County approves nearly $1M indigent‑defense grant as commissioners urge long‑term cost review
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Summary
The court approved an FY‑26 Texas Indigent Defense Commission grant of $986,153 to help pay indigent defense costs. Commissioners noted that combined costs for assigned counsel and public defender programs more than doubled between 2021 and 2025 and asked the manage‑assigned counsel director to work with staff on longer‑term cost projections and
Bexar County commissioners on Oct. 28 approved a fiscal‑year 2026 grant from the Texas Indigent Defense Commission totaling $986,153 to assist with county indigent defense costs.
Commissioner Moody moved the item and used the opportunity to highlight rapid growth in spending. He said combined expenses between the public‑defender/primary defense office and the managed assigned‑counsel program rose from roughly $9.3 million in 2021 to about $20.1 million in 2025, more than doubling over five years. He described those increases as unsustainable and asked county staff and the court to work with manage‑assigned counsel on efficiency and long‑range cost management.
Jim Bethke, director of the manage‑assigned counsel program, responded that year‑to‑year comparisons that start in 2021 can be misleading because pandemic funding and service patterns distorted the baseline; he offered to work with the county on longer time‑series reviews and projections.
The court approved the grant by voice vote. Commissioners asked staff to continue reviewing program structure and spending trends and to collaborate on ideas to contain costs while maintaining constitutional defense obligations.