Victoria County Commissioners on Monday voted to approve a resolution authorizing submission of an application to the Texas Indigent Defense Commission (TIDC) for a multi-year indigent defense improvement grant aimed at supporting the Crossroads Regional Public Defender's Office.

If the requested award is approved by TIDC, county staff said Victoria County could see reduced local payments for the public defender program in fiscal years 2026 and 2027.

Brian, staff member, told the court that the office submitted an improvement-grant application for about $2,700,000. He said the request seeks 100% reimbursement for the program in fiscal year 2026 and a 90% step-down reimbursement in fiscal year 2027, which staff estimated would reduce Victoria County's local share by roughly $780,000 in fiscal 2026 and about $720,000 in fiscal 2027.

Brian said the award request is contingent on an expansion of the regional public defender program to include Wharton and Matagorda counties; he said discussions with those counties were ongoing and that those counties' boards and TIDC would decide on timing later in August. He also described a parallel sustainability-grant modification that would streamline administration across member counties if the expansion occurs.

Commissioners moved and seconded approval of the resolution. The court recorded the motion as approved without recorded roll-call tallies.

The action was limited to authorizing the county's grant application and a judge's signature where required; no county match was required for the improvement grant as described by staff. Brian emphasized that the sustainability-grant modification is contingent on the regional expansion and would be moot if the new counties do not join.

The county will await TIDC's review and any formal award before changes to the county budget or program staffing would take effect. Staff said they had filed the necessary grant documents in advance of TIDC's meeting and were seeking the court's vote to complete the submission process.