Brazos County road crews ask court to approve multiple position changes as hiring bottlenecks persist

Brazos County engineering and Road and Bridge officials asked the Commissioners Court on Tuesday to approve a slate of personnel changes intended to address workload, pay parity and chronic hiring challenges for heavy-equipment and CDL-qualified positions. The request includes creating a combined front-office supervisor/flood‑plain permit specialist, adding a drainage specialist-level supervisor, hiring an additional flagger to make 14 total, converting some CDL‑required heavy‑equipment operator roles to heavy‑equipment specialist positions that do not require a CDL, and hiring a second herbicide operator and truck to maintain county rights-of-way. County engineer Prathana Banerjee and Road and Bridge superintendent Jimmy LaFleur said the changes would reduce recruitment barriers and level pay among crews doing the same work. Banerjee told the court the department maintains roughly 485 miles of road (which she described as “about 500 miles” for planning) and about 70 bridges. She said a single herbicide truck and operator cannot keep pace with regrowth across the system and that adding a second operator would let crews split the county and work more efficiently. The department reported difficulty recruiting CDL drivers because private contractors pay far more, and said several qualified applicants have been rejected solely for lack of a CDL. Commissioners pressed for accountability and visibility. After discussion, Banerjee agreed to begin providing a monthly summary report to the court starting in September that lists Road and Bridge activity and projects. Commissioner Brown said a concise, monthly snapshot with photos and timelines would help the public understand what crews do and reduce complaint-driven inquiries. The discussion was framed as a budget-year personnel request; no formal vote or appropriation was taken during the session. Court members recessed to prioritize items for the proposed budget later in the meeting.