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Caseload fueling DA’s funding requests

County Budget
Thursday, August 9, 2018

The district attorney’s office pleaded its case to the Hays County Commissioners Court on Tuesday for funding for additional staff in the Fiscal Year 2019 budget.

“Over the last four to five years … we have seen an increase averaging about 15 percent a year,” District Attorney Wes Mau said, adding that even greater increases have occurred in mental health and Child Protective Services (CPS) cases.

“Those increases have made it both very difficult and stressful for my current staff,” he said. “... I want you as commissioners to know that I appreciate everything you’ve done for the district attorney’s office. … I am, however, asking the court to increase the staffing that was requested in the judge’s recommended budget, which was significantly less than we requested this year.”

Mau said that his office is experiencing a backlog in the intake division, meaning that there is a growing delay in the time between a person’s arrest and the time the district attorney’s office can collect information about the case.

“Those cases need to be dealt with as swiftly as reasonably can be,” Mau said.

Moreover, he asked for more attorneys for the criminal and civil divisions to handle cases. Mau said the addition of a third county court-at-law will be “an important move,” and that the county is likely to get a new district court soon.

“The concern that I have is that we’re going to start seeing additional backlogs,” he told the commissioners. “When these new courts come into play, we’re theoretically going to be able to dispose of more cases. Obviously, that’s the point of those courts. Without additional staff in the DA’s office, I’m going to have a harder time making effective use of the additional court time we’re going to have.”

Angie Roberts from the civil division at the DA’s office said the county has experienced a “dramatic increase” in CPS removals.

“The removals are what got us into a bit of a pickle this year,” she said, noting that the DA’s office told CPS that they would have to triage some cases because there simply were not enough staff members to handle the load. 

Because of that triage, she said, there will be an influx of cases being finalized in October — and yet the number of children that CPS is removing from their homes has not dropped.

“We’re still having the influx of double-digit removals every month,” Roberts said. “Our staff cannot maintain that.”

Roberts said the office has not handled bond forfeitures since April because of a lack of personnel, and that bond forfeitures help fund roads in the county. As for asset forfeitures, she said staff have been taking them home to work on over the weekend.

She reiterated what Mau said about the areas where the caseloads are growing fastest: “The top two areas of law that are overwhelming us right now are CPS and mental health.” 

Roberts characterized the workers in the civil division, and particularly the paralegals, as hard workers willing to work for the county and for the children and mental health patients of Hays County.

“We just need a little bit extra help,” she said.

Roberts noted that the paralegals would receive support from the legal assistant Mau is requesting from the county, and that they work very hard as it is.

“They have had days where they don’t get lunches, they work late,” she said, “and they do it because this line of work is a calling. … You feel fulfilled by doing it when you leave at the end of the day.” 

San Marcos Record

(512) 392-2458
P.O. Box 1109, San Marcos, TX 78666