The Tom Green County Commissioners Court approved an increase in housing rates for out-of-county and federal inmates during its regular Tuesday meeting.
Sheriff Nick Hanna told the court, “We don’t house a lot for other counties, I think we average about eight a day, which is not a huge number when you look at our total population, but it does add up over time.”
He added that the county currently maintains contracts with 13 other counties, in addition to federal agencies including the U.S. Marshals Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and U.S. Border Patrol.
“Working with the auditors, we came up with an average cost per inmate per day as $74.41, and nearly all our contracts are significantly below that at this time,” Hanna said. “So I’m thinking as we get ready to prepare for budget, I want to reach out to these counties and tell them that we need a little fairness and sustainability for our county also.”
Hanna recommended raising the daily housing rate to $80 for other counties, and $100 for federal agencies.
County Judge Lane Carter voiced his support for the adjustment.
“I think that’s all fairness there is—making sure that we are compensated fairly for the work that we’re doing out of there,” Carter said. The changes were approved 5-0.
New Plats Approved
Land development was another key focus. The court approved three subdivision items brought forward by SKG Engineering, including the first replat of Tract 208 in the Red Creek Subdivision, a second replat of Tracts 18A and 18B in the K & A Multi-Use Development, and an amended plat for the Simmons Subdivision. No objections were raised during the meeting and the items carried unanimously.
In Other Business
The court adopted a resolution in support of an application for new continuing improvement grants for the Concho Valley Public Defender Offices in San Angelo and in Abilene.
Chief Public Defender Elizabeth Berry told commissioners they were still looking to add four full-time positions to help handle the current caseload after not winning approval from the Texas Indigent Defense Commission last year. Berry said the office currently handles more than 1,500 cases annually.
Berry told the court they needed one social worker for the Abilene office to mirror the existing position in San Angelo, one discovery tech that would be shared by both offices to help with the massive amounts of discovery information, a dedicated appellate attorney and a new felony attorney to handle cases from Concho and Runnels counties.
The court voted to retain Allison, Bass & Magee, LLP, to assist with reviewing and adjusting county election precincts.
To prepare for the county’s upcoming vehicle and equipment auction, the court approved a discretionary exemption for Braden & Sons Auctions and authorized the related contract.
“We have several used vehicles and pieces of equipment, most of which is located at the county shop, that upon court’s approval, could be sold at county auction,” said Dustin Klein. According to Klein, the proposed date for the auction is June 7, and the auction would be live rather than online.
County offices will be closed from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday for annual Tom Green County employees’ luncheon.
— Matthew McDaniel contributed to this report.
