A squabble over funding for Collin County’s jail heated up at a commissioners court meeting on Monday. And it’s an issue that’s even attracted the attention of Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.
County commissioners pointed to 60 new positions at the county jail and a budget increase of about $1.8 million. But volunteers, employees and even the Sheriff warn incoming changes at the jail could have consequences.
“We’re moving, stripping a lot of different people from a lot of different places across my organization to attack the overtime problem, Sheriff Jim Skinner said. “The jail will be a more dangerous place, given some of the decisions that we’ve had to make.”
Collin County spent almost $3 million on overtime in jail operations in 2024, according to a budget request Skinner sent the county commissioners. The county has spent about $2.7 million on overtime on jail operations overtime so far this year. The Sheriff asked for an overtime budget of about $5.2 million. The current budget for overtime pay is $223,00 according to the Sheriff’s email.
The Sheriff’s Office in Collin County will undergo a reorganization that includes $4.5 million in new positions and $2.3 million in position reduction according to a county budget presentation. The reorganization also includes about $59,000 in cuts at the jail café for employee meals.
Deputy county administrator Russell Schaffner said the county will bill the Sheriff for three Inmate Programs positions to trim down tax rate costs, which the county says he can pay for with commissary funds. Schaffner said the Sheriff has until Sept. 30 to pay for the positions. He said the positions aren’t being eliminated.
“It’s just a change in funding source,” Schaffner said.
Jana Ashburn, who works in the Inmate Programs department, said her department doesn’t have enough people. Ashburn said her department is losing essential personnel in the reorganization.
“In the last few weeks, it's just gotten ripped apart and people taken from the program department and putting in different areas of the jail,” she said.
Collin County Judge Chris Hill said the commissioners court didn’t take away any positions from Inmate Programs. He said the court authorized employees to work with the programs department to supplement their work.
Collin County Chief Deputy Matt Langan told commissioners the programs department was allocated three positions but received some assistance from other officers to help facilitate programming.
“Some of those units have all been put back where they should have been,” Langan said.
The debate over the Sheriff’s budget has reached as far as Georgia. Majorie Taylor Greene, who represents Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, accused Collin County of defunding the police in a recent post on X.
“Why just why would a city reduce their law-enforcement capabilities to protect all of the citizens in such a massively growing county,” she wrote.
The Collin County Sheriff made a similar statement during a county budget workshop. But Commissioner Susan Fletcher said at Monday’s commissioners’ court meeting that Greene’s comment was misinformed.
Collin County hasn’t raised its property tax rate in over 30 years, including this year. County commissioners voted 3-2 to pass the budget and tax rate for fiscal year 2026, which starts Oct. 1. The tax rate is the same as last year’s, about $0.149 per $100 of a home’s value.
The tax rate has stayed the same, but homeowners’ tax bills may go up because the taxable value of their home increased. Commissioner Darrel Hale said that happened last year.
“It's not something that I relish,” Hale said. “And I'm stuck in a position now where the sheriff comments where he said we're defunding the police, but somehow we're defending the police by adding over a hundred positions over the past two years and adding close to $10 million additional spending.”
Hill said setting a budget and tax rate can be challenging.
“There will always be more wants and perceived needs than there are taxpayer resources, and so our job as a team is to find a way to do what is the most important in that moment,” he said.
Got a tip? Email Caroline Love at clove@kera.org.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.
