[{"_1":2,"_110":-5,"_111":-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",[32,75,87,99],{"_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",6509027,"mediaKeyId","5443031-3a8a11aeb41be26960c661da942a5cc1","parentId",5443031,"title","Court hears elected-official pay, law enforcement and benefits reports as budget season approaches","audioSeconds",560,"startMs",3203000,"endMs",3763000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5443031-3a8a11aeb41be26960c661da942a5cc1&start=3203&end=3763","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5443031-3a8a11aeb41be26960c661da942a5cc1/thumbnail_3203000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6509027/Collin-County/Texas/Court-hears-elected-official-pay-law-enforcement-and-benefits-reports-as-budget-season-approaches","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6509027-172e3777e2843d620f40e41a5c1a9cb7/orig.mp4?Expires=1770487508&Signature=nIW9NpnoLJJnFZNvFr10124~OBbtdOSDebQdJYF0~NKMF~HrHwoktxEAcXLML1g2XFoHYQ7lv5IrEVJYPGy8NoNZPlt-iN1td6-BZclx0eiSXABiEbpr1BpZt2azC3COh3irHwQPYv7sWZ4zEMVMaihtOH~ejvdw6Uhdzj-4yHFVxlPzMOQ6YZjSOQHBml8JM3-yynzGXpZ3IEnfpuRY-CmUs3g8nWdV1N4zIhhr91-alh~pB0WLHeluO~A7lSYKwrTp3uFVtg4c2XrNEXT1ZoUdiGpZj-V3S~uf11kAqHMjN2RbOGp7AyxS-Yhfj3F3g-1VQHFXgaKmKYf0Eki6xA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Collin","date","2025-07-21T00:00:00Z","article","Human Resources presented a bundle of compensation and benefits briefings to help the court prepare for the FY2026 budget, covering elected-official compensation, county ancillary benefits and law-enforcement pay and staffing.

Cynthia Jacobson, HR director, led an elected-official compensation briefing that examined the county's new compensation policy (which compares the county to the fifth- and sixth-ranked peer counties) and flagged statutory changes that will require significant increases to supplements paid to county court-at-law judges.

Why it matters: The county must reconcile statutory mandates for judicial supplements and the court's own compensation goals while managing an overall budget under the county's tax-growth cap. Changes to elected-official pay and statutory supplement obligations have multi-department and multi-year budgetary effects.

Elected-official compensation
Jacobson said the court put a new policy in place that uses the average of the fifth- and sixth-ranked peer counties as a compensation marker. She reported two elected officials (the county judge and the sheriff) currently exceed both markers, while other elected officials fall above or below the markers to varying degrees. She highlighted a state legislative change that raised district judge pay; that change requires counties to raise supplements for county court-at-law judges and privately appointed judges, producing an estimated required increase in county supplement expense approaching several hundred thousand dollars.

Jacobson recommended the court consider clarifying the policy (for example, excluding Collin County explicitly from comparisons and deciding how to treat officials who exceed the fifth-sixth marker) so commissioners know whether they intend to pursue a pathway to the fifth-sixth benchmark in future years.

Ancillary benefits and employee leave
Erica Johnson of HR reviewed ancillary benefits including paid leave, premium and straight compensatory time policies, short- and long-term disability, life insurance, long-term care, and workers' compensation. Key points:
- In 2024 the county paid roughly 94,000 overtime hours at a cost of about $4.2 million; total overtime hours declined about 8% year-over-year but total cost stayed roughly the same.
- Premium comp liability and employees exceeding the 200-hour premium comp cap increased; 131 employees had premium comp balances above 200 hours at year-end 2024 (a 60% increase from 2023), with 144 of the highest comp balances at year-end in the sheriff's office.
- Workers' compensation costs rose significantly (about a 78% increase year-over-year).
- The county continues to offer long-term care benefits not widely provided by comparable entities.

Law enforcement compensation and staffing
Staff presented competitive benchmarking for detention officers, deputies, sergeants, lieutenants and command staff. The county added 67 sheriff's department positions since FY2024 (55 detention officers and seven deputies) and staffing turnover improved for law enforcement categories in 2024 compared with the prior year, though the jail continues to lose a majority of new detention hires within their first two years of service.

Legal and attorney positions
A separate presentation summarized attorney positions across the district attorney's office and county operations. The DA's office added two felony prosecutor positions in the current budget year and several higher-level legal positions show differing ranks relative to peer counties; some positions are close to the 70th percentile benchmarking marker used for non-elected staffing.

Next steps for budget planning
HR asked the court not to be surprised by required statutory adjustments and recommended any policy changes be decided before or during the budget process. Commissioners asked clarifying questions about which comparator metric (compensation ranking vs. population) is being used and were told the metric is compensation-based. Jacobson said she is not asking for action today but wants the court to be aware of potential FY2026 budget impacts and to consider whether to amend the policy to better meet the court's stated goal of reaching the fifth-sixth peer benchmark.

Ending
The court received the presentations for budgeting considerations and asked staff to provide more detailed line-item impacts before final budget decisions.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Collin - Commissioners Court Jul 21, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Human Resources presented an elected-official compensation policy update, ancillary benefits summary and law-enforcement compensation benchmarking; commissioners were warned of statutory mandates that will increase judge supplements and were asked to consider policy adjustments ahead of budget decisions.","taxTitle","Collin County, Texas","taxId",2696,"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},6509032,"County building projects remain on track overall; medical mental-health phase reports concrete work near completion",135,2578000,2713000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5443031-3a8a11aeb41be26960c661da942a5cc1&start=2578&end=2713","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5443031-3a8a11aeb41be26960c661da942a5cc1/thumbnail_2578000.jpg","/articles/6509032/Collin-County/Texas/County-building-projects-remain-on-track-overall-medical-mental-health-phase-reports-concrete-work-near-completion","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6509032-afd7f63ea16de617cff60b2b30c7edda/orig.mp4?Expires=1770487508&Signature=AByOOjfsUBzidKCe-gOAkFWgSkTtrPJeJ5N1L07D-PuMR5rH7wdLSQFmQ4eYoJeFv6czxK9wxnF-ZLxmNZ6ffGvyXIazrXUf60E8NT1HQWj4YxUdy6VtoUbo2bnrlq0-CCoouIr2Hxd3LI~Qs-lGDeNNckAAVgENmyy3EArZy~HBMcq6~JZmIq9MHiwICOEh-JVY9xo6QcOXwbGMZnB1z-l2nWmy68QflovHL-VguvjLWf5vMPfbLcPF2KEH72nZx9I7ryPMUgtaEHaT9z9~O3Ujj5pqYQM9KqCzJ8v-BqReX6NT~OC7O4LXK584F9Gu9GfMv8~B30LNxkvPXR9u2Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Collin County's director of building projects told the court that most Q3 construction milestones are on schedule and highlighted work at the Medical Mental Health Phase 2 building, health-care/medical examiner parking garage, and the modular central utility plant.

Sandeep Katuria, director of building projects, presented the fiscal-year 2025 third-quarter update and displayed photos and timelines showing progress on bond-funded and ARPA-funded sites at the Bloomdale and Plano campuses.

Why it matters: Several projects relate directly to jail medical and mental-health capacity, public-health facilities and courthouse expansion; all carry multi-year schedules and change orders that affect cost and completion timing.

Key project updates
- Medical Mental Health Phase 2: Concrete work and the level-2 concrete roof deck were described as \"near completion.\" Steel erection and mezzanine slab work were reported finished and mechanical equipment installation underway. The contractor Sedalco was credited for maintaining schedule, quality and communication.
- Health-care / Medical Examiner parking garage: The parking garage was reported 40% complete with an anticipated substantial completion date of June 29 (year not specified in presentation); the quarter included weather impacts and change orders totaling approximately $463,000 for the quarter and $1,065,000 to date (1.72% of contract amount).
- Modular central utility plant (CUP): The modular unit is to be shipped to site in August; the project was reported about 69% complete with anticipated substantial completion in October.
- Courthouse expansion and animal shelter adoption facility: Phase 1 design and CMAR solicitations are in progress, with construction starts anticipated early next year, though Katuria said some solicitation and CMAR steps had taken longer than planned.
- Adult detention kitchen relocation and juvenile probation renovations: The kitchen relocation design is in progress (relocation to old booking area); juvenile probation renovations at the Plano site began construction and were awarded to Integrity Contractors, with anticipated substantial completion early next year.

Costs, schedule impacts and transparency
Katuria noted a small number of weather days and several change orders in the quarter; for the mental-health project, the quarter had four weather days and five change orders totaling about $401,000. He said some dates had \"slid a little bit\" and that solicitation and CMAR processes had lengthened some timelines. Katuria said the presentation slides are up-to-date and that members of the public can request the current charts from his office rather than rely on a static online posting.

Formal requests and next steps
Commissioners asked whether projects remain on target; Katuria said they are on target though some dates have shifted modestly. He said the team is close on design for some projects and that interviews for CMAR selection were forthcoming. Commissioners asked that staff be available to answer specific procurement or schedule questions during budget season.

Ending
The court received the third-quarter construction update, directed staff to continue coordination with architects and contractors, and asked that up-to-date project charts be made available on request.","The county's Building Projects director reported steady progress across bond- and ARPA-funded projects including Medical Mental Health Phase 2, public health buildings, parking garage and modular central utility plant; schedule and change-order details were provided.",{"_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},6509035,"Commissioners accept residential streets despite warning about long-term maintenance costs; vote 2-1",250,114000,364000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5443031-3a8a11aeb41be26960c661da942a5cc1&start=114&end=364","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5443031-3a8a11aeb41be26960c661da942a5cc1/thumbnail_114000.jpg","/articles/6509035/Collin-County/Texas/Commissioners-accept-residential-streets-despite-warning-about-long-term-maintenance-costs-vote-2-1","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6509035-c89d580ea555ec12bf7ca7c73588172f/orig.mp4?Expires=1770487508&Signature=im71iEaeqcdhqQuNoBxeXWPvQ08ZmvxfyYtrqCiUyQNaLNtMaMLHapb7D2VygholUqzxQ-Sw2F8wXwuUPWx-3~CG4s-EJMBFzJCKXkcC0HSTSCFT5BSBUxPtRwHloiDW9nDCAJMk3hGnwSloiDAFAhHs5KaASQ1ZCQuLFr66DYJ83NsrbyWAhpZvkSRVawjbLHIgvHoXPaAAg5hZUdyb626dlkO6sipspXL5wB~mgd0Mm5~DtF6EJ0RHB5YiAjksrltgFguYhq6H65W~GuZc4Xk9to381cga32ZqnwzgIFrsDx9VoJo167FfxveGHnaC2ehycAfv7kM4VHmqvjT12Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Commissioners voted 2-1 to accept maintenance of a neighborhood's residential streets during a consent-agenda item, after a commissioner said the county should avoid taking on responsibility for residential roads that cities would normally annex.

Commissioner (unnamed, speaker 2) urged caution, saying property taxes paid by residents \"are probably ... going to exceed what we're collecting\" and warned the county is taking on a growing maintenance burden when annexation has slowed. Clarence Daugherty, Director of Engineering, told the court the office had not calculated how much property-tax revenue those homes pay to the county.

Why it matters: Acceptance of private or developer-built residential streets shifts maintenance obligations to the county and can create long-term recurring costs for road repair and safety services. Commissioners said the issue is linked to state annexation law and county growth patterns.

What commissioners said
Commissioner (speaker 2) opened the exchange by saying, \"I'm really concerned of us taking on responsibility for residential streets and neighborhoods\" and asked for a calculation of the property taxes paid by homes in the neighborhood so residents can understand the fiscal trade-off.

Commissioner (speaker 5) agreed the problem has persisted for years and said the Legislature's law-making on annexation has contributed to the county's situation. \"We have people that live in the county that are not paying city taxes, but are expecting those city services,\" the commissioner said, adding the county is absorbing maintenance counties historically did not have to provide.

Engineering response
Clarence Daugherty, Director of Engineering, said the department had not done the requested calculation: \"I really don't have a response because we haven't done that calculation.\" He said the Public Works Department provided the item per the court's request and noted the matter has been examined over the last four years but the revenue-per-property calculation was not completed.

Formal action
A motion to accept the roads was made by Commissioner (speaker 5) and seconded; the court recorded the motion as passing 2 to 1. The transcript does not record individual roll-call votes by name.

Follow-up and context
Commissioners indicated continued concern about the county taking on long-term road maintenance responsibilities as development continues and annexation slows. One commissioner said he will discuss the issue further with engineering and other court members and asked staff to prepare more fiscal detail so the public can see the long-term cost implications.

Ending
The court approved acceptance of the roads while directing staff to provide additional financial context for future decisions about road acceptance and the county's responsibilities.","The court voted 2-1 to accept maintenance responsibility for a neighborhood's residential streets, prompting concerns from one commissioner about rising county costs and lost annexation revenue.",{"_33":100,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":101,"_41":102,"_43":103,"_45":103,"_47":104,"_49":105,"_51":106,"_53":107,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":108,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":109,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6509040,"Collin County court approves $110,000 supplemental to cover sheriff's overtime after extended debate on staffing and relief factor",0,2484000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5443031-3a8a11aeb41be26960c661da942a5cc1&start=2484&end=2484","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5443031-3a8a11aeb41be26960c661da942a5cc1/thumbnail_2484000.jpg","/articles/6509040/Collin-County/Texas/Collin-County-court-approves-110000-supplemental-to-cover-sheriffs-overtime-after-extended-debate-on-staffing-and-relief-factor","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6509040-64bf9841d1cf51d62ac86c00df109f71/orig.mp4?Expires=1770487508&Signature=NTSlBk~5fr99L5F4JB7ldLf~Jbk1OlzZPOxixwaK1j57J0I4mswIDMrP57OnCb3lvycQhhfqlWkbUC8BCA~P6aU45KEb4DsMQblwcmXpzX8L7P56WKU-ww1LBhtk8ZyNMqu1z9Ncb4fr7K-iOGac5djssAsRqfv-V~uCUUYCFPkqdT62taqyvgz8EY5cMC~4X8Sou~L05s806g7wRDDq~ZU0hG9b2RQ7aXhXchZHwbq6YyoEH-o2pvFAOTkURfvYA6m515eEdP5fRxQ~X4MSKwP0ma5m1pGuopa3UaJcdui2FyR2xHHxoqhoAZofTn3NaL7r2QF3X7e~yPK2vIvzAg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Commissioners Court unanimously approved a $110,000 supplemental transfer from jail operations to cover overtime for the pay period that ended July 20, the county's budget director said.

The vote followed more than an hour of exchanges between commissioners, the sheriff and jail leadership about why overtime remains high even after the county funded dozens of new detention positions this fiscal year.

Commissioner (unnamed, speaker 5) moved to approve the supplemental, saying, \"I'll move to approve because the we have to pay overtime. People have worked it. We have to pay it.\" The motion carried on a voice vote with all present voting in favor.

Why it matters: Commissioners and the sheriff clashed on whether newly funded positions have reduced overtime pressure. Officials said the county has added positions this year but that many remain in training and cannot immediately serve as relief staff. County finance staff told the court the $110,000 used for the recent pay period was moved from the pretrial release budget and that further transfers may be needed if internal savings cannot be found.

Details of the decision and debate
Commissioners were told this transfer covered overtime for the pay period ending July 20 and that the budget office had identified salary savings from the sheriff's office and moved $110,000 from the sheriff's pretrial release budget to cover overtime. The budget director (Mr. Kim) told the court the move is allowable under Texas Local Government Code section 111.041 and that the court will return July 28 to consider overtime for the next pay period.

The sheriff and jail leadership said the department had requested and received dozens of detention positions this year'the sheriff said 55 positions were funded'but that many of those hires remain in training. The sheriff explained training requires that new officers be paired with field-training officers, which temporarily increases staff counts on posts and delays the new hires providing immediate relief. \"We are very, very lean,\" the sheriff said, defending department use of funds and staffing choices.

The sheriff and his jail chief described reasons overtime remains elevated: temporary duty assignments, statutory duties newly assigned by the Legislature (including reporting requirements tied to gang identification), the opening and closing of pods while repairs and maintenance occur, high occupancy rates, and a sizable number of staff still in training. The sheriff said some duties (for example, staffing the kitchen and gang intelligence work) must be done by deputies or detention staff despite those positions not being explicitly funded in recent budgets.

Budget office planning and next steps
Budget staff told the court it will first try to identify salary savings within the sheriff's budgets (supplies, travel, training, unfilled salaries). If those internal savings are insufficient, the budget office will present the court with options to move salary savings from other departments or other funds. The budget director said that in prior years, the court has moved savings from other departments to cover sheriff overtime when necessary. The court was notified that if internal savings are exhausted, the County-wide 3% property-tax growth cap will limit additional spending and force reallocation among departments.

Formal action
The court approved a supplemental appropriation of $110,000 to pay sheriff's overtime for the pay period ending July 20. The budget director stated that the $110,000 was drawn from the sheriff's pretrial release account and that an agenda item for July 28 will address transferring the pretrial program to the district clerk.

Outlook
Budget staff and commissioners directed continued review of the sheriff's budgets and asked for a list of noncore functions and potential reductions to make overtime more sustainable in the next fiscal year. The sheriff said he will continue to request positions in the annual budget and that some statutory duties require specific staffing levels.

Ending
Commissioners framed the vote as a short-term necessity to honor work already performed while instructing staff to propose structural budget changes for FY2026 to reduce recurring overtime needs.","Commissioners unanimously approved a $110,000 transfer from jail operations to cover recent overtime, after extended discussion about staffing, training, relief-factor calculations and whether new hires are being used to reduce overtime.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Court hears elected-official pay, law enforcement and benefits reports as budget season approaches

County building projects remain on track overall; medical mental-health phase reports concrete work near completion

Commissioners accept residential streets despite warning about long-term maintenance costs; vote 2-1

Collin County court approves $110,000 supplemental to cover sheriff's overtime after extended debate on staffing and relief factor