Texas county jail systems struggling to reduce overtime
In order to mitigate overtime employee attendance expenses, additional workers are set to be hired for the short-staffed Harris County, Texas, jail, according to the Houston Chronicle.
A total of 120 existing part-time staff members will move to full-time positions, 14 will be promoted to a higher rank and 60 part-time employees will be hired.
However, county sheriff Adrian Garcia has expressed concern that the additional hires will not decrease the system's persistently high time and attendance payouts, which are slated to cost the county $18 million this fiscal year.
In a recent letter to Garcia and county judge Ed Emmett, Texas Commission on Jail Standards executive director Adan Munoz identified a shortage of transport staff as being at the crux of the issue, following a surprise inspection.
"Reducing the number of inmates in the tunnel (connecting the prison to court facilities) and court system at any one time would possibly reduce, but not eliminate, the need for additional staff," Munoz wrote, as quoted by the news source.
Texas' southernmost county is having similar issues with overtime, according to the Brownsville Herald. Between 2008 and 2010, the Cameron County jail division increased its overtime payouts to meet guard-to-inmate ratios set by the commission.
A total of 120 existing part-time staff members will move to full-time positions, 14 will be promoted to a higher rank and 60 part-time employees will be hired.
However, county sheriff Adrian Garcia has expressed concern that the additional hires will not decrease the system's persistently high time and attendance payouts, which are slated to cost the county $18 million this fiscal year.
In a recent letter to Garcia and county judge Ed Emmett, Texas Commission on Jail Standards executive director Adan Munoz identified a shortage of transport staff as being at the crux of the issue, following a surprise inspection.
"Reducing the number of inmates in the tunnel (connecting the prison to court facilities) and court system at any one time would possibly reduce, but not eliminate, the need for additional staff," Munoz wrote, as quoted by the news source.
Texas' southernmost county is having similar issues with overtime, according to the Brownsville Herald. Between 2008 and 2010, the Cameron County jail division increased its overtime payouts to meet guard-to-inmate ratios set by the commission.
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