Collin County's top elected officials began collecting higher salaries Oct. 1 after the Commissioners Court approved a new pay schedule for nearly every major office.

The court voted 4-1 on Sept. 14 to adopt the fiscal year 2026-27 compensation plan, with County Judge Chris Hill casting the lone dissent. The raises are part of the same $619.6 million budget that included the county's first property tax rate increase in more than three decades, as first reported by Community Impact.

Murphy, Wylie and Sachse residents pay Collin County property taxes and help fund those salaries.

The county's compensation schedule shows the biggest percentage jumps going to justices of the peace, whose pay rises from $143,734.76 to $154,150.05 each. That is a $10,415.29 increase per judge. District judge supplements also jump from $18,000 to $25,000.

Each of the four county commissioners will earn $168,101.62, up from $160,816.24. Hill's own salary rises from $186,307.23 to $191,539.17 despite his vote against the plan.

Constables go from $131,049.44 to $138,340.78 each. The county clerk's pay rises to $166,320.52 from $159,258.03, and the tax assessor/collector moves to $169,782.07 from $162,532.03. County Court at Law judges see salaries rise from $237,500 to $244,500.

Two offices saw no increase. The sheriff's salary holds flat at $208,377.89, and the district attorney's county supplement stays at $77,790.90.

Hill objected to the raises as part of a broader push against increasing costs for taxpayers. At the Sept. 14 meeting, he made two failed motions: one asking each department to cut its budget by 2.76% to avoid a tax rate hike, and another to lower the county's employee compensation target from the 75th percentile of comparison counties to the 50th.

"I'd like to see us not raise the tax rate," Hill said at the Sept. 14 meeting, according to Community Impact.

Commissioner Susan Fletcher pushed back at the same meeting, saying, "Our employees are the backbone of our county," according to Community Impact.

The raises took effect alongside a combined property tax rate of $0.151414 per $100 of assessed value. The Wylie News reported it was the county's first rate increase since 1993.