During 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.
Some commissioners have said they did not know the county was still paying Meurer.
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’s salary by name.
We missed this. We all missed it, whether you like to hear that or not. Okay? Every one of us missed it.”
Mike Dalby — Sept. 21
Instead, the county’s 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 “County Judge, Elected Officials.”
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.
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’s salary, since payroll schedules and other adjustments can affect monthly totals. It does show that the county reported commissioner compensation in aggregate
At the March 23 Commissioners Court meeting, commissioners approved budget transfers and amendments, more than $4.8 million in claims and the county’s February financial report. The supporting claims documents included an accounts payable check register, but Lubbock Lights could not identify an entry listing Meurer’s salary by name.
That does not prove commissioners did not approve the payment. It means the records reviewed do not show it under Meurer’s name. Identifying it may have required tracing payroll or accounting records beyond the meeting packet.
One county source told Lubbock Lights that commissioners sometimes receive packets approaching 700 pages only four days before a meeting.
The volume of material and aggregate salary accounts may help explain why commissioners approved financial matters containing Meurer’s salary without recognizing his continued pay.
The records reviewed do not establish what individual commissioners knew before voting. They do establish that Meurer’s individual salary was not easy to find in the documents reviewed.
Parrish has publicly placed responsibility for payroll decisions with the full Commissioners’ Court.
“I don’t tell the payroll department who to pay and how much to pay them. That is done by the commissioners’ court.”
Curtis Parrish, Lubbock County Judge — Sept. 14, KCBD
Timeline: What Commisioners Said — And When
Mike Dalby, Precinct 1 Commissioner — Sept. 13
“No commissioner was a part of this. This stems from a decision that Judge Parrish made. And as far as I’m concerned, he can answer all the questions.”
Source: Lubbock Lights
Cary Shaw, Precinct 3 Commissioner — Sept. 14
Questioning why Meurer’s pay was not stopped after Corley returned to office, as Corley’s had been when he was removed:
“Why was that not done also by the same person that removed Commissioner Corley?”
Source: KCBD
Jordan Rackler, Precinct 4 Commissioner — Sept. 14
“I don’t believe that Lubbock County should be paying Mark Meurer based on he hasn’t been working. I do believe that the money should be returned, and I guess as this investigation goes on, we’ll figure out some more.”
Source: KCBD
Jason Corley, Precinct 2 Commissioner — Sept. 14
“There’s a lot of things in government that betray the public trust. Maybe this is one, maybe it isn’t. Either way, you need to make sure that people can have confidence in their government and how things are being administrated.”
Source: KCBD
Mike Dalby — Sept. 21
“We missed this. We all missed it, whether you like to hear that or not. Okay? Every one of us missed it.”
Source: KCBD
Meurer, however, has said he repeatedly raised the continued payments directly with Parrish. In a statement released September 16th, Meurer said he contacted Parrish after Corley returned to office and alerted him to the possible overpayment. Meurer said he reminded Parrish of the issue at least two more times and that, each time, Parrish told him to keep the salary because the court had not issued a final ruling on who should hold the Precinct 2 seat.
Similar questions surround legal expenses tied to the Precinct 2 dispute. Emails Lubbock Lights obtained show Meurer’s attorney said someone had assured her that Lubbock County would pay her invoices. The emails do not identify who made that assurance or what authority that person had.
Lubbock Lights has requested additional records seeking the specific accounting entries for Meurer’s salary and documentation of payments or proposed payments to his attorney. Those records could show where the county recorded Meurer’s salary, whether Commissioners Court approved financial matters that included it and what information commissioners had when they voted.
