Conroe is under fire for authorizing salary increases for three top staff members whose salaries exceed $300,000 despite continuous financial hardships.

Conroe is under fire for authorizing salary increases for three top staff members whose salaries exceed $300,000 in spite of continuous financial hardships. Significant compensation increases for City Administrator Gary Scott, Deputy City Administrator Nancy Mikeska, and Assistant City Administrator Norman McGuire were granted by the City Council under a reorganization plan.
Scott's pay climbed to $365,000; Mikeska's to $330,000; McGuire's to $300,000. Approved within the city's budget-balancing effort, the compensation increases raised questions among citizens and critics. Councilwoman Marsha Porter defended the raises by stressing the two lawyers in the top posts' experience and their part in saving tax payers money by managing legal matters before they become expensive litigation.
For top jobs, city officials in other Texas cities, including Pearland, Sugar Land, and Waco, have comparable pay. Still, many residents find the seeming discrepancy between the compensation increases and the financial difficulties facing the city infuriating.
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Unofficial election results show Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, Adam Lamb, and Cindy Heiser leading in the Woodlands Township Board of Directors races. The results remain unofficial until canvassing at the Nov. 14 board meeting.
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VGXI Inc., a Conroe-based biotech manufacturer, has defaulted on its 10-year tax abatement deal with Montgomery County after failing to meet job requirements. The company now owes more than $248,000 in property taxes dating back to 2021, county officials confirmed.
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A detention officer at a Conroe immigration facility pleaded guilty Monday to a misdemeanor charge after investigators said he violently assaulted a detainee earlier this year. The officer, once facing a federal felony, admitted to using excessive force inside the privately run ICE processing center.