Freestone County court approves payout of accrued comp, holiday time for dispatch and jail staff

Freestone County Commissioners Court approved a motion to pay out accrued compensatory, holiday and administrative time to county dispatch and jail personnel.

During discussion, Speaker 3, who represents a county office affected by staffing shortages, said the offices have been short-staffed all year and that employees ‘‘can't take’’ accrued comp time. Speaker 3 asked that ‘‘they get paid, their comp time, their holiday time, and now I gotta deal with the admin time’’ and estimated the payout ‘‘is probably gonna be about 35,000, 36,000.’’ The speaker said money to cover the payout could come from that office's dispatch fund.

Speaker 2 moved ‘‘to pay out comp time and holiday time for [jailers] and dispatchers’’; the motion was seconded and the court called for a vote. The presiding officer asked for ‘‘All in favor’’ and voices in the room indicated assent, after which supporters thanked the court for approving the action.

The court did not record a roll-call tally in the provided transcript; speakers noted the dispatch fund has budget capacity and that the payout would not require a supplemental appropriation beyond currently available lines. The motion's immediate implementation and any administrative steps (payroll timing, exact amounts per employee, or whether the payout is a one-time or recurring measure) were not specified in the transcript.

Next steps: staff indicated the payout would be processed through the relevant office and completed before the end of the fiscal month; no further schedule or follow-up report was recorded in the provided segments.