Commissioners assign new JP courthouse security to constables after statute debate

County Commissioner Dianne Anderson raised the question of who will provide security for the new Justice of the Peace courthouse to inform upcoming budget decisions and said the court needed a clear answer before setting resources. Sheriff Criner cited the statute saying "the county sheriff shall have charge and control of the county courthouse," while County Attorney Russell Malm advised the court that the statute does not require the sheriff to be the only provider of courthouse security.

Constables pressed the court to assign responsibility to them, citing understaffing in courthouse security and equipment problems at the existing facility. Constable Cook asked for an additional deputy for security at the new JP building and said "the security at the current facility is not good" and that "the security buttons do not work." After discussion, the court adopted a motion to give responsibility for security of the new JP courthouse to the constables; the motion passed on a divided vote recorded in the minutes. The court also noted existing staffing shortages in the sheriff’s office and that adding one position to constables’ budgets would not immediately supply four officers.

The decision resolves responsibility for the new building ahead of budget planning; the court did not detail immediate staffing levels or funding sources for the additional constable assignments in the motion notes. The County Attorney’s clarification that sheriffs and constables are both permissible providers leaves the Commissioners’ Court authority to set operational responsibility and resources moving forward.