Director says state salary funds will offset overtime, boost morale at juvenile center
Summary
Whitehurst reported the state salary adjustment will allow pay increases that largely offset overtime savings (~$38,000) and improve morale among juvenile staff, who she said are among the lowest paid in Texas.
Melanie Whitehurst told the court that a state salary adjustment will materially improve employee morale and offset requested spending elsewhere in the juvenile budget. She said a one-time state allocation will allow the department to provide salary adjustments to qualified employees rather than returning funds to the state.
Whitehurst said overtime has been reduced about $38,000 by shifting shift-lead schedules so employees have protected time for paperwork; she framed the salary adjustment as a retention and morale measure and urged the court not to return available state adjustment funds. “That money is already earmarked from the state,” she said, adding the department plans to distribute the adjustment among qualified employees.
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