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Sheriff seeks part-time court bailiff; Lynn County commissioners table decision
Summary
Sheriff Wanda Mason proposed hiring a part-time deputy to serve as a court bailiff for court days only; the court tabled the item until a full quorum can consider the budget amendment. The sheriff's office also reported a license-plate–reading issue with vehicle-camera MoUs to be placed on a future agenda.
Sheriff Wanda Mason told the Lynn County Commissioners Court on Jan. 27 that the office has struggled for five years to staff a deputy to act as bailiff during court sessions and proposed hiring one part-time deputy, paid at the county-deputy hourly budget rate, to serve only on court days.
"This position will be for Court Days ONLY. They will NOT be working the roads. Once court is over, they are off duty," Wanda said during the discussion. Chief Deputy Chris Hennsley said the position is "for the safety of the Courthouse and the people within the courthouse" and added the sheriff's office would use funds within its existing budget; any formal change would be processed as a budget amendment at the end of the year.
Hennsley described staffing challenges: the county typically has three to four court dates a month, two of which often coincide with Commissioner Court. He said the department is considering retired officers from other counties as potential hires and that the jail administrator sometimes performs courtroom security duties without full arrest authority.
Judge Mike Braddock said he preferred to decide the item with a full quorum present. Commissioner Matt Woodley moved and Commissioner John Hawthorne seconded a motion to table the agenda item until all members could be present; the motion carried.
Earlier in the meeting Chief Deputy Hennsley reported the jail population as 28 Lynn County inmates, 2 from Lubbock and 12 from Potter, for a total of 42, a figure Hennsley presented as background for the staffing request.
In other business, Hennsley reported the sheriff's new vehicle camera system automatically reads license plates and that the office had received unsigned memoranda of understanding (MoUs) attached to no-reply emails from external agencies; he said he had approved about eight such MoUs as attachments and asked the court for guidance. County Attorney Rebekah Filley advised that the matter be placed on a future agenda for the court to review and decide how to proceed.
The court did not take further action on staffing or the MoU matter at the Jan. 27 session.
