Atascosa County budget workshop: commissioners direct removal of PDO 5% request from proposed budget; JP software upgrade funding discussed

Atascosa County commissioners on Sept. 8 reviewed the county operating budget in a workshop session that focused on the Regional Public Defender’s Office (PDO) interlocal budget, a potential justice-of-the-peace (JP) software upgrade, and modest travel allowances for four elected officials.

The county auditor and county attorney reviewed the PDO interlocal agreement (2022), which designates Atascosa County as the administrative grantee for the regional PDO and delegates final budget approval to the county. County staff told the court the PDO requested a 5% across‑the‑board increase (framed as a 2.5% prior-year component plus a 2.5% current-year component). Commissioners discussed prior compensation changes that the state had funded and how those increases affected county contributions. After discussion, the county judge directed staff to present the proposed county budget for the Sept. 22 hearing without including the requested 5%…