The details
During the Dec. 19 Commissioners Court meeting, the county’s Parks and Recreation Department requested to use contingency funds from the $153 million parks bond passed by voters in November on six new positions.
County staff said it would cost roughly $446,000 to fund the salaries through September.
What they’re saying
Darren McCarthy, Parks and Recreation director at Fort Bend County, said the five full-time positions and one part-time position would support the opening of a community center. County officials did not return Community Impact's requests for details on which community center by press time.
Although County Auditor Ed Sturdivant said hiring staff necessary to keep the building functional is fundable within bond issue, Commissioners Grady Prestage and Andy Meyers agreed they didn’t want to use bond funds for the positions.
Instead, Prestage recommended the county temporarily use money from the county’s tax note fund.
“That would be a solution so we won’t have to open a can of worms,” he said.
The bottom line
Commissioners ultimately voted to amend the motion and approved the positions be paid by the county’s tax note through Sept. 30 instead of the county’s park bond contingency funds.
What’s next
McCarthy said the parks and recreation department will conduct an operations and needs assessment for the community center. He said they will have a plan moving forward on how much staff will be needed when planning for the county’s fiscal year 2024-25 budget.
