Brazos County commissioners approved nearly $160,000 in personnel changes Oct. 5, including salary increases in the District Attorney’s Office, Juvenile Court and Road and Bridge Department.
The gist
The approved changes include more than $13,000 for an administrative attorney in the District Attorney’s Office’s child protective services department, $22,513 for an Assistant District Attorney I and $5,164 for an investigator supervisor.
Commissioners then approved a $26,688 increase for the Juvenile Court Referee position, which will be renamed Juvenile Associate Judge, and an $11,267 increase for the Misdemeanor Associate Judge.
The Road and Bridge Department also received approval to re-establish a Multiple Equipment Operator II position at $31.09 per hour, with an $80,691 budget impact.
Each proposal can be accessed through the county’s agenda.
Explained
District Attorney Jarvis Parsons explained to the court the function and necessity of each role and salary increase in the DA’s office. Those personnel changes include:
The child protective services administrative attorney’s salary will increase by roughly 9%, which equals more than $13,000 annually but is within the approved range. Parsons said the position requires specialized experience and the office currently has two CPS attorneys while comparable counties have three or four. The increase passed 4-1 with Commissioner Fred Brown opposed.
The Assistant District Attorney I position will increase the fiscal year 2026-27 budget by $22,513. The position is vacant and is expected to be filled in January by an attorney with 35 years of experience. Commissioners approved the increase unanimously.
A separate Assistant District Attorney I position will be filled in August 2027 at $3,665.77 biweekly. The position will have no impact on the county’s budget and was approved unanimously.
The salary for the investigator supervisor position will increase with a prorated FY2027 budget impact of $5,164. Commissioners approved the change unanimously.
Juvenile Court changes:
Commissioners tabled a request to increase the Juvenile Court Referee’s annual interpreter supplement from $3,500 to $15,000. Commissioner Brown initially proposed paying the interpreter per case and returning to the issue later to evaluate the workload before Commissioner Bentley Nettles proposed tabling the item. The motion to table passed 4-1 with Commissioner Wanda Watson opposed.
Commissioners approved increasing the Juvenile Court Referee’s salary and changing the position’s title to Juvenile Associate Judge. The change carries a $26,688 FY2027 budget impact. This was unanimously approved by commissioners.
The Misdemeanor Associate Judge’s salary will increase, adding $11,267 to the FY2027 budget. Commissioners also unanimously approved this item.
More details
Commissioners approved re-establishing a Multiple Equipment Operator II position in Road and Bridge after it had remained vacant since January 2025. The position will pay $31.09 per hour and has an $80,691 FY2027 budget impact.
County Engineer Prarthana Banerji said the department currently has 49 employees assigned to road maintenance and leaving the position vacant has limited how many projects crews can work on at the same time. Banerji said three applicants have been reviewed and the county now has a qualified candidate with roughly nine years of county road and bridge equipment operating experience.
Nettles questioned whether the position was necessary because the department had managed to operate without it for close to two years. Banerji said the department has been able to keep up with work by moving operators between projects, but that has limited its ability to work on multiple projects at once.
The position was approved 4-1 with opposition from Nettles.
Also on the agenda
Commissioners also unanimously approved a resolution supporting development of a Brazos County Community Wildfire Protection Plan. Emergency Management Director Jason Ware said the plan would have no financial impact to the county and would involve identifying wildfire risks before they occur.
