Bexar lockup beset by overtime costs
County on track to spend $13.9M by end of fiscal 2022
Jail overtime costs continue to plague Bexar County, partly because of the COVID-19 omicron variant, but Sheriff Javier Salazar is hopeful a new collective bargaining agreement will help rein in staffing shortages at the detention facility.
About $2.8 million in jail overtime was approved Tuesday by Bexar County commissioners, leaving the county on track to end fiscal 2022 with about $13.9 million in jail overtime — slightly more than in 2021.
The budget is $8 million. Tuesday’s
allocation covers nearly 69,000 hours of overtime projected for the period from Dec. 11 to March 31.
But Salazar believes a raise for deputies will help reduce those expenses by boosting recruiting efforts. The collective bargaining agreement approved by the Deputy Sheriff’s Association last week includes a 15 percent raise. The agreement is expected to go to commissioners for approval Feb. 8.
To improve staff morale, the agency also no longer requires detention deputies to work in the jail for two years to be eligible for a transfer to law enforcement, Salazar
told commissioners.
In 2021, the sheriff’s office hired 250 people, but had 155 retirements and resignations. This year, “COVID’S still kicking us right in the teeth,” Salazar said, as the jail currently has about 150 staff members out after testing positive or being placed in quarantine because of possible exposure. With jury trials temporarily shut down by the pandemic, the facility is near capacity with about 4,200 inmates, including 3,500 who are awaiting trial, county officials said.
The pandemic also is stirring up trouble for the March 1 party
primary election, with early voting set to run from Feb. 14 to Feb. 25.
In an update to commissioners, County Elections Administrator Jacque Callanen said a number of property owners, including the South Side and East Central school districts, have decided against hosting early voting sites out of concerns related to the omicron variant. The county plans to have 34 polling sites in operation for the joint Democraticrepublican primary, but the locations are fluid, with a Feb. 9 deadline looming to secure the voting sites, Callanen said.
Paper shortage
Another impact of the pandemic, related to supply chains, is a “colored paper shortage” that has interfered with production of sample ballots, which by law must be printed on yellow paper, and color-coded mail inserts, she said.
In addition, the elections office has had to send about 800 rejection letters to some of the 6,000 residents who submitted applications for mail ballots because their identity could not be fully verified under the provisions of a new state elections law.
Callanen said her office recommends voters provide both a driver’s license or another ID number provided by the Texas Department of Public Safety and the last four digits of their Social Security number on the applications so her office can verify compliance with the new law if one of the numbers is incorrect. Monday is the last day to register for the election. Applications for a mail ballot must be received by Feb. 18.
For more information, visit the elections office website, bexar.org/elections.
In-house custodians
Commissioners approved a plan to begin providing custodial services in county buildings in-house, hiring 78 full-time staff members at a minimum wage of at least $15.75 per hour with employee benefits. Dan Curry, county facilities management director, said it would take about five weeks to transition out of a current twoyear contract for custodial services, awarded in 2019, that guaranteed workers a minimum of $11.15 per hour.
If the county continued outsourcing custodial services and raised the minimum hourly pay to $15, it would increase the annual cost from about $3.3 million to $4.3 million.
The in-sourcing option seeks to retain high-performing workers now under contract and is expected to run about $4.5 million.
Commissioner Justin Rodriguez said the move to in-sourcing was “the right thing to do for the personnel.” Interim Commissioner Marialyn Barnard called it a good business decision that will help with security in county facilities.
Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff recalled asking a custodial worker about five years ago how much she was making. She was being paid $7.50 per hour after being with the same company for five years.
Wolff said he normally supports contracting with the private sector, but he felt when it came to positions that are traditionally low-wage, that the county would be better off “having all of these families making a fair wage and allowing them to have a better way of life than what they’ve had before.”