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Meeting over the last couple months, the leaders of Hardin County have been divvying up grant money to departments tasked with providing safety and civic utilities for communities throughout the county.
The county will utilize grant funds from Rural Law Enforcement Grant funding for requests from the county and district attorney, after commissioners approved the requests at the Feb. 27 meeting of the Hardin County Commissioners Court.
County Attorney Matthew Minick and District Attorney Rebecca Walton each requested $275,000 from the grant money to create new positions and increase wages within their offices, effective this fiscal year.
Rural Law Enforcement Grants were made possible by Senate Bill 22, which established a grant program to provide financial assistance to sheriff’s departments, constable’s offices and district and county attorney’s offices in eligible counties to ensure professional law enforcement and legal representation of the people’s interests throughout the state. Only counties with a population smaller than 300,000 were eligible for the grant.
“The goal of the money is intent to keep our employees but also to be able to be attractive to other people who are coming into our offices when we need to replace positions or create new positions,” said Minick, who added that the grant money can only be used to increase the salaries of personnel such as prosecutors, investigators, victims and systems coordinators, and to hire new staff.
For the County Attorney’s Office, Minick is asking for a “desperately needed” new full-time assistant county attorney (estimated $23,901), as well as wage increases for the first and second assistant county attorney, an investigator and victims assistance coordinator.
County Judge Wayne McDaniel noted that some of the increases Minick is requesting is because the pre-trial diversion budget has been decreased.
“We’re not bringing in enough money in pre-trail anymore to be able to sustain the budget we have and so that budget is going to have to be decreased regardless,” explained Minick. “Right now, we are not making nearly enough money in that budget to be able to support that.”
In the District Attorney’s Office, effective March 17, Walton requested a temporary position for an investigator working full-time for the remainder of the fiscal year to be paid $29.83 per hour plus associated fringes and $675 per month for an automobile allowance. She also asked for two full-time positions for two paralegal secretaries, each paid $18.63 per hour plus benefits, as well as a full-time temporary paralegal secretary and a full-time trial coordinator/evidence technician. Increased wages were asked for an investigator, two paralegal secretaries and a victims assistance coordinator.
“I actually have two temporary positions which will end disappear at the end of this budget year,” said Walton. “But, with $275,000 gifted by this grant to the district attorney’s office, we’re trying to utilize them for the successful prosecution in the district attorney’s office, as well as work with other departments who need them when the workload may increase.”
She said the two paralegal secretaries that are current employees that are getting increases through the grant budget will also be taking on new responsibilities, according to the grant requirements.
In other action involving the Rural Law Enforcement Grants, commissioners approved County Auditor Angela Gore’s request to create a new line item of $500,000 in grant funds so the sheriff’s office can get permission to purchase vehicles. There is $300,000 allocated for the vehicles and $125,000 for firearms, safety and other equipment.
Rural law enforcement can apply for the grant again in 2025, which the comptroller will issue using the remaining money.
April 1, Hardin County was awarded funding for drainage, detention and roadway improvements from the Texas General Land Office (GLO), including $72,560,600 in regional mitigation funds to improve streets, drainage and sewer systems in six cities, Hardin County, and a partial award of a larger project to be administered by the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) in Fort Bend County. Through the Regional Mitigation Program (RMP), the GLO enabled local prioritization.
Hardin County’s award allocation is for six drainage, detention and roadway improvements, including:
• El Pinto Fletcher drainage channel and detention improvements (city of Lumberton)
• Gore Store channel crossing and roadway improvements (cities of Silsbee, Kountze and Village Mills)
• Kountze roadside ditch and channel improvements
• Lumberton Adler Ditch channel improvements
• Lumberton Woodcrest area roadside ditch improvements
• Silsbee roadside ditch and channel improvements
“Every day, the GLO works with communities to ensure federal funding is administered effectively and efficiently as the federal process allows,” said Buckingham. “Our efforts to streamline federal funding procedures helps protect communities and the homes, businesses, and local government infrastructure that make Texas a wonderful place to live.”