First Hays County budget workshop reviews reducing jail population

Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra presented his fiscal year 2021 recommended county budget of $315,320,579 to the commissioners court on July 28, which included a slightly reduced property tax rate and a budget of zero dollars for outsourcing inmates from the Hays County Jail. 

While this is a preliminary budget facing three rounds of workshops with the four commissioners and county staff, this reduction of $3.48 million for inmate outsourcing is just one of several items exemplifying the county’s recent commitment to reforming and supporting the criminal justice system.

The budget for outsourcing inmates, with nightly rates usually around $50-70 per inmate, has increased from $61,700 in 2014 to $4.31 million in 2018 and $3.48 budgeted for 2020. 

The Hays County Jail has been outsourcing inmates to neighboring county jails as a solution to their overpopulation problem until the newly built jail can open this year. After the $106.4 million 2016 Public Safety Bond passed with 51.1% of the vote, Hays County will soon be able to hold 503 inmates, up from the 311 that it can currently hold according to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.

The zero dollar line item is attempting to set a goal of ending overpopulation, which has shot up from an average daily population of 301 in 2014 to 553 in 2018 and 466 in 2020 as of July. The jail population has increased 54.8% since 2014 while the resident population has only increased by 24.5%. 

Becerra’s Chief of Staff Alex Villalobos says exploring zeroing out this item is only possible because of recent initiatives from the district attorney's office and sheriff's office funding of new programs to support reductions in incarceration and recidivism.

“We have initiatives and opportunities in place to address the population issue,” Villalobos said. “There are things the court has already been working on to reduce population including diversion, intervention and also cite and release. There is collaboration between all law enforcement and the district attorney in regards to monitoring lower level nonviolent crime.”

Villalobos is referring to the district attorney’s new magistration division budgeted at $240,866 for 2021. The funds extended the availability of magistrates, decreasing time spent in jail; the new prosecutor budgeted at $94,2623 for the Texas A&M magistration study to track outcomes for the accused having representation at magistration; and the Cite and Divert program, which allows people who have committed certain low-level nonviolent offenses to meet with a prosecutor from the district attorney’s office rather than appearing before a magistrate and being booked into jail. 

Villalobos says there are many resources available to the county to reduce population and Becerra intends to utilize them; One of which is GPS electronic monitoring devices. 

“If that’s a resource we can use, then why aren't we using it? His goal and intent at the end of the day is to support operational planning that would utilize our resources most efficiency,” Villalobos said. “There is concern in the pandemic time, extra stressors on the citizens of Hays County. We as a government should be looking at opportunities to mitigate costs that translate to the pockets of citizens, one of those is the $4 million outsourcing cost.”

Electronic monitoring would come with many requirements for inmates  and a lot of collaboration. “The courts have to be comfortable with a plan,” Villalobos said. “The district attorney has to be comfortable with it. We have to allow the sheriff’s office to strategically plan for incorporating electronic monitoring. It’s going to take collaboration.” 

The theme of the budget, according to Villalobos, is using it as a “moral document,” making sure the county is fully utilizing all its resources and addressing the needs of all its citizens, including those who are involved in the criminal justice system. 

“As our county faces the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, I have recommended a lean budget that focuses on core essential services with a slight tax rate reduction to offer tax relief to our citizens.” Becerra said.

Initial budget requests submitted by staff and elected officials amounted to more than $21.4 million. Reductions to operating budgets and reducing any requested staffing changes were needed to help balance the budget to 41.87 cents per $100 valuation of property.

Becerra also recommended a tax rate reduction from .4237 to .4187. It's important to note that while the rate itself may decrease, homes whose values increased in 2020 may have a minor tax amount increase. For the average home which was appraised at $262,755 in 2020 that increased to $275,000 in 2021, there would be an increased tax bill of $37 per year.

The proposed budget requests reductions for the current operating budget, except for new programs as well as no new or replacement vehicle leases with the exception of 1 for the Office of Emergency Services. 

The budget proposes $486,000 for the WestNet Fire/EMS CAD program, $80,000 for waterline improvements for the Hays County Jail and $90,000 for software and hardware programs for various departments moved to the Tobacco Settlement Fund. 

It also includes a $1.5 million salary market increase for law enforcement positions per collective, $687,000 cost of living increase for county employees and department heads, excluding elected officials and $715,000 for new positions for the expansion of jail operations. 

In addition to Tuesday’s budget workshop at 10 a.m., there will be two others on Aug. 18 at 10 a.m. and Aug. 25 at 1 p.m., which will be livestreamed and archived at https://hayscountytx.com/commissioners-court/court-video/.