SAN ANTONIO — Bexar County’s District Attorney is pushing back against claims that employees left his office due to the workplace environment.
Joe Gonzales spoke passionately in Commissioners Court on Tuesday with staff members filling the first and second floor of the crowd.
“I refuse to allow one misleading story to detract attention away from what is a critical public safety issue,” Gonzales says staff have high case loads with low salaries.
Pay was among the top reasons why employees left the office, although a few highlighted experiencing “workplace PTSD” and said at times it was a hostile and toxic work environment.
Former prosecutor Dawn McCraw, who was on the team who convicted Michelle Barrientes Vela in a public corruption case said there was a “lack of communication and a clear mission,” adding there needs to be more decisive leadership.
Melissa Saenz, a Judge in Bexar County Court 2 says the Family Violence division was operating based on favoritism, and there was a lack of consistency amongst attorneys while she worked as a prosecutor.
Gonzales said he has not reviewed all of the exit interviews but claims only two had described the environment as toxic or hostile.
“I don’t want the public to think that’s a major issue in our office,” Gonzales told reporters after his presentation. His focus is on trying to make the pay competitive within the region and across Texas.
One example he used is an employee taking a demotion in a smaller office to make $17,000 more in pay. While it appears Gonzales wants to address all staffing positions, another example he gave was for prosecutors who start around $68,000 a year in Bexar County.
“You compare that with other jurisdictions where the average is [$75,000] to $78,000. You go three hours to the east of us [Harris County] and you can start $20,000 more than we pay here,” Gonzales told reporters.
Commissioners Court seemed in favor of the pay raises, although its not clear what the cost to the county would be.
The pay study, which has yet to be released, addressed findings in all county departments. Judge Peter Sakai said the study would not necessarily be a pay raise, and said he has an entire county to take care of.
“We have tried to be full(y) open and transparent as to what recommendations. The reason I bring this up is some people are probably going to be happy and some people are not, because it’s never enough,” Judge Sakai said.
That pay study could be brought before commissioners in an upcoming meeting.
In the 2023 fiscal year budget, the county funded $1.5 million for 17 new positions in the DA’s office. Right now, the office has 38 vacancies, breaking down to 19 prosecutors, 16 staff, and three investigators.