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Jail officials cite rising medical costs, transport demands and staffing needs in FY-26 request
Summary
Chief Pinkerton and jail leadership presented inmate population, medical and transport costs and asked for additional detention officers, higher part-time and overtime budgets, and two transport vehicles; they described high-cost special-needs inmates and a drop in staff 'safety on staff' incidents as mental-health treatment improved.
Chief Pinkerton and jail leadership presented the Smith County Commissioners Court with FY-26 budget requests for the county jail and juvenile detention center, highlighting medical costs for special-needs inmates, transport workload and personnel shortfalls.
Pinkerton said the jail booked more than 8,000 inmates in 2024, drove roughly 212,837 miles on transports and recorded 41 "safety-on-staff" incidents in the year cited. He described a continuing need for transport capacity to move inmates to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and for local transports to court, hospitals and other counties.
Medical costs: Pinkerton provided detailed figures for high-acuity medical care. Between Nov. 21 and May 31 the jail had inmates with pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, cancer, hepatitis C, renal care requiring…
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