Photo credit: Midland County

What to watch: The Midland County Commissioners Court will meet on Tuesday, Jan. 20, to revisit Sheriff’s Office items previously denied or deferred, consider upgrades to election infrastructure, review staffing additions, and receive updates on major capital and fleet operations.

Key points:

  • Sheriff’s Office step increases: Commissioners will again consider a request tied to step increases under the Sheriff’s Office’s approved grade-and-step pay structure. A 3–2 vote earlier this month denied the request, despite the court previously approving the pay scale during the budget process. Sheriff David Criner said he would bring the item back. Read our full breakdown of the previous debate and vote.
  • Revised salary schedule: The court will discuss a revised salary schedule for the Sheriff’s Office, likely a related item that could clarify how the county applies pay grades and steps following the last meeting’s dispute over implementation.
  • Spare vehicle request: Commissioners will reconsider a previously denied request, allowing the Sheriff’s Office to retain an existing county-owned vehicle for evidence technicians who currently use personal vehicles for daily evidence transport. The prior vote did not involve purchasing a new vehicle or additional spending. Read more on why the court rejected the request in the last meeting.
  • New voter registration system: The court will consider purchasing and implementing a new voter registration system used to manage voter rolls, process registrations, and meet state election security and reporting requirements.
  • New inspection positions: Commissioners will discuss adding two new right-of-way inspection positions, which typically support development oversight, infrastructure compliance, and road-related enforcement.
  • Capital projects update: The court will receive an update on capital projects as the county budgets $73.4 million for capital outlay this year and relies on $58.7 million in reserves, with the fund balance projected to drop from $138.5 million to $79.8 million by the end of FY 2026
  • Fleet maintenance update: Commissioners will receive an update following the county’s recent switch from Vector Fleet to Sewell Fleet Management after months of disagreement over service quality and oversight. Since the transition, Commissioner Steven Villela has said staff report faster repairs. At the same time, the court debated whether the county needed internal fleet manager positions now that Sewell handles day-to-day operations.
  • Horseshoe year-end report: The court will receive a year-end report on the Horseshoe Arena following mid-year updates showing the facility hosted 130 events and drew more than 101,000 attendees in the first two quarters last year. Revenue totaled $484,000, plus $9,000 from non-event use, while commissioners approved $52,000 in waived rental fees.