* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:13] IN. ALRIGHT, SO AS WE ARE GETTING CLOSER TO THE, THE DEADLINE FOR ADOPTING THE BUDGET PUT TOGETHER, AND KAREN'S PUT TOGETHER, UH, I THINK THIS, UH, I THINK I KNOW THAT THIS LAST DOCUMENT WE GOT ON FRIDAY, UH, IS A COMPILATION OF ALL THE CHANGES THAT MADE TO THE BUDGET THROUGH, JUST PUT THEM ALL INTO ONE, UH, DOCUMENT. AND, UH, KAREN, DO YOU HAVE ANY, ANYTHING THAT YOU WANT, ANY MAJOR CHANGES THAT HAVE BEEN, UH, SINCE WE LAST MET? SURE. UM, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT THE COLLECTIONS DEPARTMENT. UH, I, UH, KIND OF TALKED WITH GOODWOOD AND TOOK IT UPON MYSELF TO, UH, SET ASIDE A NEW DEPARTMENT FOR COLLECTIONS. SO WE'D ALREADY HAD IT BUDGETED AND I PUT, UM, YOU KNOW, TWO POSITIONS WITH, UM, ALL THE BENEFITS AND SOME OFFICE SUPPLIES AND, UH, COMMUNICATION SUPPLIES BECAUSE THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO BE, UH, XI AND THINGS THAT LAURA HAD SAID THEY NEEDED TO BE DONE. SO I INCLUDED A BUDGET OF ABOUT 75,000. YOU DON'T WANT, YOU WANT INCREASE THAT OR CHANGE IT, JUST LET KNOW IF WE DON'T HAVE TO THE COLLECTIONS OR Y'ALL DECIDE ANOTHER ROUTE, THAT DEPARTMENT CAN BE DELETED AND MONEY MADE OR WHEREVER YOU PUT IT. BUT I WANTED TO MAKE A PLACEHOLDER FOR JUST TO Y'ALL MAKE A DECISION, UNDERSTAND THAT. AND THAT'S STILL A, A PROGRAM IN PROGRESS AS FAR AS WHAT'S GOING HAPPEN WITH ELECTIONS AND HOW IT'S GONNA AFFECT, UH, OUR COUNTY. AND, UH, EVEN THOUGH THEY DO, THEY DID SEND OUT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION LAST WEEK. THEY'RE GONNA HAVE SOME WORKSHOPS. I'VE ASKED, UH, THE GENTLEMAN THAT DOES OUR, UH, COLLECTION IMPROVEMENT ROLE, CHAD DRAFT, IF HE WOULD COME AND MAY DO A WORKSHOP WITH ALL OF US, WE HAVE BETTER UNDERSTANDING ABOUT WHAT TO HE'S WORKING. OKAY. UM, JUDGE WOOD, IT SENT A REQUEST FOR, UH, HR TO RAISE THE TWO CLERKS IN HR. AND, UH, THOSE INCREASES ARE NOT THE ACTUAL DOLLAR AMOUNT OF THE BASED SALARY INCREASES. IT INCLUDES THE SOCIAL SECURITY AND THE RETIREMENT CHANGES. SO IT'S ALL LUMPED TOGETHER. AND THEN, UH, YOU, UH, MADE SOME CHANGES TO THE DIFFERENT CONSTABLE OFFICES AND WE WENT IN AND FIXED THOSE. AND I'M, I'M COMING OFF OF THIS SHEET RIGHT HERE THAT WAS EMAILED TO YOU OF THE DIFFERENT CHANGES WE DID SINCE THE LAST MEETING PER YOUR INSTRUCTIONS. AND THEY'RE ALSO INCLUDED IN THIS DOCUMENT. YES, SIR. THIS DOCUMENT HAS GOT ALL THE CHANGES, RIGHT. THIS ONE RIGHT HERE, YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND IS ALL THE DIFFERENT CHANGES. AND IF YOU SAID DO SOMETHING WITH ONE DEPARTMENT THAT, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THEM INCREASE. INCREASE, SO THEY'RE LUMPED TOGETHER IN HERE. SO YOU CAN SEE THE DIFFERENT CHANGES THAT YOU TOLD US TONIGHT. SO, SO WHAT I'M LOOKING HERE IN HR, WE GOT ONE IN 24, 1 3600 INCREASE. IS THAT RIGHT? YEAH. TIFFANY, I THINK WAS GONNA SEND AN EMAIL TO YOU. YEAH, I DID. I WHAT I, WHAT DID LAURIE HAD REQUESTED BEFORE SHE LEFT WAS RAISING, UM, THE TWO ASSISTANT POSITIONS TO 35, UM, 35,000 EACH. I THINK ONE RIGHT NOW. 30 AT 31. BUT I PUT TOGETHER SOME OF THE JOB DESCRIPTION OR OUR JOB DESCRIPTION FOR THE, UM, FOR THE, UH, RESOURCE ASSISTANT, UH, POSITION. UM, I WANTED YOU GUYS TO CONSIDER RAISING THOSE SALARIES TO 35, UM, TO COME GET IN LINE WITH SOME OF THE OTHER COUNTIES THAT ARE AROUND HOFFMAN COUNTY AND AROUND THE SAME SIZE. [00:05:05] YEAH. WHY DID HE HAVE WORK? WELL, AND I, I ALSO WANT Y'ALL TO LOOK AT THE POSITION, NOT NECESSARILY THE PERSON. HR IS CONSIDERED TO BE AN ADMINISTRATIVE POSITION. ANY, ANY POSITION IN HR. I, WE CONSIDER IT AS AN ADMIN, UM, NOT, NOT A CORRECT POSITION. SO WE TAKE ON A LOT OF RESPONSIBILITIES, UM, A LOT OF DIFFERENT RESPONSIBILITIES. UM, AND I, WE'D REALLY LIKE Y'ALL TO LOOK AT HR AS A, AS A WHOLE, NOT NECESSARILY AS THE PERSON. WELL, AND SOMETIMES THOUGH WE HAVE TO LOOK PERSON OR QUALIFICATIONS AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA HAVE EVERYBODY COME IN SAYING THE VERY SAME THING YOU'RE SAYING. I KNOW, I KNOW LORI WANTED, I MEAN, SOMEBODY A, YOU GONNA GIVE HER A 33? BELIEVE HAS A DEGREE. SHE ACTUALLY WENT TO, HAS AN HR DEGREE. HAD AN HR DEGREE. YES. THE PARDON? DID SHE APPLY FOR SHE'S, I BELIEVE SHE'S ONE OF THE ONES THAT WE, UH, GOT, YOU KNOW, I THINK GOT SIX OR SEVEN. WE HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING, JUST WAITING TO GET THE BUDGET DONE. SO WE, THIS IS FOR HER SALARY. IS THIS FOR HER JOB ON THIS THING? FOR THE JOB OF HR OR THE AMOUNT SALARY INCREASE? WHAT'S HER OLD SALARY? IT'S THE 32 THAT IT'S 32. IT WAS A 32 AMOUNT VACANT POSITION. 32, WHICH IS ISN'T REALLY VACANT BECAUSE I'M INTERIM, SO, WELL, I KNOW, I MEAN, SHE'S MOVED HER YOUR NAME TO THAT 0.8 SOMETHING THAT'S I'M, SO SHE NOT ONLY IS INTERIM, IF SHE DOESN'T GET THE HR DIRECTOR JOB, I'LL GO BACK TO THAT. THAT MEANS SHE'LL GO BACK TO ONE OF THE, THEY REALLY SHOULDN'T BE CALLED DEPUTY CLERKS. THEY'RE, THAT'S NOT A GOOD NAME. HR ASSISTANT OR WHATEVER YOU WANT. CALL IT THAT. APPROVE THIS THEN WE'RE YOU FOR MS? YES. THE THAT'S WHAT WE WHATCHA IT'S ON OR SOMETHING. ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT TIFFANY'S? YOU TALKING ABOUT? YEAH, I'M TALKING ABOUT TIFFANY'S. I'M TALKING ABOUT PERSON THAT JUST, IT JUST SEEMS LIKE IT'S LIKE RIGHT HERE. YEAH. ROUND ONE. WELL, WE DID WITH TIFFANY EXACTLY WHAT WE DID WITH PERSON AGENT WHENEVER SHE WAS THE PURCHASING AGENT WITH, UH, LISA. AND THAT'S BEEN TYPICALLY HOW WE'VE DONE IT AROUND HERE DURING THE LAST SEVERAL YEAR TIME. WE MADE AN INTERIM. AND THEY ASSUME THAT SALARY JUST FOR THE TIME THAT THEY'RE THE YEAH. YES. UNTIL THE DECISION IS MADE, WHOEVER, RIGHT. WHATEVER COMES IN IT. WE'RE STILL ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR APPLICATIONS. I MEAN, IS THAT, IS THAT THE LEGAL WAY TO DO IT? IS TO HAVE HER NAME HERE UNDER HR DIRECTOR WITH THIS NEW SALARY? IF THAT'S NOT GONNA BE HER SALARY, IF WE HIRE SOMEBODY ELSE, WELL, IT, IT SHOULD SAY INTERIM HR DIRECTOR THAT I'M JUST ASKING THAT SHOULD THAT BE A WRITTEN BUDGET DOCUMENT? IF THAT COULD, COULD CHANGE. I'M JUST ASKING. WELL, IT FROM MY UNDERSTANDING IS, IS HER NAME RIGHT BESIDE THAT DOCUMENT? RIGHT IN THAT POSITION CHOICE. I DON'T HAVE A COPY OF THAT TO BE OKAY. OKAY. SO WHAT IT, IT WASN'T LAST. SO WHAT IT JUST NEEDS TO SAY, IT JUST NEEDS TO HAVE INTERIM PARENTHESES OR SOMEWHERE IT, IT SHOULD BE DESIGNATED AS INTERIM SOMEWHERE. OKAY. BECAUSE THAT POSITION IS OPEN AND THE COUNTY IS POSTED I THAT I SAYING, AND SHE GOT THE JOB THAT WE JUST REMOVE 32 48. IT JUST NEEDS TO SAY INTERIM RIGHT THERE. I MEAN YOU CAN SAY INTERIM BESIDES HER NAME OR OR INTERIM AT SOME PLACE ON THERE. JUST SO IT'S A CORRECT POSITION. IT ALREADY IN THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT MEETINGS [00:10:01] THAT SHE IS THE INTERIM HR DIRECTOR. Y'ALL THAT ARGUE THAT POINT. I'M JUST SAYING IF WE APPROVE THIS DOCUMENT THAT DOES THAT MAKE HER THE HR DIRECTOR AND WE'RE NOT ACCEPTING APPLIC CASE WE FOUND TO PAY HER THAT SALARY. I DON'T THINK SO. BUT WE'VE ALREADY SAID SHE'S DONE. IT DOESN'T, IT DOESN'T MAKE LIKE ACCEPTING THAT DOCUMENT AS IS DOES NOT MAKE IT THAT SHE'S THE, THE HR DIRECTOR. BUT LEMME SAY ONE THING THOUGH. I THINK MR. HARPER THOUGH, WE SHOULD BE CLEAR ABOUT THAT BECAUSE IT'S A PUBLIC DOCUMENT AND IF SOMEBODY PICKED IT UP, USED THAT REFUSE IT, THEY'RE GOING TO SAY, OH, TIFFANY'S, YOU KNOW, MS. COUNTY FILL THE POSSESSION. SO I DO THINK WE NEED TO DESIGNATE IT AS, AS PARENT AROUND, YOU KNOW, UM, ACTING INTERIM. BUT IT DOES NEED TO BE SOMEHOW DESIGNATED BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT GIVE THAT IMPRESSION. IT'S A PUBLIC DOCUMENT. WE JUST GOTTA BE CAREFUL ABOUT THAT. ONLY GAVE HER A LITTLE EXTRA FOR A WHILE UNTIL WE YOU DIDN'T, DIDN'T, I'M NOT TRYING TO TAKE AWAY, I'M NOT, I'M TO BE CAREFUL HERE, MAKE SURE, AND THIS, THIS PART OF THE DOCUMENT OF THE BUDGET IS NOT ON THE WEBSITE. ONLY THIS DOCUMENT. OKAY. WHATEVER. HOWEVER Y'ALL WANT ME TO CHANGE THIS, I'LL BE HAPPY TO CHANGE IT. IT'S NOT A BIG DEAL, IT'S JUST WHAT WHATEVER ACCOUNT, WHENEVER WE PUBLISH IT, WHATEVER GETS PUBLISHED ON THE WEBSITE OR PUBLISH TO THE PUBLIC, IT REALLY DOES THAT DESIGNATION. IT'S NOT A MAKE OR BREAK DEAL. YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY? THAT'S A MINOR CHAIN. I KNOW, KNOW, SO, BUT UM, BUT WE JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, THAT WE'RE CONSISTENTLY GIVING THE SAME INFORMATION. THAT'S THAT'S CORRECT. THE BUDGET DOCUMENT ONLY HAS HR DIRECTOR AND THE, THE CLERK SALARY, WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT, HAS THE SALARY DOES NOT HAVE ANYBODY'S NAME. IT'S JUST A POSITION. WELL, AT THIS POINT IT DOES. AND ARE WE PAYING HER THIS MUCH MONEY NOW? YES SIR. YOU BELIEVE SO? WE DID THAT THE DAY WE MADE HER CORRECT. TWO WEEKS AGO. WELL, WE AUGUST 20. THAT'S, THAT'S HISTORICALLY THAT'S HOW WE DONE. NO, I DIDN'T CHANGE ONE THING. THE SAME SALARY DID SOMETHING. OKAY. YOU KNOW, YOU HATE TO GIVE SOMETHING TO SOMEBODY AND THEN YOU TAKE IT AWAY IF YOU GIVE IT TO SOMEBODY ELSE. I DON'T WANT DO THAT. WELL, I THINK YOU HAVE A UNDERSTANDING OF IT. I DID. THAT'S WHAT I WAS OKAY. I WAS GONNA SAY, I, I, I UNDERSTOOD THE AGREEMENT. SHE'S HANGING ON THE DIRECTOR'S DUTIES. SHE'S, SHE'S DOING THE JOB. RIGHT. THE DIRECTOR'S DUTY AND MY OLD POSITION TAKE TWO. AND I THINK YOU'RE ONE PERSON SHARP. YES. YES. RIGHT NOW WE ONLY HAVE TWO PEOPLE IN OUR DEPARTMENT, BUT, UH, WANNA DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT NOW. SO TIME TO DO THAT MATTER FOR TWO MORE WEEKS OR 10 MORE YEARS. WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER, OTHER TWO? YEAH, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS THE TWO ASSISTANT POSITIONS. THE OTHER POSITION I THOUGHT WE NOBODY DID RAIN FOR IF THEY WEREN'T HERE BEFORE APRIL. WELL, WE HAD THAT DISCUSSION. TIFFANY AND I DID, UH, WHENEVER SHE HAD ASKED ABOUT DOING THIS, AND I BELIEVE WHAT THAT POSITION WAS, IS THAT, UH, SHE WAS HIRED WHENEVER LAURA WAS HERE, I BELIEVE. MM-HMM . STILL. AND UH, SHE WAS PROBABLY HIRED IN AT A LOWER RATE AND, UH, SINCE SHE JUST, I THINK SHE RECEIVED HER DEGREE FAIRLY RECENTLY. YES. I'M NOT SURE. YES. AND UH, SO SHE DOES HAVE A DEGREE IN HR, THIS COLLEGE EDUCATION, A DEGREE IN HR IF THE COURT DOESN'T WANT TO DO THAT. AND I TOLD TE THAT THIS DISCUSSION PROBABLY WOULD HAPPEN. UH, THAT'S YOUR RIGHT. AND SO NOTHING HAS BEEN [00:15:01] SAID ABOUT THAT. I DISCUSSED WITH THE, UH, PERSON THAT'S LISTED HERE, CERTAINLY THE OTHER POSITION. SO, UH, JUST WHATEVER YOU WANNA DO. I'M FIND , I DO KNOW WHEN WE START LOOKING FOR, TO FILL THAT VACANT POSITION, PEOPLE START APPLYING THAT AREN'T REALLY QUALIFIED AND THEY SEE THE LOWER AMOUNT AND WE DON'T REALLY GET GREAT APPLICATIONS BECAUSE OF THAT AMOUNT GIVES THAT LOWER SALARY. SO ESPECIALLY WITH THE ECONOMY BEING LIKE THIS, PEOPLE ARE, YOU KNOW, THERE, UH, THERE'S A LOT OF JOBS OUT THERE SOMETIMES. UH, AND THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT WORK FOR THE COUNTY TOO, WORK BOTH WAYS BECAUSE BENEFITS. BUT YOU KNOW HOW ARGUE HE PLAY. YEAH. I THINK EVERY DEPARTMENT HAS THAT PROBLEM. I DON'T THINK IT'S JUST, JUST ONE DEPARTMENT. I MEAN, NOT SAYING ANYTHING. NO, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, I AGREE. I I I MEAN ROAD GRADE OPERATOR THAT READ, HE HAS ALL THE VACANCIES, THEY'RE TRYING TO BEND IT SO THE GUYS COME BACK AND DO RIGHT. MAKE AN HOUR OUT HERE. CAN'T, CAN'T EVEN TOUCH IT ON THE LOW END. THAT'S WHO'S GOT FIVE YEARS OF EXPERIENCE. IF YOU GOT 10, YOU CAN GET 60. AND WE PUT THEM IN A 200,000 MACHINE. 60. I MEAN, Y'ALL TELL THIS, THIS THE PERSON THAT YOU'RE GOING TO PAY THEM 3,500 IN THE MORE MONTH LATER, 3,700 MORE. WHAT WAS THAT? WHAT DID Y'ALL TELL HER THAT YOU'RE GONNA GIVE HER 3,700 MONTH? NO, NO, A MONTH? SHE, NO, I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT. OKAY. I MEAN, PERSONALLY, I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW. WHAT'S THE THOUGHT EVERYBODY FROM IN THE COUNTY? WHAT DO YOU DO? THAT PERSON ONE MONTH? HOW ABOUT ME? I'VE BEEN HERE 12 YEARS. I'VE GOT PEOPLE CONSISTENT IN WHATEVER WE DO, WHATEVER DEPARTMENT. UH, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, YOU GOTTA STOP SOMEWHERE. WE'RE GO NOW. BUT THEY MENTIONED ALSO ABOUT EACH DEPARTMENT, LIKE THE WE 5,000 THIS YEAR GIVE UP FOR THOSE WORKING AND THOSE, THEY, BUT THEN THE PROBLEM THERE IS GET IN FAVOR. IF JIM BOUGHT BILL, HE MAY GET IT ALL WON'T WORK EITHER. THAT'S YOUR DEPARTMENT. HE MIGHT, THAT'S YOUR DEPARTMENT. AND I THINK PEOPLE NEED TO BE REWARDED BASED ON THEIR ABILITY. AND I'M NOT SURE I AGREE. EVEN THOUGH SHE HAS THE DEGREE. WE DUNNO. SHE HAS THE ABILITY YET. AND SHE MAY WELL SEE BRANDON. SHE HAS JUST NOW HAS THE DEGREE. YEAH. I I'M NOT, I I'M NOT KNOCKING HER. I'M NOT. NO WAY. I'M JUST SAYING THIS IS A BAD, I'M NOT, I'M NOT LETTING TO IN, BUT I JUST, I DO WANNA SAY THAT WHATEVER POLICY THE COURT USES OR ADOPTS OR DECIDES TO USE, IT JUST NEEDS TO BE ACROSS ALL THE COUNTYWIDE POSITION BECAUSE THEN IT JUST OPENS US UP FOR EVERY KIND OF DISCRIMINATION CLAIM OR EVERY KIND OF EMPLOYMENT LAWSUIT. SO WE HAVE A POLICY AGAINST IT. WE SAID APRIL, YOU CAN'T, CAN'T GET RAISE. I'M NOT TRYING TO ARGUE AT ALL, BUT THAT, I JUST WANTED JUST TO SAY THAT WE DO, WE HAVE TO BE CONSISTENT COUNTY WITH HOWEVER WE, WHATEVER RULES OR POLICIES MAY APPLY BECAUSE IT REALLY SETS US UP FOR A POTENTIAL DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT. WHETHER IT'S, 'CAUSE A LOT OF TIMES IN, DEPENDING ON THE TYPES OF JOBS THAT THEY ARE, IT MAY AFFECT DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF PEOPLE, WHICH CAN EASILY SET US UP FOR DISCRIMINATION CASES. AND SO YOU JUST HAVE TO BE, YOU JUST HAVE TO APPLY THE POLICY ABSOLUTELY. CONSISTENT AND WHATEVER THAT CONSISTENCY IS, THE COURT SHOULD DECIDE. BUT WHATEVER IT IS, WE JUST HAVE TO APPLY IT CONSISTENTLY. WELL THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING. I THINK THIS IS NOT CONSISTENT HERE. WELL, THAT BEING SAID, THEN I WOULD SUGGEST THAT IT'S, THAT THE CONSENSUS OF THE COURT, I THINK IT'D BE THE BEST THING TO DO. OKAY. I MEAN THAT NEED DO FOR EVERYONE ELSE WE UP. RIGHT? THAT MEANS IS EVERYBODY KIND OF FEEL [00:20:01] SAME WAY? I AGREE. I MEAN WE HAVE, WE HAVE READ POLICY. I SUGGEST WE FOLLOW IT AS, UH, THAT BEING SAID, I RECOMMEND NOW THAT WE PULL THOSE, UH, TWO POSITIONS BACK TO WHAT THEIR SALARY IS, UH, THIS TODAY. AND WE CAN ALWAYS COME BACK BUDGET AT SOME TIME REEVALUATE POSITION AND THEY MAY NEED BE POSITION I THAT'S VACANT POSITIONS A DIFFERENT THING. WE'RE NOT GIVING THAT TO SOMEBODY. THEY, THEY HAVEN'T BEEN HERE FOUR MONTHS. SHE'S JUST SAYING THAT IN QUALIFY WE CAN HIRE SOMEBODY FROM THAT. I DON'T HAVE AN OBJECTION TO POSITION. NO, I DON'T EITHER. AND IT COULD BE AFTER SIX MONTHS MIGHT MOVE THAT PERSON INTO THAT POSITION TO GIVE THEM A RAISE IF THEY NEED TO KEEP PEOPLE. I MEAN, YOU UNDERSTAND WHERE WE'RE YEAH, I DO NOT AGAINST, I WOULDN'T HAVE A PROBLEM LEAVING THAT MONEY IN. SHE THAT'S LEGAL. RIGHT. ACCORDING OUR POLICY. THAT'S WHAT WE SHOULD DO. I TOO. OKAY. DID YOU LEAVE THAT AMOUNT IN THE VACANT TURN THE OTHER ONE BACK TO THE BASE? YES MA'AM. PLUS THE 600. YES, MA'AM. OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON HUMAN RESOURCES? ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON ANY OTHER ITEMS IN THE, THAT YOU RECEIVED IN THIS OTHER PLACE? JUDGE CHI, I SEE YOU'RE HERE. THANK YOU FOR COMING OVER AND YES SIR, I THINK WE HAD SOME QUESTIONS, UH, UH, THE OTHER DAY ABOUT THE, UH, INCREASES THAT WERE GIVEN TO THE COURT REPORTERS AND, UH, THEY WERE, UH, DISTRICT COURT REPORTERS. THE COUNTY COURT REPORTERS WERE NOT, UH, INCLUDED IN THE ORDER, WHICH OBVIOUSLY YOU, THAT WOULD BE UP TO THE, UH, UH, OTHER JUDGES TO MAKE THAT RECOMMENDATION. CORRECT. AND YOU MIGHT, THERE IS A STATUTE INVOLVED HERE. I BELIEVE THERE IS, UH, AND I FRANKLY DON'T HAVE MY PACKET OF INFORMATION WITH ME BECAUSE I'VE BEEN IN TRIAL THIS MORNING. BUT, UH, JUST GENERALLY SPEAKING, UH, EACH YEAR THE DISTRICT JUDGES SET THE SALARIES FOR THE AUDITORS AND THE COURT REPORTERS. WE HAD THAT PUBLIC HEARING IN EARLY AUGUST. AND, UH, AT THAT HEARING, UH, INFORMATION WAS PRESENTED TO US IN OUR PUBLIC HEARING REGARDING THE SALARIES OF THE COURT REPORTERS, WHICH OUR LOCAL COURT REPORTERS ARE SOMEWHAT SUB AVERAGE IN SALARY. SO, UH, BASED ON THE INFORMATION PROVIDED, WE AVERAGED, UH, HENDERSON COUNTY, ELLIS COUNTY ROCK, PAUL COUNTY HUNT COUNTY, AND, UH, DISCOVERED THAT WE WERE SOMEWHAT BELOW WHAT OTHER COUNTIES WERE PAYING. AND SO WE INCREASED THE SALARIES TO TRY TO BRING OUR COURT REPORTERS IN LINE WITH WHAT OTHER REPORTERS IN SIMILAR COUNTIES WOULD MAKE. UH, THERE'S A 10% CAP ON THAT UNDER THE STATUTE, SO WE CAPPED IT AT 10%, BUT IT IS STILL BELOW WHAT THE AVERAGE OF OTHER COUNTIES IS. SO WE KEPT IT WITHIN THE CAP, ALTHOUGH IT'S STILL BELOW THE MEDIAN OF WHAT OTHER COUNTIES HAVE FED WE'RE REPORT NO, I, WE, NO, JUST REPORTERS. YEAH. THE PUBLIC HEARING HAD TO DO ONLY WITH AUDITORS AND REPORTERS HE TOLD, TOLD US WITH, I DON'T REMEMBER THAT ANYBODY JUMPED UP DOWN BY THE, WELL, WE HAD A QUESTION ABOUT THE COURT REPORTER SALARY, I THINK, AND I GUESS PROBABLY TALKED ABOUT THE, UH, COURT COORDINATORS AND, UH, I THINK THE COORDINATORS IS A DIFFERENT ISSUE. I THINK THAT WAS A BURDEN OF LABOR ISSUE, IF I RECALL CORRECTLY. THEY'RE THE ONES THAT BROUGHT IT ALL UP AND GOT US ALL, YOU KNOW, YOUR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, UH, HOW OPERATE SO THAT THE REPORTERS THEN THERE IT WOULD [00:25:01] BE EXEMPT. RIGHT. THEY ALREADY ARE. THEY ALREADY ARE, ARE EXEMPT RIGHT NOW COURT COORDINATORS ARE EXEMPT EMPLOYEES. I THINK THE COURT REPORTERS ARE NOT, AGAIN, THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, UH, HAS DESIGNATED THEM NON-EXEMPT. THAT'S CORRECT. YES. YEAH. AND WE, UH, SENT Y'ALL, I THINK WE DID, UH, THAT'S WHAT ANGIE'S MAKING A COPY OF TRADITIONALLY, JUDGE, AND YOU CORRECT ME HERE. THE, UH, WE HAVE EACH JUDGE HAS A COURT REPORTER, THE TWO DISTRICT JUDGES AND THE TWO COUNTY COURT. CORRECT. JUDGE JUDGES DO AND THEY HAVE, WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE, UH, THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF A DISTRICT COURT REPORTER AS COMPARED TO A COUNTY COURT REPORTER? I'VE GOT, I'VE GOT, AS SOON AS ANGIE GETS BACK, I, I'VE GOT THE HISTORICAL DATA ALL THE WAY BACK TO 2011 ABOUT HOW THEIR SALARIES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THE SAME. I THINK THEY'VE ALWAYS FOLLOWED EACH OTHER BECAUSE BASICALLY THEIR VIEWS ARE THE SAME. UH, IN COFFMAN COUNTY, WE HAVE THIS ONE COUNTY COURT AT LAW. THE FIRST COUNTY COURT LAW NUMBER ONE BASICALLY HAS IDENTICAL JURISDICTION TO A DISTRICT COURT WITH A COUPLE OF EXCEPTIONS, ELECTION CONTESTS, CITY CAPITAL MURDERS. AND, UH, BUT THEY HAVE BROAD RANGING, BOTH THE COUNTY COURTS HAVE BROAD RANGE OF JURISDICTIONS HERE. FAMILY MATTERS AND CRIMINAL MATTERS. UH, THERE ARE SOME JURISDICTIONAL LIMITS IN CIVIL CASES ON COUNTY COURT NUMBER TWO, NOT NUMBER ONE. AND, UH, I THINK THAT LIMITATION IS EITHER 100 OR 200,000. THE LEGISLATURE KEEPS MONKEYING WITH THAT. BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, OFFHAND HEARING, NO, I I BELIEVE IT'S TWO, IT'S EITHER A HUNDRED THOUSAND OR 200,000 CAP ON COUNTY COURT NUMBER TWO, NO CAP CIVIL ON NUMBER ONE. UH, THAT'S JUST A GLITCH IN THE WAY THE LEGISLATURE CREATED THE JURISDICTION OF THAT SECOND COURT. AND THERE'S NOT A REAL GOOD REASON FOR US TO HAVE THAT KEPT ON THAT COURT, EXCEPT THAT WE JUST HAVEN'T ASKED TO CHANGE IT. WELL, I MEAN, TO BE QUITE FRANK WITH YOU, UH, WE WANTED UNLIMITED JURISDICTION ON THAT SECOND COURT AND AT THAT TIME, THE SENATOR FROM LUBBOCK INSISTED ON CAPTAINING IT. WELL, WE COULD MAKE A RESOLUTION AND ASK HIM TO CHANGE THAT AND TO BE, YEAH. UM, I, COME ON UP. I DIDN'T JUDGE. I DIDN'T SEE YOU SLIP WELL, JUDGE, SHE'S CORRECT ABOUT THE CONCURRENT JURISDICTION ON THE COURTS. I HAVE THE SAME JURISDICTION THAT JUDGE JONES HAS WITH THE ONLY EXCEPTION IS THAT MY CIVIL, UH, AMOUNT GOES UP TO 200,000. IT'S CAPPED AT THAT. UH, STUART SPITZER, UH, AT ONE POINT WAS GOING TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION OR TRY TO PASS LEGISLATION WHERE I HAD THE SAME JURISDICTION OF, OF JUDGE JONES. AND I SORT OF QUAILED THAT BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW, 95% OF OUR CIVIL CASES PROBABLY, AND YOU KNOW, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, ARE $200,000 OR LESS. AND I DIDN'T THINK IT WAS PROBABLY NECESSARY. IT'S FRANKLY NOT AN ISSUE. UH, YOU KNOW, AND WE'VE GOT THREE COURTS WITH UNLIMITED CIVIL JURISDICTION. SO IF THERE IS A CASE ABOVE 200,000, WE CAN EASILY ASSIGN THAT ONE OF THE COURTS WITH THE JURISDICTION. UM, IT WAS SENATOR DUNCAN OUT OF LUBBOCK WHO IMPOSED THAT LIMITATION. AND SENATOR DUNCAN WAS QUITE ADAMANT ABOUT ANY NEW KIND OF COURTS OF LAW HAVING THAT LIMITED CIVIL JURISDICTION. THAT WAS JUST WHAT HE WANTED, WHAT HE LIKED. UH, HE WAS A POWERFUL SENATOR AND THAT'S WHAT HE GOT. BUT, UH, I DON'T THINK IT'S AN ISSUE LOCALLY. DO YOU JUDGE? NO, I MEAN, IF YOU WANT TO CHANGE, WE CAN CHANGE IT, BUT I YOU NOT ASKING ASK THEM TO CHANGE IT. NO, I THINK WE'RE GOOD. I DON'T SEE A PROBLEM AT THIS POINT IS THAT THE ONLY THING IT LIMITS, IT DOESN'T LIMIT ANY TYPE OF, UH, CIVIL JURISDICTION LIMITS IS THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IN THE JURISDICTION. THOSE TWO COUNTY COURTS. AND, UH, AS I INDICATED, UH, THEY'VE GOT BOTH HAVE FELONY JURISDICTION AND FAMILY JURISDICTION. THE ONLY LIMITATION ON CRIMINAL BEING NO CAPITAL MURDERS, AND THE ONLY THING ON CIVIL ELECTION CONTEST, MY UNDERSTANDING, WE DON'T HAVE A NEED FOR EITHER ONE OF THOSE ISSUES EITHER. SO HOPE WE DON'T HAVE ANOTHER CAPTAIN MURDER ANYTIME SOON. MAKE THEY'RE ON THE OTHER SIDE, SIDE ACROSS THE COUNTY. [00:30:02] I HANDED THAT I THOUGHT WE SENT YOU LAST THURSDAY OR FRIDAY, BUT THIS JUST GIVES YOU, UH, BACK TO 2011, 2012. AND IT TOOK KAREN AND ANGIE QUITE A BIT OF RESEARCH THAT TO GO BACK AND FIND THIS DATA. BUT THIS JUST SHOWS YOU HOW THE TWO DISTRICT COURT REPORTERS AND THE TWO COUNTY COURT OF LAW COURT REPORTERS HAVE, UH, HISTORICALLY DIDN'T. THEY PAID THE SAME SALARY. AND I THINK THAT'S EQUITABLE, TO BE QUITE HONEST WITH YOU. THEY ALL DO BASICALLY THE SAME WORK. UM, AND, UH, HISTORICALLY I THINK THEY HAVE MIRRORED EACH OTHER. I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT IT WASN'T IN THE BUDGET UNTIL JUDGE RICH CAME BY AND WE LOOKED AND SURE ENOUGH, IT WAS NOT IN THE BUDGET. AND SO, UH, UH, I MENTIONED TO HIM WORKSHOP THIS MORNING AND COME OVER WANTED TO, UH, TALK WITH YOU ABOUT THIS, THAT WE'RE WORKING ON THE BUDGET PLAN, JUDGE. WELL, IT, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT, UM, THE DISTRICT COURT REPORTERS WENT FROM 62 2 50 BASE TO 68 4 7 5. THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING. UM, AND THEY'RE SET BY JUDGE HOW BY THE DISTRICT JUDGES. OKAY. WE, UH, ARE STATUTORILY OBLIGATED TO HOLD PUBLIC HEARINGS EACH YEAR AND SET THEIR SALARIES. AND JUST TO GIVE EVERYONE A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY ABOUT THIS, I, I'M NOW ABOUT TO FINISH MY 13TH YEAR ON THE BENCH. AND WHILE I HAVE BEEN ON THE BENCH, UH, WE HAVE NEVER SET A SALARY OF THE COURT REPORTERS. UH, WE'VE NEVER INCREASED THE SALARY OF THE COURT REPORTERS EXCEPT BY THE AMOUNT THAT THE COMMISSIONERS THEY HAVE DONE ACROSS THE BOARD RAISES FOR ALL COUNTY EMPLOYEES. UH, AS A RESULT OF THAT, UH, OUR SALARIES HAVE BEEN SOMEWHAT BELOW AVERAGE FOR OUR COURT REPORTERS. AND, UH, WE'RE TRYING TO BE GOOD SOLDIERS TO BE QUITE HONEST AND NOT HIT THE COUNTY BUDGET, UH, FOR SOMETHING TOO HIGH WHEN THE BUDGET WOULD BEAR THE COST. UH, THIS YEAR, UH, WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE UP SOME OF THOSE ACCRUED DEFICITS IN SALARIES BY GETTING OUR REPORTERS A BUMP THAT WE BELIEVE THE COUNTY CAN AFFORD TO PAY AND, UH, GET 'EM A LITTLE CLOSER TO WHAT MOST REPORTERS IN THE REGION ARE PAYING. SO THAT'S WHY WE, UH, VOTED TO BUMP 'EM UP TO 10% THIS YEAR, WHICH IS WITHIN THAT CAP, UH, TRYING TO MAKE THEM A LITTLE MORE COMPETITIVE SALARY WISE WITH THE PEOPLE IN THE SURROUNDING COUNTIES. WE, UH, LOOKED AT DALLAS COUNTY. DALLAS COUNTY REPORTERS ARE MAKING A HUGE AMOUNT OF MONEY. WE DIDN'T FEEL LIKE THAT WAS A GOOD, UH, COMPARISON. SO WE DELETED DALLAS COUNTY AND DELETED AMP COUNTY. PANZA COUNTY FOLKS ARE MAKING MUCH LESS MONEY. AND FRANKLY, I DON'T KNOW HOW THEY HIRE A REPORTER, WHAT THEY'RE PAYING, BUT, UH, ANYWAY, WE DELETED THE HIGH AND BELOW COUNTIES AND USED THE OTHER SURROUNDING COUNTIES AS A COMPARISON. BOB, DO YOU HAVE NO, UM, I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF I SHOULD BRING THIS ISSUE UP. THERE IS AN ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OPINION THAT'S OUT THERE FROM 2012 THAT THE COUNTY COURT OF LAW JUDGES CAN SET THE SALARY OF THE COURT OF COURT. THAT'S AGS OPINION THAT CAME OUTTA ANZA COUNTY FROM JUDGE MCDONALD'S COURT. YOU MENTIONED THAT TO ME. I, AND I, AND I FOUND A COPY OF IT THIS MORNING. UM, AND HE HAD GIVEN THAT TO ME WHEN I FIRST CAME INTO OFFICE. UH, WE WERE TALKING, HE JUST GAVE ME A COPY OF IT. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THAT AT ALL. UH, IT'S A, OBVIOUSLY IT'S AN AGS OPINION. UM, AND I'M, YOU KNOW, IT, IT'S NEITHER HERE NOR THERE. I I DO THINK THEY DO THE SAME JOBS. UM, THE FUNCTIONS AND, AND WHAT THEY HAVE TO DO ARE BASICALLY THE SAME. AND SINCE WE DO HAVE CONFIRMED JURISDICTION WITH THE DISTRICT COURTS, THERE IS THAT POSSIBILITY THAT WE COULD TAKE ON SOME PRETTY SERIOUS CRIMINAL CASES AND THOSE SORTS OF THINGS THAT ARE MORE LENGTHY, LENGTHY THAN TYPICALLY A MISDEMEANOR TRIAL, SOMETHING OF THAT NATURE. SO I I, I DO THINK WE SHOULD CONTINUE WITH THE, UM, SALARY BEING SAME AS THE DISTRICT COURT. I'LL SAY THAT PERIODICALLY, UH, WE HAVE ASSIGNED FELONY CASES TO, UH, THE COUNTY COURT'S LAW. THEY DO ALL THE FELONY DWI CASES NOW. AND UH, UH, BACK WHEN JUDGE HEBERT WAS, UH, HAVING SOME HEALTH ISSUES, UH, I ASSIGNED SOME CASES TO JUDGE JONES FOR TRIAL CALLING CASES. SO, UH, IT'S A GOOD BACKUP. [00:35:01] UM, WE HAVE WITH OUR COUNTY COURTS, UH, TO TAKE SOME LOAD OFF THE DISTRICT COURTS IF WE NEED THEM TO ASSIST. AND BACK WHEN WE WERE TRYING THE BROWNLOW CASE EARLIER THIS YEAR, UM, THAT WAS A FOUR MONTH, UH, PROCESS GETTING A JURY AND TRYING THAT CASE. AND I LEANED ON, UH, BOTH MY COLLEAGUES IN THE DISTRICT AND COUNTY COURTS TO UH, HEAR SOME DOCKETS WHILE WE WERE IN TRIAL IN THAT CASE. SO, UH, WE'VE GOT A VERY GOOD WORKING RELATIONSHIP AMONG THE JUDGES AND EVERYBODY PITCHES IN AND DOES THEIR PART. SO, UH, THERE'S NO HESITATION TO ASSIGN CASES TO OTHER COURTS IF ONE OF US IS BUSY AND NEEDS THE ASSISTANCE. SO WE DO BOUNCE THOSE CASES AROUND SOMETIMES. HISTORICALLY, HAVE WE HAD ANY ISSUES DOING THESE POSITIONS AT THE SOUTH HAS BEEN MADE. WE HAVEN'T BEEN WITHOUT REPORTERS OR COORDINATORS EVERY 15, 15 YEARS. I'VE HAD MY SAME REPORTER EVER SINCE I'VE BEEN ON THE BENCH. AND SO, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S A MATTER BEING FAIR AND EQUITABLE WITH OUR REPORTERS AND COMPENSATING THEM FAIRLY. AND, UH, THEY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN WILLING TO WORK FOR WHAT WE'VE BEEN WILLING TO PAY. BUT THE BOTTOM LINE IS, UH, THEY ARE UNDERPAID PREPARED FOR COUNTIES TO BE SAID ABOUT NEARLY ALL OF OUR EMPLOYEES IN ALL OUR DEPARTMENTS. WELL, BUT YOU KNOW, YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN PRETTY GENEROUS WITH SOME OF YOUR EMPLOYEES AND YOU'VE BEEN GENEROUS WITH THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE. SO, UH, YEAH, WE HAVE 11 POSITIONS THAT THE DISPATCH CENTER THAT BUDGETING FOR THAT, UH, NOT NECESSARY UNLESS THE CITY JOIN IN THE DISPATCH SERVICE. WE HAVE NO SIGNED CONTRACT. SO THAT'S, I CAN SEE HOW PEOPLE DO THIS, YOU KNOW, VERY DEPARTMENTS. SO THAT'S THE WHOLE, THAT'S HOW THIS WHOLE THING WE FOOD STAMP JUDGE. SO YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS IS A ANOTHER ISSUE NOW. WE FINALLY GOT OUR GUYS, WE PUT THEM IN A 260,000 MOTOR GRADER TO GO OUT HERE AND LAY OUR ROAD AND MAKE SURE THEY TAKE CARE OF OUR COUNTY EQUIPMENT REAL GOOD, WHICH THEY DO. AND THEY, THEY ARE, THEY ARE MORE THAN GRACIOUS ABOUT TAKING CARE OF OUR COUNTY NEEDS AND REALLY WORKING FOR, TO MAKE SURE IT'S DONE RIGHT. AND THEY DO A GOOD JOB WITH THE NICE . THAT'S THE, WE TAKE PITANCE TO DO THIS JOB, THE MAJORITY OF THEM IN ALL DEPARTMENTS. IT'S JUST A TOUGH DEAL TO IT. IT STARTS A LOT ANIMOSITY IN THE COUNTY. I THINK IF YOU'RE NOT AWARE OF IT. WELL, UH, IT DOES. IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT. IT'S NOT OUR FAULT. IT'S JUST THE WAY IT'S, YOU KNOW, LEMME JUST SAY THAT, UH, IF WE WERE GOING OUT IN THE MARKET PLACE LOOKING FOR REPORTERS, I THINK WE WOULD'VE A HARD TIME FILLING THE SLOT. YOU MAY BE RIGHT. I DON'T THINK, I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY DOUBT ABOUT IT. AND UH, I WILL TELL YOU THAT JUDGE, HE'S OLD REPORTER, WENT OVER TO ROCKWALL COUNTY AND GOT A SUBSTANTIAL RAISE . SO, BUT SHE HAS TO TRY. I MEAN, YOU CAN GO TO DALLAS AND GET A LARGER RAISE THAN THAT. SHE WAS DRIVING COUNTY AND UH, SO, YOU KNOW, UH, I THINK YOU, NUMBER ONE, THERE'S PROBABLY NOT ANYONE MORE IMPORTANT IN A COURTROOM THAN A GOOD REPORT. UH, THEY MARSHAL AND MAINTAIN EVIDENCE AND, AND SOME OF THESE VERY SERIOUS CASES, LIKE WE'VE JUST BEEN TRYING THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, THE WILLIAMS CASE AND THE BROWN LOW CASE, YOU BETTER HAVE A TOP QUALITY COMPETENT REPORTER OR YOU HAVE HEADACHES. AND, UH, SO, UH, BELIEVE ME, THESE FOLKS ARE NOT OVERCOMPENSATED GOES ON WITH THE APPEAL AND A LOT OF THINGS ABSOLUTELY. BEYOND GOTTA KEEP WELL, THESE DEPARTMENTS GOT ITS, UH, GOOD THINGS AND GOT DRAWBACKS. WELL, GOT POSITIVE AND ITS NEGATIVES. CAN I, CAN I INTERJECT ONE THING? MY, MY MY POSITION AND I, I UNDERSTAND THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT BUDGET AND ALL THAT. I MEAN THAT'S, THAT'S A TOUGH DEAL. BUT HOW WOULD YOU JUSTIFY SETTING A SALARY THAT'S DIFFERENT THAN A COURT COURT IN THE DISTRICT COURT IF THEY DID THE SAME THING? HOW DO YOU JUSTIFY THAT? WELL, I AGREE. I MEAN THAT I ARGUE NO UNDERSTAND. I WANNA MAKE SURE UNDERSTAND THAT IT IS, YOU'RE ALL DOING FELONIES, FELONIES, IT OUGHT BE EQUAL TO ME. IT'D BE LIKE PLAYING A, A POLICE OFFICER OUT THE STREET THAT HAS THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME AND SAME EXPERIENCE, UH, SAME DUTIES, DIFFERENT SALARY. SO THAT, THAT WOULD BE MY CONCERN. AND YOU KNOW, UH, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE DISTRICT COURT AND COUNTY COURT LAW JUDGE A SALARY IS A THOUSAND A YEAR. SO, UH, I MEAN [00:40:01] THE LEGISLATION CORRECT THAT IT IS AN OVERSIGHT OF THE LEGISLATURE, BUT UH, I MEAN WE ARE VERY COMPARABLY COMPENSATED AT THE JUDICIAL LEVEL. SO I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THE COURT REPORTER SHOULD BE TREATED EQUALLY. SO JOHN, WHAT IS YOUR, FOR THE DISCUSSION NOW, WHAT ARE YOUR PLEASURE AS FAR AS THE UH, TWO COUNTY COURT LAW COURT REPORTERS? SO LEMME FIND THEM HERE AND SEE WHERE WE'RE ALL, HERE'S BOBBY RICH COURT NAMES. SO WE'RE LOOKING AT DIFFERENCE. IT'LL JUST BE AN INCREASE IN BASE SALARY. 10% MARK 62, 10%, 2 25. THAT'S CORRECT. 6,225 DIFFERENCE. WELL, THEY'RE ALREADY MAKING THIS SAME BASE. THAT'S CORRECT. THAT'S BECAUSE WE HAVE NO AUTHORITY TO SET THEIR SALARIES. RIGHT. I'M NOT TRYING TO REIGN JUDGE, BUT I DON'T THINK THAT GENERAL'S OPINION IS THE LAW, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU. NO, IT'S NOT. I THINK THE COMMISSIONER SET THOSE SALARIES. YEAH, MY POINT IN BRINGING THAT UP IS THAT THAT ISSUE DID COME UP BUT WASN'T, WE'RE DOING THE SAME JOB. SAME. IT DOES MATTER IF SOMETHING IS APPEAL TO DO. RIGHT. THAT I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE SOME DISCRETION IF LIKE WE DO, WE'RE ABLE TO DISCRETION OUR EMPLOYEE DESERVE THAT. IT'S JUST AN ARBITRARILY A PERCENTAGE AND BANK CAN GET IT. YOU NEED HAVE SOME, YOU GET A DOLLAR, YOU GET FREE OFFER PERCENT AND THEY BOTH DESERVE THAT. THAT'S YOUR FAULT. I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY QUESTION THAT SHERRY DESERVE AT ALL. YOU DON'T, IT SORT OF AGAINST WHAT I WAS DISCUSSING EARLIER WITH THE COMMISSIONERS IN THAT, UM, LIKE PHYSICIANS AND, AND POLICIES NEED TO BE, THEY NEED TO BE WHY TYPES OF LAWSUITS OR COMPLAINTS. AND SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT IS APPLIED EQUALLY ACROSS ALL POSITIONS. YOU HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT THAT. RIGHT. SO JUDGE BASICALLY GAVE COURT REPORTER RAISE SALARIES NOT CORRECT. WELL THAT'S, I GAVE TWO REPORTERS RAISED, BUT I MEAN, BY POLICY, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE BE EQUITABLE IN JOB DESCRIPTION. YOU GUYS CAN DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO, BUT UH, THAT IS WHAT THE LAW PROVIDED THAT I CAN DO. RIGHT. AND, AND SO YOU CAN DO WHAT YOU WANT DO AND HINGING ON THAT YOU BASICALLY GAVE FOUR COURT ADVISORY COMMISSIONERS IS THAT WHENEVER THAT WE JUST NEED TO UNIFORM POLICIES FOR IF WE'RE GIVING, UM, HOWEVER WE'RE APPLYING RAISES OR HOWEVER WE'RE, UM, IF THEY'VE BEEN EMPLOYED A CERTAIN NUMBER OF TIME, AMOUNT OF TIME, WHETHER THEY GET A RAISE, IT'S JUST THAT, I JUST CAUTION THAT YOU HAVE TO BE SURE TO BE EQUITABLE ABOUT THAT. BASICALLY TO FIND THE SAME POLICY TO THE SAME GROUPS OF PEOPLE. BECAUSE IF NOT, THEN YOU WOULD, THE COUNTY SETS ITSELF UP FOR REALLY SOME POTENTIAL EMPLOYMENT LAWSUITS OR DISCRIMINATION, HOWEVER YOU WANNA COUCH IT. BUT, UM, THAT'S ALL THAT I WOULD, I'VE BEEN ADVISING OF EARLIER WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT SOME HUMAN RESOURCE POSITIONS AND, AND YOU DO HAVE TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT THAT, BUT WHATEVER THE COMMISSIONERS DO IS CERTAINLY YOUR DECISION. I I JUST, YOU ASKED FOR, Y'ALL WERE ASKING EARLIER FOR MY LEGAL OPINION ON THAT. AND WE JUST HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL FROM AN EMPLOYMENT LAW STANDPOINT. IF WE'RE NOT EQUITABLE TO EACH JOB DESCRIPTION, THEN WE OURSELVES UP FOR [00:45:08] ANYTHING. I'M GOOD, SIR. I'M GOOD WITH IT. YOU'RE GOOD WITH INCREASING THE COUNTY COURT REPORTERS YES. TO THE SAME LEVEL AS THE DISTRICT. YES, THEY DO THE SAME. THAT'S JUST ME, COMMISSIONER SHANE. WE'RE NOT VOTING, WE'RE JUST DOWN TO TAKE AN POLL. IT'S WHAT IT'S, I MEAN, WE GOTTA STAY OUTTA THE LAWSUIT AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED. WE JUST DON'T, SHE GOT PLENTY LAWSUIT COMMISSIONER ALREADY TOLD ABOUT I'M NOT EVEN ARGUING THAT COMMISSION. YEAH, I MEAN, TO BE FAIR, WE'RE GOING BACK TO OUR POLICY ABOUT BEING FAIR IS ANOTHER COUPLE MILES ROAD EVERY YEAR THAT COULD BEEN FIXED OUT. WHY IT WAS THERE. OKAY, WELL I'M, I'M FINE. WELL, SO OUR BUDGET, Y'ALL HAVE ANYTHING YESTERDAY TO DISCUSS? I THINK WE'RE GOOD. ALRIGHT. WHILE WE'RE ON THE JUDGES, THE, UM, COURT COORDINATORS IS IS THAT, IS THAT A, IS THAT, IS THAT A MANDATED RAISE BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT? RIGHT, GIVEN THE COURT COORDINATOR, THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR ISSUED A FINAL RULE THAT FOUND THAT THE COURT COORDINATORS ARE EXEMPT. SO BECAUSE OF THE BUMP, THEY MUST BE EXEMPT OR THEY CAN BE GIVEN. THEY MUST. IT SAYS THAT THEY MUST BE EXEMPT. EXEMPT. IT'S, WE HAVE TO, IT'S NOT AN ISSUE. WE HAVE TO FOLLOW THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, SO A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. SO THOSE, UM, THOSE SALARIES HAVE TO BE BUMPED UP TO IT. 47, 40 7,000 THEY TO BE MADE. 46 46. WHAT IT 47. 4 76 6. NOW THE NEXT ISSUE WE'RE GONNA HEAR ABOUT IS THE JSPS COURT COORDINATORS. IT'S A DIFFERENT DEAL. THAT IS A VERY DIFFERENT, IF YOU'RE ASKING ME THAT IS A VERY DIFFERENT, UM, JUDICIARY SYSTEM AND IT'S A, IT'S A DIFFERENT, UM, SET. YEAH, PUT THAT ON THE LIST. THEY'RE NOT, THEY'RE NOT, THEY'RE NOT COORDINATORS. AND WHAT THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR IS WOULD MEAN AS LIKE THE DISTRICT AND COUNTY COURT COORDINATORS, WHERE, UM, WHERE REALLY THEY ALMOST ACT ON BEHALF OF THEIR ELECTED OFFICIAL BY MAINTAINING THAT DOCKET, BY THE DUTIES THAT THEY, THEY DO A LOT, VERY MUCH TIED INTO THE DIRECTION FROM THEIR ELECTED OFFICIAL. NOW, I KNOW THAT YOU CAN SAY THE SAME THING BY THE JP COURTS THAT HISTORICALLY AND EVEN CURRENTLY, THERE'S A VERY DIFFERENT LEVEL OF CASES AND DUTIES, UM, THAT THOSE JP COURTS PERFORM. AND IT SORT OF STARTS WITH THE ELECTED OFFICIAL. A JP IS NOT REQUIRED TO BE AN ATTORNEY, A LICENSED ATTORNEY. SO FROM FROM THERE ON DOWN, AND I'M NOT TRYING TO ANYBODY SAID, BUT IT'S JUST A JOB DESCRIPTION. IT IS A DIFFERENT, UM, IT'S A DIFFERENT LEVEL OF THE CASES. IT'S A DIFFERENT LEVEL OF, OF WHAT'S REQUIRED TO, UM, ADMINISTRATIVE, THOSE REPORTS. BECAUSE YOU'RE, YOU'RE DEALING WITH A LOT OF THINGS THAT ARE, ARE WITHIN THE TRIAL MATTERS THERE. YOU'RE DEALING WITH A LOT OF THINGS THAT ARE YOUR MISDEMEANOR OR THEY'RE VERY KIND OF RULE LEVEL CIVIL COURTS. I MEAN, I THINK THE JURISDICTION OF THE JP COURTS IS, IS LIKE ABOUT, I I WANNA SAY IT'S LIKE 7,500 OR LESS. I MEAN IT'S VERY, IT'S A VERY LOW LEVEL JURISDICTION. AND SO, UM, SO THE FEDERAL MANDATE DID NOT INCLUDE THE JPS COURTS. OKAY. SO IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT WHETHER YOU WANNA MAKE THOSE POSITIONS EXEMPT OR NOT EXEMPT, I ACTUALLY DID, UM, QUITE A BIT OF RESEARCH ON THAT AND I ACTUALLY PREPARED A MEMO AND I'LL, I BROUGHT COPIES OF IT EVEN FOR YOU ALL TODAY, YOU'D LIKE, LIKE TO HAVE IT ABOUT THE COMBINATION OF MONEY AND DUTIES AND, AND WHAT MAKES EMPLOYEES EXEMPT ARE NON EXAMINE. SO WE SEND TAKE EXCUSE, I'M ALREADY HEARING ABOUT IT BECAUSE THEY'RE, THEY, THEY CLAIM THEIR DUTIES ARE EVEN [00:50:01] LARGER THAN THE DUTIES OF THE, THE COURT. AND, AND WHAT, WHAT THE, THE FEDERAL, UM, THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT ALWAYS ALSO LOOK AT IS NOT JUST LIKE WHETHER THEY HAVE MORE DUTIES OR, OR THIS OR THAT, BUT THE TYPES OF DUTIES. AND WHAT, WHAT THEY LOOK AT A LOT IS, DOES THAT PERSON THAT'S PERFORMING THOSE DUTIES HAVE A LOT OF INDEPENDENT JUDGMENT OR DISCRETION IN PERFORMING THOSE DUTIES? OR ARE THE DUTIES SOMETHING THAT IS JUST MORE OF A PATTERN OR MORE OF A PROCESS OR A PROCEDURE AND NOT NECESSARILY INVOLVES A DECISION MAKING OF THAT PERSON THAT IS ACTUALLY WORKING. DOES THAT, DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? KIND OF. AND SO WHAT YOU'VE GOTTA LOOK AT SPECIFICALLY ARE REALLY THE TYPES OF PROCEDURES AND, AND TASKS THAT THOSE, UM, JPS CLERKS ARE, ARE PERFORMING. AND SO I KNOW THAT THAT'S OBVIOUSLY, THAT'S BEEN AN ISSUE. BUT, UM, BUT STATUTORILY, AS WE WENT THROUGH THE LAST TIME, THE JPS ARE NOT LOOKED AT THE JOINT. THE CLERKS OF THE JPS ARE NOT LOOKED AT AND THEY'RE NOT INCLUDING THE SAME STATUTE AS OF THE COURT COORDINATORS. IS I I CAN LOOK THROUGH THAT AGAIN. WE JUST KIND OF WENT THROUGH THAT WHOLE, THE LAST WORKSHOP. YOU HAVE A STATUTORILY DIFFERENT CATEGORY AND UM, AND YOU HAVE DIFFERENT QUALIFICATIONS FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS AND THEY HANDLE DUTIES THAT ARE QUITE DIFFERENT THAN, YOU KNOW, THE COURT COORDINATORS. OKAY. BUT I'M JUST GIVING YOU THE LEGAL ANALYSIS COURT DECIDES TO DO, I I DON'T WANNA TO INTERPRET IT AS SETTING POLICY. OKAY. OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? UH, YES SIR. I WENT FRIDAY AND VISITED WITH UH, RANDY ABOUT POSITION FIRE AND FIRE MARSHAL ARE THE, UH, PUBLIC WORKS. AND THEN OF COURSE HE GAVE US THESE STATS HERE, CAU AND STUFF. AND I WENT WITH RANDY STILL HERE? YES. YEAH. OKAY. AND SOME OF THE ITEMS I HAD CONCERN ABOUT AND NOTHING I'M HERE HE HADN'T ALREADY HEARD. I KNOW SOME OF THESE ARE ASSIST CALLS THAT THEY DO WITH, BUT I THINK THAT WE'RE OPENING OURSELVES UP THE TOO MUCH FROM MY VANTAGE. I KNOW IT'S ALL ABOUT PUBLIC SAFETY, BUT I'M LOOKING AT THERE YOU THERE, YOU GET BACK. SO I I'M STILL ON THE SAME PAGE I WANTED. SO YOU DON'T, YOU DON'T FEEL I HAVE THE ADDITIONAL FIRE MARSH AT THIS TIME? I, I CAN'T. HAVING A HARD TIME SUPPORTING THAT WITH HOW MANY DOLLARS WE'RE GONNA SPEND, NOT JUST AN EMPLOYEE, BUT THE CAR AND GAS AND MAINTENANCE, THEY'RE ALL BUNDLE ALL TOGETHER. I CAN'T WOULD A, UH, PART-TIME PERSON BE, UH, SOMETHING THAT I, RANDY WOULD THAT, UH, ASSIST HIM OR NOT? BUT WOULD THAT SOMETHING MIGHT CHILDREN, IS THAT SOMETHING WE'D HAVE TO BUY ANOTHER CAR FOR, FOR WOULD WE HAVE TO BUY ANOTHER CAR FOR PART-TIME? WE ONLY HAVE LIKE FIVE VEHICLES. HOW MANY DO WE HAVE? WE HAVE ONE HAVE CERTAIN FOR AUCTION, WE HAVE ONE RESERVE VEHICLE IN THE EVENT THAT ANY OF THE OTHERS GO DOWN, WHICH WE HAVE MOST RECENTLY HAD TO USE FOR THE, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL DEPARTMENT BECAUSE THEY HAD, THEY HAD NO VEHICLE AND IT WAS A LAW ENFORCEMENT VEHICLE. SO THEY JUST CARRIED, OKAY. THAT WOULDN'T REALLY SAVE US WHOLE LOT OF MONEY FROM FULL TIME TO PART-TIME. THE VEHICLE, EVERYTHING. I THINK THE VEHICLE, UH, CAN BE PAID FOR OR HALF HALF. WHAT DO WE DO WITH POSITION? NO, THEY'RE STILL BOTH STILL THERE. IN THERE. [00:55:01] WHAT PAGE IS THAT PAGE? THAT'S PAGE SIX AND SEVEN ON THE SALARY SHEETS ASKING. SO WE ASKING FOR TWO NEW ONES ON THE PUBLIC COURT SIDE. ONE SECRETARY, ONE INSPECTOR AND ONE NEW POSITION ON, IS THAT RIGHT? THREE POSITION PLUS WE'VE GOT THE, UH, NOW YOU'RE DECREASING ON PUBLIC CHARGE $1,560 EXTRA HELP. ARE WE DOING AWAY WITH THAT OR WE JUST REDUCING THAT NUMBER DOWN UP? WELL WE TALKED ABOUT THIS, RIGHT? I WOULD LIKE TO OBJECT ON THE, UH, THE NUMBERS THAT YOU BROUGHT UP ON THAT YES. STATUS, RIGHT. THOSE IN PARTICULAR IF YOU WANT EXPLAIN ANY OF UP THOSE NUMBERS ARE VERY, VERY MINIMAL. A PERCENTAGE OF 1% OF THE TOTAL CAUSE OF THOSE TYPES FROM THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE. THAT IS A SITUATION OF POTENTIAL LIABILITY FROM THE CAMP IS ALSO AS WELL AS JUST THE NEED TO ASSIST. UH, WE'RE PEACE OFFICERS. A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT WE'RE PEACE OFFICERS IN THE STATE ARE DUTIES ARE PRIMARILY RELATED TO THE RELATED TYPE CALLS. THOSE CRIMES, THOSE CALLS THAT YOU SEE, UH, ON THIS LIST. VERY MINIMAL IN NUMBER. AND THOSE HAPPEN TO BE CALLS WHERE WE WOULD BE OUT PATROL OUT AND GONNA A CALL WITHOUT GONNA INSPECTION WHAT HAVE YOU. AND THIS IS AN IMMEDIATE NEED FOR PUBLIC DECISIONS. AND WE WERE THERE, WE WERE RIGHT THERE ON THE, UH, WE DO NOT DO REPORTS. WE DON'T HAVE A TIME INVESTED IN DOING THE REPORT, FINISHING OUT THE INVESTIGATION, COMPILING A REPORT OR PRESENTING ANY CASES OR MAKING THE, OR GOING THERE AS A INITIAL FIRST POLICE OFFICER ON THE SCENE TO SECURE THE SCENE. AND ONCE THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE MADE CONTACT OR A CONSTABLE OFFICE MADE CONTACT, OUR DUTIES WERE DONE AND NOT THEY DID REFLECT ON THAT SHEET BECAUSE THAT SHEET CAME STRAIGHT FROM THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE AND BECAUSE YOU SEE THOSE TYPES CALLS BECAUSE WE WERE PLACED ON THAT CALL. WELL I KNOW YOU AND I ALREADY VISITED ABOUT ALL THESE CALLS I KNOW THE OTHER GUYS HAD OR NOT ANY TIME OR TAKING TIME TO GO OVER WITH YOU OR NOT YOU AND I I COMING CLARIFY, IT'S NOT A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TIME, IT'S JUST THAT WE, THOSE TYPES OF CALLS BECAUSE THAT'S RIGHT. FROM THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE BECAUSE WE WERE ASSIGNED TO THAT CALL BECAUSE WE MADE CONTACT AS FAR AS THE PUBLIC WORKS PEOPLE. YES. UH, WE UH, TELL US AGAIN THE, THE NEED THERE. UH, UH, BECAUSE OF THE INCREASED NUMBER OF PERMITS THAT ARE REQUESTED AND, AND, UH, BECAUSE OFF THE COUNTY IS GROWN AND, AND CONTINUES TO GROW, THERE'S BEEN A ANNUAL INCREASE OF THE NUMBER OF STARTING OFF WITH JUST THE PERMITS THEMSELVES. CONSTRUCTION PERMITS, THE ONES THAT ARE IN THE GROUND NEVER GO AWAY. THEY CONTINUE TO BE SERVICE EACH YEAR AND BE INSPECTED UPON REPAIRS AND SO FORTH. AND WE CONTINUE EACH YEAR TO HAVE AN INCREASING NUMBER OF PERMITS THAT ARE BEING DONE. THE STAFFING LEVELS IN THAT PUBLIC WORK DEPARTMENT HAVE NOT INCREASED IN ANOTHER 10 YEARS PROBABLY. YET. THE NEEDS TO SERVE THE PUBLIC OUT THERE IS INCREASING BY EMPLOYEES HAVE DONE, KEPT THEIR NOSE DOWN AND VERY, WE HAVE REACHED A POINT AND I'M USING MY PART-TIME PERSON TO FULLEST EXTENT DEMAND AND NURSES WHAT OUT THERE, WHAT'S AVAILABLE TO TAKE CARE OF. SO THE CURRENT STAFFING THERE IS FOUR PEOPLE OR MEAN TWO PEOPLE. CURRENT STAFFING IS THREE. THREE PEOPLE? YES. AND WHAT DID THE TELL PRIOR TWO, TELL US WHAT FOUR, TELL US WHAT YOU HAVE ONE PERSON THAT DOES INSPECTION. I ONLY HAVE ONE INSPECTOR [01:00:01] THAT IS A CERTIFIED DESIGNATED REPRESENTATIVE TO GO OUT AND DO THE PLAN REVIEW AND INSPECTION IN ACCORD. I HAVE ANOTHER PERSON THAT IS QUALIFIED THAT HAS THAT ON CERTIFICATION THAT LISTEN AND HER DUTIES IN KEEPING UP WITH THE PAPERWORK, KEEP HER BUSY IN THE OFFICE. I ALSO, WHILE WAYNE IS OUT IN THE FIELD, WE ALSO HAVE TO HAVE A ATED REPRESENTATIVE TO ANSWER SPECIFIC QUESTIONS THAT THE CONTRACTORS HAVE ACCORDING TO TCP RULES. THAT IT HAS TO BE A PERSON QUALIFIED TO ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS FOR ME ON INSTALLATIONS, INSPECTION AND SO FORTH. WE HAVE, UH, SO THEREFORE MISTY TAKES CARE OF THOSE DUTIES AS WELL AS HER OTHER DUTIES THAT SHE TAKES CARE OF ON THE PAPERWORK. THEY CAN'T, THEY CAN'T, THEY CAN'T CALL SOMEBODY BACK AND ANSWER THE QUESTION. THEY COULD, THEY, WE JUST HAVE TO, SO IF SOMEBODY HOLD THEIR WORK, IF SOMEBODY WAS OUT IN THE FIELD, COULDN'T JUST CALL SOMEBODY ANSWER BECAUSE YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A PHONE, RIGHT? THAT JUST, I WAS JUST THAT OUT SAYING THIS. THEY, IF THEY HAVE QUESTION ON THE JOB SITE, CLOSE IT UP, THEY CAN'T AND THEY WAIT UNTIL HE'S DONE WHAT HE'S DOING THE NEXT NUMBER OF AND BECAUSE OF THE INFLUX OF REPORTS, SHEER VOLUME OF REPORTS THAT ARE COMING IN NOW. SO WHAT WOULD THE TWO OF YOU PEOPLE DO YOU EXPLAIN? THE OTHER WOULD BE BE, BE FILING, UH, ALL REPORTS RECEIVING THE REPORTS IN FROM ALL THE CONTRACTORS AND PREPARING THESE REPORTS TO SEND CQ. SO IF WE GAVE YOU A CLERICAL POSITION TO TAKE THE LOAD OFF OF MISTY, YOU SAID HER WAS CLERICAL WOULD BE THAT ANSWER THE QUESTION SHE WOULD BE TAKING. SO YOU GOT 35,000 FOR 60 DOESN'T YEAR AGO. RIGHT. OKAY. THERE'S A LOT OF THAT WAS HISTORICAL. OKAY. I DON'T, I DON'T HAVE AN ISSUE WITH THE PUBLIC PERSON. I DON'T WELL THAT WAS MY QUESTION. IF, IF, IF GAVE SECRETARY TAKE THE PAPERWORK LOAD OFF OF THE COORDINATOR, UM, AND, AND ALLOW THE COORDINATOR TO DO MORE INSPECTIONS SINCE THEY'VE ALREADY GOT A VEHICLE THAT NEEDED 40,000 LIFT PER VEHICLE, WOULD THAT HELP YOU LINE, THAT'S WHY I BROUGHT YOU INTO THE OFFICE TO LET YOU SEE WHAT THE DUTIES WERE FOR EACH PERSON. YES. AND YOU SAW THE STACKS OF PAPERS ON. OH YES. THAT'S JUST ONE DAY OF WORK. THE PAPERWORK WAS LIKE THIS AND THE DAY WAS OVER CONTINUE TO COME. EACH PERSON HAS RENEWAL. I'M NOT, I'M NOT EXAGGERATING. NO, I SAID THAT'S JUST RENEWAL. RIGHT. BASICALLY THEY JUST RENEWAL IS PART PROCESS. WHAT DO WE DO WITH A RENEWAL? EXACTLY. I DUNNO. GCQ BY LAW REQUIRES THAT THE PERSON SERVICES MUST BE WITH THAT CONTRACT OR MAINTENANCE EVERY YEAR. YEAH, BUT THE CONTRACT WITH THE PRIVATE PERSON, RIGHT. THE CONTRACT IS WITHIN, BUT IT MUST COME THROUGH OUR OFFICE. SO ONLY THING WE DO IS HOLD THE PAPERWORK. BASICALLY WE HAVE TO ITERATE INTO THE DATABASE AND WE HAVE TO REPORT THAT INFORMATION TO THE TCEQ ELECTRONIC PUNCH IN COMPUTER. AND HOW MANY TOTAL? WE HAVE 40 TO 50,000 DOCUMENTS. ANNUAL CURRENT. THAT'S CURRENT YEAR. IT INCREASES EVERY YEAR. IT JUST CONTINUES TO GET BIGGER IN COMPARISON, UH, ELLIS COUNTY HAS FIVE DESIGNATED REPRESENTATIVES. I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY SYSTEMS THEY HAVE. I KNOW THEY'RE A LARGER, THAT'S WHERE THEY, AND I DON'T HAVE MANY CLERICAL STAFF. THEY, BUT I THINK THAT THEY HAVE FIVE PRIMARY, ONE OF THE PRIMARY FUNCTIONS IS INSTRUCTIONS WHO SEND, WHO SENDS THE WATER SAMPLE TO THE STATE OR WHATEVER. WHO SENDS THE WATER SAMPLE TO THE STATE. THAT'S ALL DONE THROUGH THE CONTRACTORS. THE CONTRACTOR DOES ALL THAT. YES SIR. THE ONLY THING WE ACTUALLY DO IS TAKE HIS, HIS VERIFICATION OF HIS CONTRACT. WE'RE DOING NO DIFFERENT THAN ANY OTHER OFFICE IN COUNTY. WE'RE TAKING PAPERWORK, ENTERING THE DATA AND FILING THE PAPERWORK [01:05:08] ON WHICH ONE SIR? UH, PUBLIC WORKS. WHICH, WHICH POSITION? THAT'S ALL THE WAY UP. UH, SECRETARY ALL I'M LOOKING AT THIS. SOCIAL SECURITY. THAT'S EVERYTHING. YES SIR. ALRIGHT. I DON'T HAVE AN ISSUE WITH BOTH THOSE POSITIONS AT ALL. I BELIEF THAT HE DOES. AND THE FACT THAT I THINK, UH, UH, IF YOU GO BACK AND LOOK AT THE HISTORICAL REVENUE THAT'S COME FROM THIS DEPARTMENT, IT IS DOUBLED. LET'S THE PERMIT, IT'S GONNA DOUBLE 15. BUT WHAT I'M SAYING, WHENEVER WE COMBINED THE THREE DEPARTMENTS, THE FEES BEFORE WE DID ANYTHING TO THEM WERE ALREADY UH, UP. THERE WERE SOME, EVIDENTLY SOME PEOPLE THAT WERE NOT, UH, THEY WEREN'T BEING INSPECTED. UH, I THINK YOU FOUND QUITE A BIT OF THAT. AND UH, THAT'S BEEN PART OF THE, I THINK THE, THE CONCERNS THAT HAVE BEEN EXPRESSED IS, IS THAT NOW PEOPLE ARE BEING HELD ACCOUNTABLE. WE'RE ABLE TO FOLLOW WHERE THEY HAVEN'T BEEN HELD MOST OF THOSE COMPLAINTS UP. RIGHT. Y'ALL ARE STILL COORDINATING REAL CLOSE WITH NINE ONE. NOW WHEN THEY GIVE OUT AN ADDRESS TO, TO INSPECT THEIR SEPARATE SYSTEMS BETTER, FOR EXAMPLE, THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH PUBLIC WORKS. I HAD A PERSONAL CHURCH, WE HAD ALL THESE BIG LONG TIES OR WHATEVER YOU CALL THEM OUT HERE ON 34TH, THEY'RE TO THE SOIL. BUT THAT'S THE KIND OF STUFF I'M SURE YOU'VE HAD CALLS ABOUT THAT BILL, I THINK YOU CALLED ME ABOUT WHAT, WHY THEY WERE BEING STACKED OUT THERE. I'M STILL WORKING ON THAT BECAUSE PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, THEY GOTTA BE SOMEWHERE BECAUSE IT IS, YOU KNOW, BUT THAT'S JUST, I DIDN'T KNOW WHERE. GLAD THE BIGGEST HAZARD THERE IS. TRAFFIC STATE HIGHWAY WITH NO. YEAH. YEAH. THAT'S THE BIGGEST THERE. I UNDERSTAND YOUR CONCERN FROM FARM OFFICER'S OFFICE ON THE MONETARY SIDE OF IT'S AN ADDITIONAL EXPENSE. UH, THE VEHICLE EXPENSE WE CAN THE BURDEN ON OF THAT. BUT THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT, YOU KNOW, I UNDERSTAND THERE IS A MONETARY SIDE TO IT, BUT WE'RE ALSO PROVIDING A, A MUCH NEEDED NECESSARY. OH. BECAUSE OF THE DRUG COUNTY. THAT IS ALSO INCREASED AS THE POPULATION INCREASES, WE HAVE MORE FIRES AND AS THE POPULATION INCREASES AND CONSTRUCTION INCREASES, IT'S NOT A MATTER, IT'S NOT A MATTER OF ORDER. TWO INSPECTIONS ON THOSE. IT'S A SERIES OF INSPECTIONS THROUGHOUT THE CONSTRUCTION PROCESS. THAT'S THE REASON I WAS PART, ANY PART I LOOKED AT FULL TIME IS WHAT WOULD BE REQUIRED IN MY OKAY. LET'S GO BACK TO THE PUBLIC WORKS. DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER COMMENTS ABOUT THAT? COMMISSIONER, I BELIEVE YOU SAID YOU, YOU, AFTER GOING OUT THERE LOOKING AT THE OPERATION ON FRIDAY, YOU KNOW, NEXT YEAR Y'ALL, I'VE DONE A PRETTY BETTER JOB. AT LEAST WE GET COMPLAINTS. EACH ONE APPROVES OF THAT ONE COMPLAINT. RIGHT. AND WE HAD THE MAN GO OUT AND DO THE INSPECTION AND THAT GENERATED FIVE PERMITS. RIGHT. [01:10:04] WE WOULD HAVE TO DROP SOMETHING TO SOME IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN WHAT WE, WE DIDN'T. OKAY. MY ONLY CONCERN IS, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S EQUIVALENT OF TWO SALARIES AND YOU HAVE TO HAVE ANOTHER VEHICLE THAT'S EQUIVALENT OF RESEARCHING SEVEN MILES A ROAD THIS YEAR. SEVEN MILES ROAD NEXT YEAR, SEVEN MILES A ROAD A YEAR AFTER THAT. UM, YOU KNOW, THE FIRE MARSHAL SIDE, THE POSITION, THE VEHICLE THAT EQUALS ABOUT NINE MILES A ROAD THIS YEAR, NINE MILES PROBABLY NEXT YEAR. YOU'RE NOT GONNA PICK NINE MILES YEAR AFTER THAT. THAT WAS THE FULL PRICE. I FIGURED A THOUSAND. SO VEHICLE, I MEAN, I MEAN IF IT'S NECESSARY, IT'S NECESSARY. I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE IT'S NECESSARY BECAUSE ROAD AND BRIDGE IS STILL A LONG WAY FROM WHERE IT WAS SEVERAL YEARS AGO. AND, AND YOU KNOW, YOU GUYS ARE LOSING GROUND EVERY TIME. WE PEOPLE DON'T, PEOPLE DON'T, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW THAT THEY'RE SO CONCERNED THAT EVERYBODY DOESN'T GET THEIR PERMIT RENEWED. YOU KNOW, SYSTEMS IN COMPLIANCE. IT'S, IT'S IN COMPLIANCE, BUT THEY ARE CONCERNED WHEN THEY HAVE TO DRIVE DOWN, THEY'RE CONCERNED. I THINK THAT'S THEIR BIGGEST CONCERN EVERY DAY. IT SO, YOU KNOW, LIKE I SAY, IF IT'S NECESSARY FOR HEALTH AND SAFETY, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S OKAY. BUT IF IT'S NOT ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, I'D LIKE TO SEE THE MONEY BEING PUT BACK IN THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE AND THAT'S DEPARTMENTS SAFETY. I MEAN IT NECESSARY. YEAH, I UNDERSTAND. MUST BE THOUGH. WHATEVER THE STEVE WANT DO IS THEY'RE GOING HAVE TO EVALUATE THIS A YEAR FROM NOW AND DECIDE IF IT WAS BEST THING TO DO. YOU WILL. YOU'LL HEAR A PEE. ALRIGHT, I TURN RECORDED TODAY. THAT'S ON RECORD. SO WHAT'S YOUR, WHAT'S YOUR UH, BELIEF? I WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE TWO PUBLIC PUBLIC WORKS PUBLIC WORKS POSITION. WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT THE FIRE. WE'RE TALKING WORKS. ALRIGHT. I THINK WE'LL, UH, I'M GOOD TO, IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE I CAN DO TO ENCOURAGE ANYONE ELSE IN THE FIRE AND I THINK IT WOULD BE GOOD. I DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME. I APPRECIATE THIS GOING. I KNOW EVERYBODY'S BUSY QUESTION. OKAY. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER COMMENTS BEFORE WE ADJOURN? I HAVE ONE. I DON'T, I DON'T HAVE A DOG IN THE PIPE, BUT I KEEP HEARING REBECCA TALK ABOUT TEAMING THINGS FAIR AND CONSISTENT. AND I WOULD JUST LIKE Y'ALL TO CONSIDER, YOU GAVE A CLERK A NEW POSITION AND THAT POSITION CAME IN AT 27,000, BUT YOU TURN AROUND AT THE SAME TIME AND YOU TAKE SOMEONE NEW WHO'S DOING THE, YOU KNOW, HE SAID IT'S A CLERICAL POSITION. YOU TAKE THE INFORMATION TO PUT IT INTO THE DATABASE, YOU SEND THE INFORMATION TO THE STATE. THE CLERICAL POSITION THAT THE CLERK AS WORK DOES THE SAME THING ON A DIFFERENT LEVEL IS DOING IT ON THE COURT LEVEL. AND IT'S, IT'S VERY FRUSTRATING TO SIT HERE AND TIME AND TIME AGAIN THE CLERK'S OFFICE, THEIR SALARIES COME IN THE SAME RATE THAT A LOT OF THE RUN BRIDGE PEOPLE ARE. BUT NEW PEOPLE ARE HIRED IN ALL THE TIME AT 30 OR 35,000. AND I, I BEG TO LOOK AT THE JOB DESCRIPTIONS AND TELL ME THAT THERE'S A DIFFERENCE. AND SO WHEN KAREN TALKS ABOUT BEING FAIR AND EQUITABLE, PLEASE CONSIDER THAT. AND YOU WANT THE DISTRICT CLERK? YES, OF COURSE. THAT'S WHAT SHE ASKED FOR. I BELIEVE. I UNDERSTAND. SHE USUALLY ALWAYS STARTS HERS OUT IN THE 26 9 86. 'CAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE WERE TOLD SO MANY YEARS AGO. THAT'S THE BASE HIRING SALARY THAT'S LOWER THAT CLERK. YEAH, I'M JUST SAYING BE FAIR, BE EQUITABLE. BUT IT'S SO HARD THAT AIN BAD. RIGHT. TO JUSTIFY TO OUR STAFF. WHY CHEAPER? THEY MAKE LESS MONEY. WELL, UH, OTHER THING ENTERS IN, BUT SOMETIMES [01:15:01] HEALTH INSURANCE, HE, I DON'T TAKE, I DON'T PAY MY INSURANCE POSITION TO PUT THE, UH, CLERK POSITION IN THE PUBLIC. BUMP THE CLERK UP. ? NO. WHAT THE HECK? YOU WANT US TO BREAK THEM DOWN SO WE THEM? NO, I WANT YOU BUMP THEM UP. IS RANDY STILL HERE? YES MA'AM. OKAY. WHAT WAS IT ON THE EXTRA HELP IN WHICH PART IN THE PUBLIC WORKS, BECAUSE YOU'RE GETTING TWO NEW EMPLOYEES. DO YOU STILL NEED THE 16,000? IT'S ALREADY BEEN DECREAS BY 5,000. OKAY. BY HOW MUCH IT WAS DECREASED. 5,000 COMPARED TO THIS YEAR. SO GOT THAT ONE. YEAH, THAT WE COULD PROBABLY, I'VE ALREADY IF IT WORKED. OH, I'M JUST ASKING. SO I HAVE THE RIGHT NUMBER FOR I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW THAT Y'ALL HAVE MADE A DECISION. DO AFTER THE, AFTER THE 5,000 DO. IT'S SITTING 16 NOW AFTER SITTING HERE TRYING TO GO THROUGH THE NUMBER OF HOURS. I'M CURRENTLY USING THE, WHAT DOES THAT PERSON DO? NOTHING BUT PROCESS. PROCESS FILES THAT. BUT IF YOU'RE GETTING A SECRETARY, THEY WOULDN'T DO THAT. I'M JUST ASKING, I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND YOUR OPERATION. UH, LET'S, LET'S REDUCE THAT. BRING IT, I'LL, I'LL MAKE IT WORK. IT'S HELP WITH THE COURT. I'M, I'M JUST ASKING ASHE TAKEN 11,000 OUTTA CURRENT BUDGET. THEY DIDN'T HEAR ME. WHAT? YES MA'AM. IS THAT WHAT YOU SAID? YOU DIDN'T HEAR ME OR WHAT? WHAT'D YOU OH, I DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING. JAKE SAID HE THOUGHT IT SHOULD BE THE PART-TIME SHOULD BE CUT IN HALF IF WE'RE GETTING A SECRETARY, A FULL-TIME SECRETARY AND ANOTHER HIM. WE'RE MISSING THE 10,000 THAT'S CUT IN HALF. IT'S CURRENT 21,000. HE'S IS THAT OKAY WITH YOU RANDY? THAT'S OKAY. SECRETARY, WE'RE GONNA LEAVE THAT 30. WE'RE GONNA BRING IT DOWN TO 2020. JUDGE TOLD ME TO CHANGE 29 1. OKAY. ON WHAT WE'RE DOING IN THE DISTRICT FAIR. OKAY. AND THIS IS NOT A GOOD WAY TO DO THIS, GUYS. I MEAN, I THINK EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS THAT, BUT MAYBE WE CAN GET THIS FIXED THIS NEXT YEAR. UH, STARTING WE DON'T WITNESS, WE DON'T HAVE A WORK EXPERIENCE, SO WE CAN'T SAY THAT THEY'VE JUSTIFIED MONEY. SO THE STARTING PAY OUGHT TO BE THE SAME. OKAY. OTHER, UH, OTHER ISSUES BEFORE WE YES, YOUR HONOR. WELL I HAVE IT SET IN ON ALL OF THEIR DISCUSSIONS, SO I'M BEING REDUNDANT. LEMME KNOW. OKAY. BUT I'LL BE QUICK BECAUSE THE LUNCH HIRE IS, I ASK HIM, UH, YOU KNOW, THE THE COLLECTIONS THAT THE, UH, COUNTY CLERK AND ATTORNEY BACK TO THE COURT. I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THE COURT KNOWS I HAVE BEEN REFLECTING AND RESEARCHING AND, AND AND DISCUSSING AND, AND IF THE, THE COURT DESIRES THE, UH, TREASURER TO ASSUME THOSE RESPONSIBILITIES. I'VE WORKED A ROUGH STAFFING PLAN. I'VE WORKED SINCE BASED PLANNING AND I WOULD BE ABLE TO DISCUSS WITH Y'ALL REASONABLY, INTELLIGENTLY WHAT IT MIGHT TAKE TO ACCOMPLISH. SO, OKAY. TAKE IT ON TO, I THINK WHENEVER THEY HAVE THIS WORKSHOP THAT WE'RE GOING HEARING FROM, UH, THE OFFICE [01:20:01] FOR THE ADMINISTRATION, UH, CHAD GR O, RIGHT? YEAH. WELL PROBABLY THAT'LL, THEY'RE GONNA DO THAT. I THINK PRETTY, THAT'LL BE SOMETHING WE MAY LEARN SOME MORE INFORMATION BEFORE WE JUMP OUT THERE AND DO ANYTHING TO GET A MORE INFORMATION. BUT IT'S GOOD. KNOW A THAT I'VE ASKED HIM GO WHATEVER. I'VE ASKED HIM TO SEE IF DO IT HERE IN THE COUNTY. HE SAID THEY'RE GONNA BE DOING. I'VE OFFERED TELL THE ONLY THING HE DID SAY WHEN HE TALKED TO ME, HE JUST SAID THIS IS ON THE FAR REACHES OF HIS REGION. SO IT WOULD CAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE. SO HE DIDN'T VENT TO ME THAT HE WOULD DO IT. HE JUST SAID IT'S PRETTY FAR OUT. WHERE WOULD IT NORMALLY BE? IN AUSTIN OR, UH, NO, IT'S TEXAS. HE LIVES IN MARSHALL TERRITORY. BIG TERRITORY. DO YOU HAVE A TRAVEL EXPENSE MA? SEND TO MARSHALL. MARSHALL. UH, JUDGE, YOU KNOW MY HEART. IF I DON'T, I'LL GO IN MY VEHICLE AND I'LL BE GOOD. I'M NOT WORRIED ABOUT THAT. I GET A GOOD TRANSITION DONE FOR THIS BECAUSE IT'S GONNA CHANGE AND UM, REASONABLY. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, ANYTHING ELSE BEFORE WE DISMISS? ALRIGHT. ANY MOTION DISMISS. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.