Hill County elected officials and department heads presented funding requests for their departments when the Hill County Commissioners Court held budget workshops Tuesday, July 21, and Wednesday, July 22.
The county judge and commissioners review individual departmental budgets and requests annually prior to voting on the overall county budget and setting the tax rate for the coming fiscal year.
While many department heads only had minor budget changes to present, the hearings led to a few larger discussions about county needs. Many department heads requested pay increases for their employees, citing rising costs and the need to remain competitive with neighboring employers.
County Judge Shane Brassell said that while nobody was approaching the court with frivolous requests, they will have to be reviewed to see what works in the budget.
The Hill County Sheriff’s Office, the county’s largest department, requested a 3% cost-of-living adjustment for all employees and an additional 7% salary increase for sworn deputies to remain competitive with surrounding agencies.
Sheriff Hunter Barnes said that recruiting law enforcement officers remains challenging because of a shortage of applicants and higher salaries offered by neighboring agencies. He also requested funding for one additional patrol deputy to improve coverage and response times and a 10th dispatcher to better balance the department’s 12-hour shift rotation.
Barnes said that changes to overtime practices have saved approximately $35,000 in dispatch costs alone this year.
He also cited rising jail operating expenses, including higher City of Hillsboro water rates, increasing electricity costs and higher supply prices. While jail staffing has stabilized, he said that hiring remains difficult, and maintenance costs are expected to continue increasing as the aging facility requires additional repairs.
Chief Deputy Tim Westmoreland said that paying off vehicle leases approved under the previous administration will significantly reduce expenses this year. He said that the department plans to purchase vehicles with state SB 22 funds whenever possible, eliminating nearly $250,000 in vehicle-related budget requests.
Westmoreland also said that the sheriff’s office is expected to finish well under budget again this year after ending last year nearly $800,000 under budget, allowing those funds to be returned to the county or redirected to other priorities.
Development Services Director John Crawson requested additional personnel to assist with signage and permitting as the county’s newly formed department expands. He said that the department plans to assume responsibility for county road signage and also requested funding for a truck, trailer and skid steer.
Crawson also highlighted the success of the county’s recent community cleanup event, noting that dumpsters were full by 10 a.m. He said that expanding those events would continue benefiting the county.
He also outlined several facility needs, including electrical upgrades, improved lighting and parking lot resurfacing at the fairgrounds. Crawson said that the courthouse electrical system struggles during events on the downtown square and may require coordination with the City of Hillsboro to find a long-term solution.
Additional requests included replacing the Huron annex roof, which has been patched in the past and needs replacement, and making minor renovations to improve the building’s functionality for court and law enforcement operations.
County Auditor Amy Peavy proposed implementing the ADP human resources and payroll system, which she estimated would cost about $55,000 annually.
The software would allow employees to clock in and out electronically through a phone or computer, as determined by department heads, while moving many payroll and human resources processes online.
Peavy estimated that the county currently spends about $75,000 annually between the auditor’s and treasurer’s offices performing the same functions through staff time and said that the software would greatly reduce data entry and save time.
County Treasurer Rachel Parker said that she has advocated for years to move human resources responsibilities out of the treasurer’s office. While she noted many HR functions would still need to be handled locally, she said that she would eventually like to see human resources become a separate county office.
County Clerk Nicole Tanner said that her office is seeing a significant increase in public information requests, often receiving three or four complex requests a day that require multiple employees to complete.
She also noted that commissioner records have only been digitized back to 2000, making older requests more difficult to fulfill. Tanner said that she has searched for software to better manage open records requests but has not found a suitable option.
Hill County Court Appointed Special Advocates Executive Director Sarah Gardner asked commissioners to continue providing $30,000 annually to support CASA’s work with children in foster care.
Gardner said that the organization is seeing more cases involving severe abuse and neglect. She explained that CASA volunteers remain the most consistent presence in a child’s life throughout the court process, regardless of where the child is ultimately placed.
Last year, CASA volunteers contributed 1,750 service hours and drove more than 26,000 miles across Texas and beyond. Gardner said that county funding helps pay a portion of staff salaries and volunteer mileage as government grant funding continues to decline.
The county’s justices of the peace reported that their caseloads continue to grow as the county’s population rises.
Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace Trey Jetton said that his court has experienced a 20% increase in overall caseloads, including a 40% increase in civil cases and a 14% increase in criminal cases. He requested converting a part-time clerk position to full time to meet the needs of his office.
Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace Shannon Raley discussed the condition of the aging mobile building that houses her office, citing poor security, limited space and ongoing maintenance issues. Commissioners discussed the possibility of eventually opening a new multipurpose building in that area of the county to house multiple county offices.
The county’s constables requested increasing their salaries to match those of patrol sergeants, saying that the responsibilities of the office have grown and are comparable to those positions.
Commissioners requested cost-of-living increases for road and bridge employees, saying that the county continues losing workers, particularly heavy equipment operators, to higher-paying jobs associated with area infrastructure projects.
The county judge is expected to file a proposed budget in the coming days, and commissioners will propose a tax rate as the annual budget process continues.
