Collin County commissioners press sheriff over jail overtime, staffing and training

Judge Hill and commissioners pressed Sheriff Skinner at the Commissioners Court budget workshop about why the county continues to pay high amounts of overtime at the Collin County Detention Center and when those costs might fall.

The sheriff told the court the jail has been operating with staffing shortfalls and high average daily population that have kept posts open and driven overtime. He and his commanders said the department is hiring more detention officers but that new hires require phases of training and field training before being released to all posts. Commissioners asked whether training schedules or pay practices — including on-duty lunches and comp time — are inflating overtime costs.

Sheriff Skinner and his staff told the court they have had dozens of people in training at once and that some trainees are used to staff housing posts once they complete particular phases of training. Skinner said the department has had a rolling average of many trainees since October and that the jail population has…