[{"_1":2,"_98":-5,"_99":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6485532,"mediaKeyId","5689752-d91632ec2e7e8d6164b1a22363ae0e79","parentId",5689752,"title","Court moves jail maintenance pay to county maintenance budget; removes jail maintenance headcount","audioSeconds",866,"startMs",4228000,"endMs",5094000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5689752-d91632ec2e7e8d6164b1a22363ae0e79&start=4228&end=5094","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5689752-d91632ec2e7e8d6164b1a22363ae0e79/thumbnail_4228000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6485532/Rockwall-County/Texas/Court-moves-jail-maintenance-pay-to-county-maintenance-budget-removes-jail-maintenance-headcount","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6485532-839abc568ddba7b46d76f1a8104ad90a/orig.mp4?Expires=1770441515&Signature=YduwygFLfMwYUwIqewOD8bcP1NslzDaNDHpiZB0sNnx5Bo8PGnGK42WkOmQvGj7j3sRGKO1dNphTSKx-~hBxMK6pEbTRHAQdB9HYWoFtYn3xRCL3c5DBuhOvzMQsZp9wwnvtyHAp~dOaBdAdH0Ui7UEj0ISceT8MdVB6uqdcRBfZAuiRIy99vB~uFx85b21~LE~~ABgCBrXUBoYDH38IqhszaRZ2Fc9HZ5dV3Jr0CAsBrCZJhV3yyZbD9xMCGr~nHRc~N59vfjXc9E9qondaj7crIQPQOrChFBH9KGZ4WdMGDkq2qXn5Mz9i91VCTUw9cIxbm4JHRluQmP2DmPYFxQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Rockwall County Texas","date","2025-08-27T00:00:00Z","article","Rockwall County commissioners voted Aug. 27 to shift the funding for jail maintenance positions from the jail’s budget into the county Maintenance & Operations budget and then voted to remove the maintenance headcount from the jail’s funded positions.

Commissioner Stacy made the motion to increase Maintenance & Operations by $55,365 to account for jail‑maintenance salaries and then to reduce the jail budget funding lines accordingly so that maintenance functions would be funded out of Barry’s maintenance department rather than the jail. The court passed that motion 5–0.

Later the court voted 4–1 to remove the jail maintenance headcount from the jail’s funded positions (leaving the position in the headcount but unfunded or otherwise moved for planning purposes). Commissioners said the intent was to keep staffing flexible while avoiding duplicative classification in both departments and to ease future auditing against jail‑staffing standards.

Discussion and rationale

Supporters argued consolidating maintenance funding under the maintenance department would let specialized maintenance staff focus on repairs without requiring jail-certified officers to perform routine maintenance tasks. Opponents warned that if the jail becomes fully staffed, the jail could still need dedicated escorts and operational support; those contingency needs were acknowledged but not resolved.

Commissioner Stacy summarized the plan: move funding into maintenance and keep a maintenance manager headcount in the jail’s roster as unfunded to avoid future audit or staffing conflicts. The motion to move the $55,365 was unanimous; the subsequent motion to remove the headcount passed 4–1.

Clarifying figures from the meeting

- Increase to Maintenance & Operations to absorb jail‑maintenance salaries: $55,365 (approved).
- Reduction shown in the jail budget in the first draft (approximate figure mentioned in discussion): $106,267 (auditor to reconcile in revision).

Next steps

Auditor and jail administration will reconcile payroll coding and ensure the change meets jail‑staffing standards and state audit expectations. Commissioners noted that if the jail reaches full staffing levels later, they could return to fund or reassign roles as necessary.

Speakers quoted in this article are taken verbatim from the transcript and include Commissioner Stacy and jail/corrections and maintenance staff who spoke during the item.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Rockwall County Texas - Commissioners Court Special Meeting","oneSentenceSummary","The commissioners voted to shift jail maintenance salary funding into the county maintenance budget and to remove an associated jail maintenance headcount from the jail’s funded positions (left unfunded in headcount), a pair of actions the court said are meant to align maintenance responsibilities while retaining operational flexibility.","taxTitle","Rockwall County, Texas","taxId",54914,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6485538,"Commissioners debate raising starting clerk pay, consider moving county pay scales",1867,5248000,7115000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5689752-d91632ec2e7e8d6164b1a22363ae0e79&start=5248&end=7115","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5689752-d91632ec2e7e8d6164b1a22363ae0e79/thumbnail_5248000.jpg","/articles/6485538/Rockwall-County/Texas/Commissioners-debate-raising-starting-clerk-pay-consider-moving-county-pay-scales","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6485538-7738319d0e9424d94f04d77635039db7/orig.mp4?Expires=1770441515&Signature=LTwb-WSEQ~A3RVXFoRMXpc-0NH1q1zGddZM2QqUEZlHnsX6dK4tn8yi-LXkKDOB3k8O32etrGf9cZUM6rz4jpbDcLkEo8LU7sXOpE~zRb~exCfHkZYq5KR~yr68MhDTLb6-GMmTYHBF2GV7voNDrrfArOfeyGpfd6COSfsf0vctXLjdPHCFkMEYD3LrFvvT~yzsyj-VJyyjIUNiZSIt0B~ynn9FPKh9qWSCpUa7OyzvfIp~dnjglo8zec0MVvMpyLB3KpkAL9XudWeg68d825UGDM0N02L0g0PxbR7a8TGZIMiUdge-dc0bFHUn7dPAhLi18iYg5QZlSN5NsYKa5jg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Rockwall County commissioners discussed whether to move county salary ranges upward to raise starting pay for district and county clerks, focusing on recruitment and retention concerns voiced by Clerk’s offices.

Commissioner Stacy proposed moving pay scales by 5.7% (a two‑year cumulative Consumer Price Index figure) while keeping the draft’s 4% general raise for FY2026. “Starting pay is about getting people to apply for jobs,” Stacy said, arguing that higher entry pay will improve recruitment and reduce turnover. He cited a district-clerk request and a loaded budget impact estimate of roughly $118,000 for a larger regrade to job grade 3; he offered a compromise of moving starting clerks to job-grade 2 (about $37,851 in the example spreadsheet) as a nearer-term step.

Other commissioners urged caution at scale-wide regrades because of the budgetary cost. One commissioner described the county’s applicant pools and pointed to strong non-wage benefits — but acknowledged retention remains an issue in some court-facing offices. Staff and department leaders in the meeting said records‑management fees (county clerk revenues) exist and could offset some recurring costs, although the district clerk’s fee fund is smaller and already committed to part-time help.

Why it matters: clerk offices process court filings, records and revenue; understaffing or high turnover slows case processing and can increase costs through training and overtime. Any change to pay scales would affect the county payroll baseline and reappear in subsequent budgets.

Numbers discussed (from transcript figures)

- Current starting clerk pay cited in discussion: about $33,986.
- Proposed grade-3 starting clerk figure shown by one commissioner: $38,540.
- Compromise proposed: move starting clerks to job-grade 2 (~$37,851 in the working spreadsheet) and hold the countywide raise at 4% for FY2026; auditors were asked to calculate the exact draft impact (commissioner estimate ~ $37,000 additional budget impact to also move several under‑scale employees up to new minimums).

Process and next steps

Auditor and payroll staff were asked to calculate the precise payroll impact of the proposed 5.7% pay-scale movement plus the 4% raises and to return numbers at the court’s next meeting. Commissioners agreed the scale-change policy itself requires separate adoption; for now the court asked staff to model the fiscal effect before making a final vote.

Speakers and sources in this discussion included Commissioner Stacy, Commissioner Lichty, Leah Carson (District Clerk), Cammy (HR director) and payroll/auditor staff. Quotes are drawn verbatim from the transcript.","On Aug. 27 the court spent more than an hour debating a proposed reset of county pay scales for clerical staff — commissioners discussed a 5.7% scale movement paired with a 4% across‑the‑board raise and options to fund some positions from records-fee funds.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":80,"_47":92,"_49":93,"_51":94,"_53":95,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":96,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":97,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6485543,"Commissioners approve multiple line-item changes to FY2026 first draft budget",6820,295000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5689752-d91632ec2e7e8d6164b1a22363ae0e79&start=295&end=7115","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5689752-d91632ec2e7e8d6164b1a22363ae0e79/thumbnail_295000.jpg","/articles/6485543/Rockwall-County/Texas/Commissioners-approve-multiple-line-item-changes-to-FY2026-first-draft-budget","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6485543-2c5ac0dd660466ce231d1d1182dcba45/orig.mp4?Expires=1770441515&Signature=PrnwcacETyKdT1tnG38WJ4S-g0ZzOPbV0xPhcgpBkd0yYxT8HL3GtlDmZqLPsFSvi8pyRrtjNo2rmKgpCzL1Xc30Nwv4fAP1N3o-JPZs06W7pePl8ib~datWFQo-~FE6IGAa6E4JQmrCmCzlpaSYlSa0bxxESqF7849WcydtIMOS27wUn516v8RApQNxVjfRyFuzCbPLmvdGURXRHSf-IS-xF0UcnomPYWEhEE9MXMaRmyp9v9TMm4XLJBbIYxYp6XnXmkDvZE4gZegtP8W6gCIr7wU8lawKQwf4zBBkUhVYuW0W3165U06NQZ1i6Q1XHyyqnTfa6qG02J9m-qmErw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Rockwall County Commissioners Court on Aug. 27 adopted a slate of line-item adjustments to the FY2026 first draft budget after hours of review and motions from Commissioner Stacy and others.

The court approved reductions, transfers and discrete additions across several funds — including a $200,000 transfer to the county insurance trust fund (Fund 185), $25,000 restored to CASA, removal of a planned commercial dishwasher purchase in favor of a lease, and multiple court-related salary and bailiff adjustments the judges had submitted as court orders. Several personnel and maintenance-line moves were also approved, including moving certain jail maintenance salary funding into the county maintenance department and eliminating a temporary GIS coordinator position.

Why it matters: the votes reallocate limited resources ahead of further budget drafts and set priorities the court will carry into the next rounds of negotiations. Several votes were procedural (clearing items from the auditor’s revision sheet) but others affect staffing, services to residents and the county’s reserve priorities.

Key actions and outcomes

- Reduce general-training funding from $6,000 to $3,000 — motion passed (5–0).
- Acknowledge and implement multiple district-court salary court orders submitted by judges (bailiffs, court reporters, auditor-related items) — motion passed (5–0).
- Approve increases to constable salaries (constables 1–4) and associated budget adjustments — motions passed (5–0).
- Remove a sand agreement and add a $14,000 maintenance agreement — passed (5–0).
- Remove purchase of commercial dishwasher ($84,000) and add a $7,800 lease alternative — passed (5–0).
- Add $25,000 to CASA (restoring part of last year’s allocation) — passed (5–0).
- Transfer $200,000 from the general fund to the insurance trust (Fund 185) in the draft — passed (5–0).
- Increase road construction materials in Fund 20 to $25,000 — passed (5–0).
- Eliminate an emergency management specialist position (personnel reduction) — passed (4–1).
- Remove a GIS coordinator and a temporary development-services position (savings $132,304) — passed (5–0).
- Move access-control line from the jail budget into maintenance (no net budget change) — passed (5–0).
- Move jail maintenance salary funding to the county maintenance department (+$55,365) — passed (5–0); subsequently the court removed the jail headcount for maintenance (vote passed 4–1).
- Purchase one equipped radio for a constable pool car from Fund 51 ($6,300) — passed (5–0).
- Add part-time clerks for Justice of the Peace (JP) 3 and JP 4 — passed (5–0).
- Add a senior clerk for the District Attorney to serve a proposed 500th/third district court and fund from SB22 if formed — passed (5–0).
- Remove the requested development-services civilian vehicle from the draft (savings approx. $30,000) — passed (5–0).
- Set the bailiff salary for the not-yet-formed 500th/third district court at the same level as other district-court bailiffs for budgeting purposes — passed (5–0).

Discussion highlights and constraints

Commissioners repeatedly stressed that these votes create a working revision to the draft, not the final budget. Multiple times the court noted that money moved or earmarked in the draft can be revisited in subsequent iterations. The transfer to the insurance trust prompted particular discussion about timing and contingency: some commissioners urged waiting until later in the budget process while others wanted to reserve a minimum amount now so it would not be spent elsewhere in the draft.

Several legal and operational items were deferred pending more detailed estimates or attorney input, including projected outside-legal costs for ongoing lawsuits and a proposed purchase of 50 additional phone licenses for county systems.

Votes at a glance (selected motions)

- Training reduction (line items 400-500): passed 5–0.
- Court orders from district judges (multiple lines): passed 5–0.
- Constable salary increases (constables 1–4; items referenced as 30–33 on the revision list): passed 5–0.
- Bond increases (county and municipal court-related bond adjustments): passed 5–0.
- Sand agreement removal / maintenance agreement addition ($14,000): passed 5–0.
- Y-drive removal (IT/DA worked out alternate purchase): reduction of $15,000 — passed 5–0.
- Commercial dishwasher removed; lease added ($7,800): passed 5–0.
- CASA funding $25,000 restoration: passed 5–0.
- Transfer to insurance trust Fund 185 ($200,000): passed 5–0.
- Fund 20 road construction materials to $25,000: passed 5–0.
- Emergency management specialist elimination: passed 4–1 (tally recorded; individual 'no' not named in roll call).
- Jail maintenance funding moved to maintenance (+$55,365): passed 5–0.
- Jail maintenance headcount removed from jail (left unfunded in headcount): passed 4–1.
- GIS coordinator and temporary development-services position removed (savings $132,304): passed 5–0.
- Add part-time JP clerk for JP 3 (line 23): passed 5–0.
- Add part-time JP clerk for JP 4: passed 5–0.
- Add District Attorney senior clerk (SB22 funds if court formed): passed 5–0.
- Remove development services vehicle (civilian car): passed 5–0.

What comes next

Auditor and payroll staff were asked to calculate the budgetary impact of a separate proposed pay-scale adjustment (discussed at length) before the next meeting so the court can see the exact dollar impact. The court scheduled a follow-up budget meeting the next morning to continue unresolved items.

Speakers quoted in this article were identified in the meeting transcript as Judge; Commissioner Stacy; Commissioner Lichty; Commissioner Maklick; Commissioner Gallano; Commissioner DeWana; Constable Parks; Melissa (auditor's office); Cammy (HR director); Leah Carson (District Clerk); Kendra Culpepper (District Attorney); Erica Bridges (Development Services); and Barry (maintenance). Direct quotes in the body are verbatim excerpts from the meeting transcript.","At a special meeting Aug. 27, the Rockwall County Commissioners Court voted on a series of adjustments to the FY2026 first draft budget, approving dozens of line-item moves, personnel changes and funding shifts including transfers to the county insurance trust and restorations for courts and community partners.","actionData","errors"]

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Court moves jail maintenance pay to county maintenance budget; removes jail maintenance headcount

Commissioners debate raising starting clerk pay, consider moving county pay scales

Commissioners approve multiple line-item changes to FY2026 first draft budget