Two-minute impact
During the hour and a half roundtable discussion, county staff passed a microphone around the room, allowing commissioners to know ahead of time what funding and personnel requests will likely come through.
Department heads listed close to 100 new positions for commissioners to consider in the FY 2025-26 budget. Some employees cited understaffing issues, while others requested funding for equipment, maintenance or new county vehicles.
County-wide needs are vast, Precinct 3 Commissioner Valerie Covey said.
“The pie is only so big,” Covey said. “We're going to do the best we can in meeting the needs that we have.”
The overview
At the meeting, requests for additional personnel came from several departments, including the:
- Budget office
- County attorney's office
- County manager
- District attorney's office
- District clerk's office
- District Court Administration
- Elections office
- Emergency Services
- Extension Services
- Facilities management office
- Parks department
- Precinct 4 constable
- Purchasing department
- Road and Bridge department
- Sheriff's Office
- Tax office
- Technology Services department
As of February, there are 63 departments and 1,921 employees in Williamson County, according to county documents.
Zooming out
Williamson County Sheriff Matthew Lindemann said the morning of April 11, the county's jail population reached 678.
“When that hits 700, we have to open up an additional pod, which requires ... staff to man that pod,” Lindemann said.
From January to March, deputies have answered almost 31,000 calls for service and arrested close to 506 people, he said.
“Everybody's just working hard every day to keep our ship afloat,” Lindemann said.
What else?
Precinct 4 Constable Paul Leal said his precinct unique compared to others in the county, from environmental issues in the precinct's landfill to challenges that come with covering the larger territory.
Leal said he told the county attorney’s office to send an investigator to pretrial services in lieu of a bailiff from his precinct.
“I don't have the personnel to sit there with your prosecutor like the rest of the constable's offices can because we're too busy," Leal said.
Over the last three years, Leal said the precinct’s civil papers have tripled.
“You can't add more rooftops, you can't add more businesses to the precinct and not increase the personnel. You just can't,” Leal said. “Everything has tripled besides our personnel.”
Leal told County Commissioners he’ll be requesting two new positions to help cover court and civil paper demands.
Rhonda Redden, Justice of the Peace precinct 4 judge, is requesting close to $170,000 for a micro annex behind the Justice of the Peace Precinct 4 building in Taylor for a private office space.
“I am desperate, and I mean desperate, for space,” Redden said. “I share an office with an employee. We have no extra space. We have no conference rooms, so that's why our courtroom is held up every single day.”
Keep in mind
If the Texas Legislature approves Williamson County’s request for a new district court, District Attorney Shawn Dick said he’ll be requesting eight new employees to staff it.
Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a new rule requiring district and county attorneys with a population of 400,000 or greater to provide performance reports to Paxton’s office, according to a March 31 news release.
Dick said his office is “scrambling” to provide information, so he might also request three new employees to handle the immediate workload. He said his team is on “information overload” and suggested adequate funding will prepare their internal systems for employees to find information.
“We probably are going to have to get creative with AI, because right now, the volume of information that we look at is incredible,” Dick said.
District Clerk Lisa David said she has various openings in her office, but is struggling to hire the staff she needs.
“I'm losing my people to other offices with every county that can pay more, as well as neighboring counties that can pay more—or the cities,” David said.
Offering input
Precinct 4 Commissioner Russ Boles said nothing he heard during the budget workshop was an excessive ask. He said decisions will come down to how the county can pay for it.
“You’re all right,” Boles said. “That's the tough part.”
Covey said each department’s first budget prioritizations will go through the Budget Office before it gets sent to Commissioners Court.
Budget Officer Ashlie Holladay said budgets are due to her office May 2. Covey said commissioners are shooting to finalize the county’s budget in late August.
Remember this?
The total county budget is made up of the general, road and bridge and debt service fund. The FY 2024-25 county budget was $635.13 million and consisted of 42 new full-time positions, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
