What happened: The Midland County Commissioners Court met on Tuesday, June 2, and considered a hiring incentive for jailers, whether county law enforcement agencies should share a common pay scale, and whether Juneteenth should become a paid county holiday.

While commissioners took no action on those proposals, they unanimously approved a redesign of the county’s planned juvenile justice center that expands the facility from 24 beds to 40 beds.

Key points:

  • Law-enforcement pay scale: Commissioners took no action after Hall proposed placing constable, district attorney investigator, and fire marshal personnel on the same unified pay scale as the sheriff’s deputies. Johnson questioned whether a single pay structure was appropriate given the differences in training requirements, work environments, and job responsibilities among the various departments.

“If you want to draw what the sheriff’s paying, then go work for the sheriff’s department,” Johnson said.

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Commissioner Steven Villela suggested that affected elected officials and department heads submit job descriptions and proposed pay grades for consideration during the upcoming budget process. Anderson said she was unwilling to consider a major change in compensation until the county has a clearer picture of next year’s revenues.

“Before we start spending money, we need to know how much money we’re going to have to spend,” Anderson said.

  • Hiring bonus for jailers: Commissioner Charles Hall raised concerns about staffing at the county jail, noting that 14 jailer positions are vacant and that six applicants are currently undergoing background checks. Sheriff David Criner said the new county jail could eventually require as many as 40 additional jailers if it reaches its full capacity of 750 inmates.

Commissioner Dianne Anderson questioned the need to plan for that many positions, noting that the county’s inmate population ranged from 450 to 485 over the last four years. Criner responded that the estimate reflected a “worst-case scenario” based on full occupancy.

Hall proposed a hiring incentive program to improve jailer recruitment and retention. Under his proposal, jailers would receive $1,000 after one year of employment and another $1,000 after two years. Judge Terry Johnson questioned whether existing employees would be upset by the program because they wouldn’t receive the incentive. The court tabled the discussion pending development of a more detailed proposal.

  • Juneteenth holiday: Hall also proposed adding Juneteenth as a paid county holiday. Johnson estimated that an additional paid holiday would cost the county approximately $160,000 annually and noted that the county hadn’t included the expense in the current budget.

“So do we take $160,000 worth of taxpayer money and not provide any services?” Johnson asked Hall.

Villela said county employees he had spoken with supported adding Juneteenth but generally did not want to remove an existing holiday in exchange. He noted that Midland County currently observes 10 paid holidays, more than either the state or Ector County. The court took no action but indicated it could revisit the issue during future budget discussions.

  • Juvenile justice center: Commissioners unanimously approved a $750,000 amendment to the design contract for the county’s new juvenile justice center. The amendment changes the facility from the originally planned 24-bed design to a 40-bed design.

The county estimates that the larger facility will increase construction costs from roughly $24 million to $42-$43 million. Commissioners previously argued that building the larger facility now may ultimately cost less than constructing a smaller facility and expanding it later.

  • Oil-field theft prosecution: Commissioners approved a Border Prosecution Unit grant application for the District Attorney’s office, worth approximately $1.3 million over two years.

District Attorney Glenn Harwood told the court the grant would fund seven positions and related equipment with no county match required. He said Midland County would serve as a regional hub for prosecuting oil-field theft cases referred from neighboring counties.

  • DA evidence storage: Commissioners approved a contract allowing the District Attorney’s Office to join the Axon digital evidence platform already used by the Midland Police Department and Midland County Sheriff’s Office.

Harwood said the integration will streamline the discovery process and reduce the need to transfer evidence between separate systems. He told the court the agreement will cost slightly more than $100,000 during the next fiscal year.