Legislation passed during the 83rd Legislature requires state agencies to provide information regarding staff compensation online. In accordance with this statute, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) provides the following information:

Full-Time Equivalent Employee Information

Legislative Appropriations – All Funds

Executive Compensation

The following table provides compensation for the executive director and executive staff that report directly to the executive director, including the percentage increase in compensation for each fiscal year of the five preceding fiscal years. Blank areas indicate that the position did not exist for the given fiscal year.

NOTE: TxDOT hired a new executive director on April 21, 2014, earning a salary of $273,000. This salary was approved by the Texas Transportation Commission during a special meeting on April 4, 2014.

Market Analysis Methodology

In 2010, Grant Thornton's Compensation and Benefits Consulting practice conducted a comprehensive review of compensation and benefits of select leadership positions as part of the TxDOT management and organizational review. The review focused on comparably-skilled individuals in other public sector organizations and with individuals in private industry, as a basis for ascertaining compensation levels required for key personnel retention within TxDOT and to attract external talent equipped to fulfill TxDOT mission and to effect change.

As part of the study, the team reviewed base salary data to market medians and benefits and benefit structures and compared total rewards (e.g., base salaries, benefits, where applicable, annual incentive pay) to other public and private entities. The median base salary for an executive director position was $185,000 in the public sector and $381,000 in the private sector. Compared to other public sector organizations, TxDOT base salaries were 11 percent above median, but trailed 10 percent below market median when compared to private sector organizations.

In August 2012, the State Auditor's Office (SAO) issued A Report on Executive Compensation of State Agencies (SAO Report No. 12-708). According to the SAO's methodology, the market average for the executive director was reported to be $247,158. The SAO analyzed state agency executive officer pay at state agencies and other public and private sector entities, taking into account factors such as:

• The size of the agency's annual appropriations.
• The agency's number of authorized full-time equivalent employees using data as of Feb. 29, 2012, including the Governor's and the Legislative Budget Board's approved changes.
• The market average compensation for similar executive positions.
• The executive officer position's salary compared to the salaries of classified positions within the agency.
• Specialized education required for each position.

The salary for TxDOT’s executive director is determined by the Texas Transportation Commission.  It falls within the range prescribed by Article IX of the General Appropriations Act for Scheduled Exempt Positions, Group 8 ($186,300-$292,500), and is less than the salary prescribed by Article VII of the General Appropriations Act for the executive director ($292,500).

The salary for the deputy executive director is determined by the executive director, and is consistent with the salary prescribed by Article VII of the General Appropriations for one of five Executive Leadership Positions that are exempt from the State’s Classification Plan.

The annual compensation of executive staff in classified positions is determined by the executive director and is based on a number of factors, including the complexity of the work performed, skills requirements, experience requirement, education required, budget and staff oversight and the internal relationship to comparable positions in the agency.

The minimum and maximum salary ranges for the classified executive positions are specified in the State’s Position Classification Plan in Article IX of the General Appropriations Act. As reported in the Biennial Report on the State’s Position Classification Plan for the 2014-2015 Biennial Report (September 2012, Report No. 13-701), the State Auditor’s Office (SAO) conducts market analyses and recommends changes to the legislature when established salary ranges are identified as no longer equitable or competitive. To conduct this analysis and review, the SAO collected market data from multiple salary survey sources for position representative of work performed in state government.

TxDOT executive staff is currently not eligible for salary supplements. 

The average compensation paid to employees employed by the agency who are not executive staff was $49,467 in July 2014 as reported in TxDOT’s internal HR system. 

The following table provides the percentage difference in legislative appropriations to the agency each fiscal year of the five preceding fiscal years.

Legislative Appropriations Percent Difference History