County administrators propose new ethics program and shift data fellows to technical assistance

Diana Ramirez, the county administrator, told Commissioners Court the Office of County Administration (OCA) had aligned its FY25 requests with Harris County's strategic frameworks and asked the court to support targeted investments to operationalize the plan. She said OCA allocated $1.3 million in labor for innovation and has a $1.2 million one-time carryover request for ongoing jail governance advisory work.

Deputy County Administrator Leah Barton described how OCA has reallocated existing positions to create three new FTEs—two equity specialists and one communications role—without adding net headcount. Barton said the office is recommending a pivot for the data fellows program: "We're really focused on the front end of the funnel right now, ... securing more grants," and shifting some fellow capacity into technical assistance and performance functions to support implementation of the strategic plan. Ramirez and Barton also proposed incubating an ethics and compliance program within OCA to develop a baseline framework for conflict-of-interest oversight, the gift registry and familial-relationship policies before bringing the function back to the court for placement or stabilization.

Commissioners questioned whether compliance would be better housed in the County Attorney's Office or HR; Ramirez said OCA's intent is to incubate and research the best long-term placement, noting "maybe it goes to county attorney, maybe it goes to HR, maybe it goes to purchasing." The office also signaled it would provide further details on grants staffing, PCN sources for equity positions and security requests in follow-up materials. Next steps: OCA will deliver line-item staffing numbers and follow-up briefings to courts and staff offices.