Pay raises, inmate outsourcing approved
Gonzalez says he hopes salary bumps for deputies, jailers will lure better candidates
Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday approved raises for deputies and detention officers, the same day it agreed to outsource some inmates to the Fort Bend County Jail.
The pay increases for around 5,300 sheriff and constable deputies, jailers and communications staff will cost the county $17.8 million annually, while the Fort Bend deal will push the sheriff ’s inmate outsourcing costs toward $1 million per month.
Neither addresses the causes of Harris County’s jail overcrowding and will leave Sheriff Ed Gonzalez shuffling inmates between six jails in Texas and Louisiana.
“Outsourcing is never our preferred practice,” Gonzalez said. “Unfortunately, due to Harvey and the slowing down of jury trials, we didn’t have a choice but to start outsourcing again.”
The sheriff said he hopes the pay bumps will help lure better candidates and cut down on attrition, particularly among jail employees.
Effective Sept. 29, detention, communications and law enforcement officers up to the rank of captain will receive 3 percent raises. Senior deputies with more than 20 years of experience will see an additional raise of 50 cents per hour. The raises also apply to deputies in the county’s seven constable precincts.
The changes also eliminate the first pay scale step across all employment categories, raising the starting pay for jailers and communications staff by 12.3 percent and deputies by 13.3 percent. Rookie jailers and communications staff now will earn $39,395 per year, while deputies will be paid $50,814.
The raises will be paid for with higher property tax revenues, county budget analyst Kevin Seat said.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Jack Morman said he hopes the raises are the first of several to make Harris County law enforcement pay comparable to that in other counties. He added that employees in
the county fire marshal’s office should receive raises, too.
Gonzalez said that in the 20 months since he took office, recruiting job candidates has become more difficult. As the economy has improved, he said, the sheriff ’s office must compete with other police agencies, as well as the private sector.
The sheriff’s office currently has 20 vacancies for communications staff, 51 for detention officers and 318 for deputies, according to spokesman Jason Spencer.
Attrition is a particular problem for detention officers, Gonzalez said. On average, 23 leave the county each month, pressing the sheriff to find replacements to staff the filled-to-capacity Harris County Jail.
“It’s difficult work and it’s not for everyone,” Gonzalez said. “Better pay always helps in that situation.”
Costlier for county
On the transfer of prisoners to Fort Bend, Gonzalez, County Judge Ed Emmett and the four commissioners agreed that outsourcing inmates is undesirable but called it necessary given that Harris County has hundreds more inmates than its jail can handle.
As of Tuesday, Harris County had around 10,100 inmates. Of those, 719 have been outsourced to other jurisdictions, including 550 at the Jackson Parish Correctional Facility in northern Louisiana, nearly 300 miles from Houston.
The agreement with Fort Bend County will allow Gonzalez to move as many as 224 inmates from Louisiana but will cost Harris County more.
Housing inmates in Jackson Parish costs the county $29.33 per inmate per day, with transportation included. Fort Bend is charging Harris County $55 per day and will not provide transport.
Harris County Sheriff’s Maj. Greg Summerlin told Commissioners Court that housing inmates in Louisiana is far cheaper because those facilities do not have to comply with Texas’ minimum jail safety standards and because prison firm LaSalle Southwest Corrections pays its employees less than what they would earn in the Houston area.
Defense attorneys said the Fort Bend deal is progress but urged Harris County to bring all inmates back to the Houston area.
Public defender Amalia Beckner said defendants held in Louisiana are less likely to receive adequate counsel, as lawyers are unable to make the 10-hour round trip to Jackson Parish for a brief jailhouse meeting. Beckner said one of her clients was shipped out of state without warning.
“There was significant evidence I needed to review with him in person,” Beckner said. “I can’t show him video surveillance footage over the phone.”
‘Time to take a stand’
Precinct 3 Commissioner Steve Radack said the fact that Beckner’s client faces a “serious felony” was important to note. He also took issue with Fort Bend County’s daily inmate rate.
Radack suggested that Gonzalez should have received a better price because the Harris County hospital system has provided “millions of dollars” in services to Fort Bend County without being reimbursed.
Radack asked County Auditor Michael Post to calculate the sum of those benefits.
“It’s time for us to take a stand. It’s time to get our money,” Radack said.
Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls said the $55.00 per diem is less than he charges the federal government for prisoners and that Radack should find a different home for Harris County inmates if he objects.