[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-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",6182469,"mediaKeyId","5105395-486ba75117cc0d4b35370b309b18285b","parentId",5105395,"title","Van Zandt DA urges higher pay for court reporters, cites jury costs and cramped courthouse space","audioSeconds",2537,"startMs",2544000,"endMs",6468,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5105395-486ba75117cc0d4b35370b309b18285b&start=2544&end=6","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5105395-486ba75117cc0d4b35370b309b18285b/thumbnail_2544000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6182469/Van-Zandt-County/Texas/Van-Zandt-DA-urges-higher-pay-for-court-reporters-cites-jury-costs-and-cramped-courthouse-space","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6182469-3b37e2c0c1c48a99a0340de8b1b9a68f/orig.mp4?Expires=1773379491&Signature=mnh0hHXvuNI1s52rCKQgspjZthe20JUTE-biTbvJK4Nnp4bSqoWP~9yRTceiw5nXRVVX~9SEvbC5M~cpODZkZ0Dl4WolpAQbkmlmY6QEqWWC5aM~~sZxj6rU2BTDrCyVeXtLOZScgltAWLGUbZaXaSMdKx3ckVSBbPMYIpIlHGfObDHIRjDf3a9fgANpMKq-9QBpCARfVSVM2gWbAzXhF~luyVgXDILH1nJ205EDgPTSB8WN3XL8zxYpV5eOgxpeh4NUgk-v71xh8F7r9T4eKcSvtHmJGXSfsBqncmZKz2Vj6PiHOHLZJF8rSjjZc1yOwUhc-NXp70aRqVX4ZUSFnQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Van Zandt County TX","date","2025-06-30T13:53:31Z","article","The Van Zandt County district attorney told the commissioners court during the June 30 budget workshop that shortages of court reporters, rising juror-related costs and constrained courthouse space are straining the county’s court system and budget.

The DA (name not specified in the transcript) said the office is asking the court to consider increased pay for court reporters (a suggested competitive salary figure of $99,000 was discussed) and requested funding for a dedicated civil attorney position (the DA said a $100,000 budget item would be appropriate). The DA said those moves are intended to retain reporters and to expand legal capacity as the county’s caseload returns toward historical levels.

The DA described several drivers of cost pressure: juror pay increases (the transcript said jury first-day pay rose from $8 to $20 and that reimbursements to counties changed), higher fees for psychiatric evaluations and translation needs, and the use of day-rate court reporters when permanent reporters are unavailable. The DA said the county previously budgeted lower levels and has recently relied on day-rate reporters at higher per-day rates; he warned those ad-hoc expenses can ‘‘obliterate’’ the employees budget if the county must pay more for reporter services at scale.

On facilities, the DA said the courthouse lacks adequate jury-assembly space and that grand jury proceedings currently use a probation training room with poor Wi-Fi and limited seating; he said the courtroom and juror holding areas are cramped, creating access and comfort issues for jurors and other courtroom users. He described the practical consequences: crowded jury rooms, jurors with mobility or medical needs forced into small spaces, and parking complaints from local businesses when panels assemble.

The DA said the district handled about 1,100 county arrests last year (down from roughly 1,500 in prior years) and estimated roughly 400 district-court cases per year, with jury-trial availability limited to about 12 criminal jury trials per year. He argued adding a court dedicated to trials would reduce jail population pressure and speed prosecutions, but noted that adding a court would require two prosecutors and one legal assistant and that his office lacks physical office space to add staff.

The DA described translation services and other supports: the Office of Court Administration (OCA) provides telephone translators for many Spanish-language needs, which he said has reduced translator costs; sign-language or in-person translators still generate expense and travel costs. He also discussed workforce development for court reporters, noting local training programs (Trinity Valley and others) have few students and that technology—automated transcription and AI—was not yet reliable enough, in his view, for courtroom records when accuracy and timing are required.

Commissioners asked questions about space, pay levels and possible sponsorship of reporter training; the DA said county sponsorship of training might be possible but government-code licensing rules would shape appointment processes. No formal budget appropriation or personnel action was recorded in the transcript; the DA said he would like to pursue the reporter salary and the civil-attorney funding as part of the budget process.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Van Zandt County Budget Meeting 6/30/2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Van Zandt County district attorney told the commissioners court during the June 30 budget workshop that shortages of court reporters, rising juror-related costs and constrained courthouse space are straining the county’s court system and budget.","taxTitle","Van Zandt County, Texas","taxId",63777,"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},6182474,"Van Zandt DPS leader urges pay adjustment to retain administrative assistant as trooper staffing expands",946,1391000,2337000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5105395-486ba75117cc0d4b35370b309b18285b&start=1391&end=2337","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5105395-486ba75117cc0d4b35370b309b18285b/thumbnail_1391000.jpg","/articles/6182474/Van-Zandt-County/Texas/Van-Zandt-DPS-leader-urges-pay-adjustment-to-retain-administrative-assistant-as-trooper-staffing-expands","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6182474-869a242bbf01cc78c5daf349a98706d0/orig.mp4?Expires=1773379491&Signature=NpreH2HzsDEZsE7PfGI3Mvmlo16r6HpERSr2NrYtZUUWtZjjUfpYqmHlLvnbOrct9EhzINCJBOr2kej7YyaDQZMyr22lItz15WI0xSlu3uwOgkaKvrNe5-Nd5JeUEbXwrN1Rer3MpivAEN64OQR~ewUvlLqhX6I~0yK-tc5qsRRW4MyZxgJqfdMiaYvJa7pHsfT-1c0PxVuncvR5yuRa5xiszwv7A-dPau-Q-qXMDibEa3bDx9G5kkE6-LtyuaDTgVh9XgWRmRYD3GBS0T7z~dUzJSqe8LaB8DxWoPKRFO0OHzDG-UGuGj-~x65u6aCEfXUeIxt73~gJglabXu1DVQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Matthew Skinner, head of the Texas Department of Public Safety office in Van Zandt County, told the commissioners court the department’s top budget request is compensation and retention for his administrative assistant, Monica McCoy.

Skinner said McCoy performs “nine jobs in one,” handling case paperwork, public information requests, crash- and arrest-related records, facility maintenance coordination and other duties that would otherwise pull troopers into the office. He said that keeping troopers on the road increases traffic enforcement, crash response and criminal investigations and that the department’s productivity would rise if clerical duties were covered.

Skinner described the current office staffing as eight troopers assigned to the county with three additional troopers expected in September (with a possible fourth). He said daytime patrols generally include one to two troopers, with additional staffing when available, and noted the agency’s statewide duties occasionally pull units away from local work. Skinner said McCoy’s current salary is essentially what the budget covers and argued that retaining a trained administrative employee is cost-effective because training and institutional knowledge are hard to replace.

During discussion, a court member said the current classification for McCoy is “clerk” at pay grade 37; another participant suggested she might qualify for a higher classification (pay grade 39) or be upgraded toward a chief-deputy/lead-clerk role (pay grade 45 was mentioned during the exchange). No formal classification change or pay adjustment was recorded in the transcript; the exchange ended with a recommendation to pursue a reclassification and with Skinner thanking the court.

Skinner also described the department’s broader role: troopers respond to crashes and criminal activity on the county’s interstates, provide mutual aid when requested by state or local agencies and are a major source of traffic enforcement in several precincts. He said telephone and in-person public-record requests, video downloads and other time-consuming administrative tasks are handled by the office staff and that reassignment of those duties to McCoy allows troopers to focus on road safety.

No formal appropriation or personnel action was recorded in the transcript; the discussion will feed into the county’s budget deliberations.","The head of the Department of Public Safety in Van Zandt County asked commissioners to retain and reclassify an administrative assistant who performs multiple duties, saying that doing so would allow troopers to spend more time on patrol as the agency plans to add troopers later this year.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6182479,"Van Zandt County soil-conservation district asks commissioners for $12,000 to mow 28 dams",773,722000,1495000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5105395-486ba75117cc0d4b35370b309b18285b&start=722&end=1495","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5105395-486ba75117cc0d4b35370b309b18285b/thumbnail_722000.jpg","/articles/6182479/Van-Zandt-County/Texas/Van-Zandt-County-soil-conservation-district-asks-commissioners-for-12000-to-mow-28-dams","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6182479-00f27f8a69868712fbb490b93cc86971/orig.mp4?Expires=1773379492&Signature=HoiGY8AM0rYc-6sV9LgLDJV2q-pxqZHJ7dMcGvqmQSyEjLucbpv0lBLg10nV72MybRJT9Rp8meSyTLIrtAAjkoSmBbHI~W1Uv0JyR8jqWkPxy2BxLvvxtyVgOwj5YQZc4dmhj69-CkqrkxoikG1XPvn99DHCk2Dh4g1gd65VhGq5yJKWedl5O-U3h4me0~9EMF2GvYjmLqehgwhT3J1ETQtxfwTseskNfDEch5bHIL7SIpeLXTk9AodrPrkHG1BVOyEoE2Fnke~e6ZUSRqdde~vBLGU2oTTIssv0rDmfjUluKmUPnyfNan2TNx8fMSknkEWXr1qfD6cmDdDlJeqAnA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The soil-conservation district asked the Van Zandt County Commissioners Court on June 30 to add $12,000 to the county budget to cover annual mowing of 28 conservation dams.

The request matters because the district said mowing is a recurring safety and maintenance task that reduces brush and sediment buildup on flood-control structures located above county and state roads; the district argued the work protects bridges, roads and downstream areas as development increases below the dams.

District technician Owen Cantrell told the court the district mows the dams once per year and provided a list showing the work requires about 123 staff hours across the 28 sites. Cantrell said the district’s machine operating cost is roughly $100 per hour, which produces a $12,300 estimate for mowing alone. He identified additional recent contractor costs: about $2,000 to clear a clogged spillway and just over $5,000 to replace a debris guard on another dam. Cantrell said one dam (Mill Creek Dam, behind the Walmart in Canton) is not maintained by the district and that the rest are within the district’s maintenance responsibility.

Cantrell said state funding previously requested for dam maintenance was reduced this legislative session: a statewide ask for about $150 million produced roughly $25 million in appropriations, which limited available state grant dollars for local projects. He said the district had previously requested $12,000 from the county and that the judge had asked him to bring the request to the new budget process.

When commissioners asked who had paid for the contractor work, Cantrell said the district paid for the $2,000 cleanup; another cleanup and the debris-guard replacement were paid with a state grant, but he cautioned that state money is “iffy” and timing of those grants is uncertain. Cantrell also said the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) inspects the dams that fall under its rules on a five-year cycle while the district performs annual inspections for its records.

The court discussed how the $12,000 request compares with prior budget entries: Cantrell said the current fiscal year contained $6,000 for dam maintenance and that the new request would reflect the full mowing cost; commissioners raised questions about equipment hours, contractor rates and whether the district could continue all the work in-house. Cantrell said his rig can mow about two acres per hour, that he uses modifications (weights, steel plating and low-profile tires) to work safely on slopes that are commonly 2.5:1, and that he plans to continue mowing the dams inside Van Zandt County while contracting mowing in adjacent counties where necessary.

No formal vote or budget appropriation was recorded in the transcript during this presentation; the discussion ended with commissioners acknowledging the request and the district thanking the court for listening.","The county's soil conservation district requested $12,000 to cover annual mowing on 28 conservation dams, outlined operating costs and additional contractor expenses, and described inspection and funding limits tied to state grants.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Van Zandt DA urges higher pay for court reporters, cites jury costs and cramped courthouse space

Van Zandt DPS leader urges pay adjustment to retain administrative assistant as trooper staffing expands

Van Zandt County soil-conservation district asks commissioners for $12,000 to mow 28 dams