Parker County Commissioners Court Regular Meeting & Budget Session - August 25, 2025

The Parker County Commissioners Court convened on August 25, 2025, at 12:15 PM in Weatherford, Texas, for a regular budget session, recessing at 3:46 PM and reconvening on August 26, 2025, at 9:06 AM, adjourning at 10:12 AM. All commissioners (Conley, Holt, Walden, Hale) and County Judge Pat Deen were present. The court discussed resolutions related to bond debt repayment, reviewed the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 general fund and precincts budgets, and made decisions on salary increases for elected and non-elected employees, capital purchases, and budget allocations.

Discussion Items

• Resolutions on Bond Debt Proceeds (Agenda I-A & I-B): District Attorney Jeff Swain and County Auditor Brianna Fowler presented two non-binding resolutions: (A) to sell the District Courts Building and County Attorney’s Building upon completion of the new Justice Center and use all net proceeds to repay Proposal B bond debt; (B) to use net revenue from housing inmates from other entities (if jail expansion creates excess capacity) to repay Proposal A bond debt. No action was taken on either resolution.
• General Fund Budget Updates (Agenda II-B): Budget Analyst Bianca Lord presented budget updates for FY2025-2026. No vote was taken.
• Capital & Non-Capital Budget Requests (Agenda II-C): Multiple presentations and decisions occurred across both days:
  • Motorola Solutions representatives discussed radio tower upgrades; no action.
  • Chief Juvenile Probation Officer Ashley Marineu presented the Juvenile Probation and Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program (JJAEP) budgets, approved by the Juvenile Board on August 15, 2025. Chase Johnson, listing broker, discussed a property for JJAEP. No action.
  • On August 26, Mooring Commercial Construction presented remodel pricing for the JJAEP building at 1105 Santa Fe Drive. A motion passed to appoint Commissioner Hale and County Attorney John Forrest to negotiate with the realtor and firm.
  • A motion was approved to purchase two radios for $17,000 and a half-ton four-wheel-drive pickup for $52,295, deferring outfitting until more information.
  • A motion was approved for $50,000 to the Soil and Water Conservation District.
• Human Services Budget Requests (Agenda II-D): No action taken.
• Salaries and Benefits for Precincts (Agenda II-F): No action taken.
• Additional Employee Salary Requests and New Positions (Agenda II-I): No action taken.
• Special Revenue Funds and Projects (Agenda II-J): No action taken.
• Precincts Fund 50 and Funds 1-4 Budgets (Agenda III): A motion passed to leave allocations unchanged from the prior year per formula, with the right to revisit later.

Key Outcomes

• Non-Elected Employees (excluding Sheriff’s Office): Approved a 4% COLA raise (motion by Conley, second by Deen; carried).
• Sheriff’s Department Salaries: Approved a step-in-grade increase (motion by Conley, second by Walden; ayes: Deen, Conley, Walden, Hale; noes: Holt).
• Elected Officials Salaries (August 25):
  • First motion (flat salaries for all except Sheriff and Constables) failed (ayes: Holt; noes: others).
  • Second motion by Walden: Set salaries of Commissioners, District Clerk, County Clerk, Treasurer, Tax Assessor-Collector, and Sheriff at the County Auditor’s level for officials with 10+ years of service; others at Purchasing Agent level; JP’s and Constables receive a 5% increase. Motion carried (ayes: Deen, Conley, Walden, Hale; noes: Holt).
• Elected Officials Salaries (August 26):
  • Motion to elevate Constables’ salary to match JP’s ($114,726) carried (motion by Walden, second by Holt).
  • Motion by Commissioner Holt to decline his own salary increase and COLA carried (ayes: Deen, Conley, Holt, Hale; abstained: Walden).
  • Motion to elevate Sheriff’s salary to match the Auditor carried (motion by Walden, second by Conley).
• Non-Elected Employees (August 26, revisited): A motion for a 5% increase failed (ayes: Deen, Holt; noes: Conley, Walden, Hale).
• Notification: County Treasurer Becky McCullough noted that statutory salaries take effect September 1, 2025 (not October 1).
• Budget Allocations (Capital): Approved appointment of Commissioner Hale and County Attorney for JJAEP negotiations; approved $17,000 for radios and $52,295 for pickup; approved $50,000 for Soil and Water Conservation District.
• Adjournment: Approved by motion (Conley, second Hale) at 10:12 AM on August 26, 2025.