report lists $357,409 under \u201cCommissioners\u2019 Court \u2014 Elected Officials.\u201d<\/p>\nDuring the period Mark Meurer received his disputed salary, Lubbock County commissioners approved or accepted claims, budget changes and monthly financial reports that county sources said included his pay and at least some legal expenses tied to the Precinct 2 dispute.<\/p>\n
Some commissioners have said they did not know the county was still paying Meurer.<\/p>\n
The records reviewed by Lubbock Lights do not show whether individual commissioners knew about the payments. They do show that the financial documents Lubbock Lights reviewed did not identify Meurer\u2019s salary by name.<\/p>\n
We missed this. We all missed it, whether you like to hear that or not. Okay? Every one of us missed it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mike Dalby \u2014 Sept. 21<\/p>\n
Instead, the county\u2019s monthly financial reports placed elected-official compensation for Commissioners Court in a single account with an FY2026 appropriation of $357,409. The County Judge appears separately in the reports under \u201cCounty Judge, Elected Officials.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lubbock County\u2019s January 2026 Budget Summaries Report lists $357,409 under \u201cCommissioners\u2019 Court \u2014 Elected Officials.\u201d<\/p>\n
That structure makes individual salaries difficult to identify. The reports show the total charged to the account; not how much was paid to each commissioner.<\/p>\n
In December, the account showed $30,912.62 in expenditures. In January, it showed $51,498.24, an increase of $20,585.62, or about 67 percent. The increase does not establish how much, if any, represented Meurer\u2019s salary, since payroll schedules and other adjustments can affect monthly totals. It does show that the county reported commissioner compensation in aggregate<\/p>\n
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Lubbock County budget reports show monthly expenditures in the Commissioners\u2019 Court \u201cElected Officials\u201d account increased from $30,912.62 in December 2025 to $51,498.24 in January 2026. The reports do not identify individual commissioners\u2019 salaries within those totals<\/p>\n
At the March 23 Commissioners Court meeting, commissioners approved budget transfers and amendments, more than $4.8 million in claims and the county\u2019s February financial report. The supporting claims documents included an accounts payable check register, but Lubbock Lights could not identify an entry listing Meurer\u2019s salary by name.<\/p>\n
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Lubbock County records show commissioners approved budget amendments, more than $4.8 million in claims and the February financial report on March 23. Lubbock Lights found no entry identifying Mark Meurer\u2019s salary by name in the supporting accounts-payable check register.<\/p>\n
That does not prove commissioners did not approve the payment. It means the records reviewed do not show it under Meurer\u2019s name. Identifying it may have required tracing payroll or accounting records beyond the meeting packet.<\/p>\n
One county source told Lubbock Lights that commissioners sometimes receive packets approaching 700 pages only four days before a meeting.<\/p>\n
The volume of material and aggregate salary accounts may help explain why commissioners approved financial matters containing Meurer\u2019s salary without recognizing his continued pay.<\/p>\n
The records reviewed do not establish what individual commissioners knew before voting. They do establish that Meurer\u2019s individual salary was not easy to find in the documents reviewed.<\/p>\n
Parrish has publicly placed responsibility for payroll decisions with the full Commissioners\u2019 Court.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t tell the payroll department who to pay and how much to pay them. That is done by the commissioners\u2019 court.\u201d <\/p>\n
Curtis Parrish, Lubbock County Judge \u2014 Sept. 14, KCBD<\/p>\n
Timeline: What Commisioners Said \u2014 And When<\/p>\n
Mike Dalby, Precinct 1 Commissioner \u2014 Sept. 13
\u201cNo commissioner was a part of this. This stems from a decision that Judge Parrish made. And as far as I\u2019m concerned, he can answer all the questions.\u201d
Source: Lubbock Lights<\/p>\n
Cary Shaw, Precinct 3 Commissioner \u2014 Sept. 14
Questioning why Meurer\u2019s pay was not stopped after Corley returned to office, as Corley\u2019s had been when he was removed:
\u201cWhy was that not done also by the same person that removed Commissioner Corley?\u201d
Source: KCBD<\/p>\n
Jordan Rackler, Precinct 4 Commissioner \u2014 Sept. 14
\u201cI don\u2019t believe that Lubbock County should be paying Mark Meurer based on he hasn\u2019t been working. I do believe that the money should be returned, and I guess as this investigation goes on, we\u2019ll figure out some more.\u201d
Source: KCBD<\/p>\n
Jason Corley, Precinct 2 Commissioner \u2014 Sept. 14
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of things in government that betray the public trust. Maybe this is one, maybe it isn\u2019t. Either way, you need to make sure that people can have confidence in their government and how things are being administrated.\u201d
Source: KCBD<\/p>\n
Mike Dalby \u2014 Sept. 21
\u201cWe missed this. We all missed it, whether you like to hear that or not. Okay? Every one of us missed it.\u201d
Source: KCBD<\/p>\n
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