Commissioners revise constable budgets: one shared part-time deputy, camera purchases and vehicle cost splits

Commissioners adjusted constable budgets during the July 12 workshop, agreeing on an approach to one shared part-time deputy and discussing equipment, vehicles and body-camera systems. Court members discussed multiple constable precinct budgets and decided to eliminate a second contemplated part-time hire and instead fund one part-time deputy whose salary will be paid from Precinct 4 while vehicle expenses will remain under Precinct 2. The court also discussed splitting costs among precincts when deputies work across precinct lines. One commissioner summarized the practical division: "The salary will come out at 4. The vehicle will come out at 2." Members debated the number of weekly hours that would legally and practically keep a hire classified as part-time. Several commissioners recommended a conservative cap to avoid exceeding benefits thresholds; they discussed 30 hours and 24 hours as options and settled on targeting 24 hours per week as a safer average to avoid triggering full-time benefits. A county official explained the statutory limit in payroll practice: part-time employees should not exceed 1,040 hours per year or they become eligible for full-time benefits. The constables also discussed body- and in-car camera systems. Vendors and configurations were debated: officials described older L3 systems and the WatchGuard integrated solution (which they said could cost $20,000–$27,000 with server and subscription implications). A lower-cost body-camera option using SD cards was described as available in the $98 range; the court discussed trade-offs between cheap standalone body cameras and integrated car/body systems that require server support. One constable said his office had purchased a body camera on Amazon as a stopgap while evaluating integrated systems. Other budget details covered vehicle maintenance, law-enforcement supply amounts, and equipment purchases such as tasers and vests. Commissioners agreed to move a part-time payroll line to Precinct 4 and leave vehicle expenses with Precinct 2, and to limit miscellaneous funds to smaller, more specific line items; they also agreed to revisit camera costs and may place equipment purchases in the next budget update. No formal hiring motion with roll-call vote was recorded in the workshop; commissioners instructed staff to finalize line-item transfers and to coordinate commissioning and training requirements with the Texas licensing authority.