Stephens County approves revenue-linked pay supplement for tax commissioner

Stephens County commissioners unanimously approved a supplemental agreement with Tax Commissioner Dene Hicks on June 9, authorizing added compensation connected to commissions generated by collecting county school taxes. The Board of Commissioners minutes record a motion, a second, discussion and unanimous approval, but do not state the value of the payment or reproduce the agreement’s final terms.

The action matters because it changes the compensation structure for an elected constitutional officer beyond her existing salary. Rather than setting out a publicly stated fixed amount, the arrangement considered by the board ties the supplement to prior-year commission revenue deposited in the county general fund, leaving residents unable to determine the precise cost from the published meeting materials.

The board’s decision followed a June 9 agenda proposal that described how the additional pay would work. That agenda called for Hicks to receive 5.25% of prior-year school-tax collection commissions deposited in the general fund, with a one-time fiscal-year 2026 payment followed by 26 biweekly installments in later years. Later that day, the minutes documented approval of a supplemental agreement, establishing that the board acted on the matter but not whether every proposed term was retained in the executed version.

Hicks is the elected official covered by the agreement. The county agenda presented a revenue-based formula and payment schedule for her supplement, while the Board of Commissioners, according to its minutes, approved a supplemental agreement unanimously after discussion. Neither document records objections, public comment or a numerical vote tally, so the public record identifies the board’s collective approval but offers little detail about commissioners’ individual reasoning.

The approval itself is complete: the minutes show the commissioners authorized a supplemental agreement on June 9. The 5.25% formula, fiscal-year 2026 lump-sum payment and later biweekly installments were agenda terms proposed for consideration, not terms the minutes independently confirm as final. County materials do not disclose the prior-year commission total, the resulting dollar amount, whether a signed agreement preserved the proposed language, or whether any payment has been made.

The next meaningful public record would be a signed agreement or county compensation and payment document. It could show the final contract language, the commission total used in the calculation, the fiscal-year 2026 payment amount and the timing of any later installments. Until then, Stephens County’s authorization is clear, but the financial impact on the general fund and the details of implementation remain unresolved in public documents.