There's a remarkable story developing in El Paso at the West Texas CSCD,
according to a local TV station. The local probation department is broke, and in December came within 48 hours of not making its payroll. The probation chief has been sent on vacation pending his retirement in May, but it's not clear if the budget shortfall is due to mismanagement or structural financial problems. Either way, insiders fear that soon POs' paychecks may stop flowing. Reported KTSM:
what's going to happen if the department can't pay its employees? We have confirmed that is an issue the department may be facing. A manager for the County Auditor's office says Adult Probation is low on money, and has come close to not meeting payroll.
"In 2007 there was a surplus of three million dollars. Last year, there was a surplus of one million dollars. In 2011 they have a cushion of 64 to 69-thousand dollars," Defense Attorney Theresa Caballero said.
Caballero told us she saw a financial update that showed for the past few years Adult Probation has been blowing through budget.
"In December the Probation Department, it said this in the financial report, was 48-hours away from not being able to make payroll," she said.
A source within county government says the probation department's financial trouble is the reason its oversight committee, the Council of Judges, called an emergency meeting. We were immediately booted from the room, and when the meeting was over we were told Stephen Enders, the Director of the Probation Department, was going on vacation until he retires May first. ...
Our source tells us the Council of Judges wasn't happy about the financial situation and that the vacation was forced.
No way to tell from this intriguing tidbit exactly what's going on, but the final lines of the story say the department may seek a state bailout if it runs out of funds. I've sent off an open records request to the county auditor for the referenced report, so perhaps we'll know more in a few days if I can get my hands on it.
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21 comments:
Wasn't El Paso County recently touted as making notable progress with alternative sanctioning? Their financial situation is too bad, and sadly may be a sign of the times with adult probation for many departments across the State.
Vacation until May? What county employee gets 12 weeks vacation? Maybe that's why they're going broke.
10:12:
If you stop and think for a minute you will realize that most likely someone that is set to retire has built up an amount of vacation time over the years. So, instead of firing him outright, he's being allowed to use any accrued leave to cover him being shown the door just 3 months before retirement.
To believe that a county agency is providing all employees 12 weeks of vacation every year is moronic. You know that's not the case.
Public employees and their leave time are not the reason public agency budgets are being shot to hell.
In most CSCDs, probationer fees make up at least half of the budget. I would also bet that a large urban CSCD on the border has more than its share of probationers with minimum wage jobs. Therefore, I would not be surprised if the economic slump with an accompanying severe downturn in fee collection from probationers is a major factor of their budget crisis.
"I would also bet that a large urban CSCD on the border has more than its share of probationers with minimum wage jobs."
If they have minimum wage jobs, they can't afford the fees! And if fees make up half your budget, your agency is no better than a municipality who depends on traffic ticket revenue for survival.
Many department chiefs who have not prepared their budget for this budget crisis will have problems.
This is something departments have known about for the last two years. The warnings about the budget shrtfall began eighteen months ago. Most chiefs and judges took it serious and began preparing for the projected lack of funds.
Unfortunately some judges will not accept the idea that some programs for probationers will have to be ended. In some counties the Drug Court federal funds grants ended but judges ordered the programs continue. This is great but the county department is then obligated to cover this cost which is very expensive. Drug courts save the state money but just pass on the cost to the county departments.
Some decisions by local judges and chiefs will need to be made. It is most likely and unfortunate most of the cuts will be made in special supervision programs such as drug court, veterans court, mental health court, electronic monitoring, and gang unit.
Even if most special supervision programs continue the few officers remaining will have such a high caseload the supervision will become ineffective. This is already happening in the Bexar County Drug Court, which is currently a good program.
Steve - since you are apparently in the business, are other departments getting in the same shape financially?
"your agency is no better than a municipality who depends on traffic ticket revenue for survival" Such a wrong statement on every level.
Probationers are paying fee because it is statutory. It is also a fee for service. Everyone pays a fee for service. If you get a hair cut, you pay a fee for service. Go ahead and make fun of the analogy re: haircut. A fee for service is a fee for service period. Y
What is wrong with Adult Probation is the consumer,the probationer, has to pay for so much other crap that goes way beyond the fee for service. Fees regarding things such as ignition interlock and SCRAM allows for a private enterprise to make money, gives the public a false sense of security and allow for lawmakers to stay ignorant about how to really change behavior.
Having said all that, it appears El Paso may have done a poor job of managing money. It isn't solely the minimum wage earner and the economic downturn causing their crisis.
Many Adult Probation Departments are in such a crisis largely because they are managed by personnel with little training concerning fiscal responsibility as well as Judges who are ignorant about the whole process behind how adult probation operates in Texas.
What service is the probationer receiving that he wanted or voluntarily asked for in the first place 5:54?
I certainly hate to hear this news. El Paso has one of the more innovative departments and directors in the state of Texas for many years. Unfortunately, I am afraid that many departments in the state will be facing the same problems. Special, evidenced based programs, while wildly effective, cost a lot of money. Unfortunately, funding has never keet up with the cost to operate them. Probation departments are always robbing Peter to pay Paul, in order to satisfy the needs to keep the prison population down and help offenders get on the right path. I hope the need to cut services ends soon, or we will go back to the tail 'em, nail 'em and jail 'em supervision style that took us years to outgrow.
I feel Bexar is next!!!! As far as Bexar Drug Court! I hear they have 25 to 35 cases??? Gang Unit and Sex Offender Unit is over 60 cases. Regular non-grant officers have 150 to 300 cases. You can't pick so few cases to be in drug court when the line officers have so many cases that need drug treatment and attention. I have almost 300 cases! Probably 50 to 100 of them could use drug court. I dont even have time to worry about their drug use!!!!!!!! Drug Court is a waste in this budget crunch...save 25 and put 300 with an officer who has no idea who is on his caseload!!! Drug Court is great but we have to better use resources currently!!! A perfect world would fund probation correctly which would save TDCJ money on TDC. Hey, but crap, who are we just the ones who watch the state give Probation the shaft which costs the state more in the long run.
Calling all felons, calling all felons. There is a climate ripe for illegal rewards waiting on you. Your probation and/or parole officer is being let go so that people can have more money in their pockets and GOPigs can get themselves re-elected. Oh, and let's not forget the sonogram pictures the GOPigs helped bring about to please their Lord. Bring on the dope and guns. Let the streets go wild! Texas has been here before. But, the stupid cannot understand that getting tough on crime has a damn cost!
I would like to echo Jim Stott's comments about El Paso Co CSCD. It is a well-run department, progressive thinking, and their chief has been a leader on the state level for years in advancing ideas about how to divert folks from prison. It is a shame that his efforts, and those of many other veteran chiefs, are about to be crushed by the budget deficit.
If you are through ranting Death Breath, take a shot at how probation was working in this case and there ain't been no cuts yet.
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/arlington/headlines/20110306-arlington-church-carries-on-in-prayer-after-pastors-death.ece
i have a silly question about this statement!
" This is great but the county department is then obligated to cover this cost which is very expensive."
Let me get this straight. the feds started the program and funded it. NOW they are not paying? So how can they force either the state or the country to pay for it? Min the checks stopped the program should have ended once the last individual the fed's had paid for finished! Any federal judge dumb enough to keep ordering individuals into a CLOSED progam should be called out on the spot for their STUPIDITY! and the DA should point out that his/her posses in the FEDERAL Govt! have defunded therefore CLOSED that program.
I can guarantee you that the judges could care less about the CSCD unless they, the judges need some special favor! They won't force payment for supervisory fees, they're competing for their $1,000,000 Court Cost collection club and they figure the tax paying public can foot the bill anyway. And the TOP heavy CSCD administrations are full of those 25-30 veterans(?) living off the system while understaffed, underpaid and overworked CSO's are told daily they may lose their jobs! Bexar County is next!! Why doesn't the Lege see the danger they have put the public in? Does anybody give a damn???????
Steve Enders, the chief in El Paso, did a lot of good things not only for the probationers to succeed, but for the community of El Paso. He played an integral part in bringing to the community a lot of programs that helped a lot of people. He always tried to make decisions with the well being of all involved. He was a leader in the community who was always willing to help. Most of all, he was, and still is, a good man with a big heart. His only weakness was his trusting heart.
The truth finally came out on the misappropriation of funds. It is sad to see this happen for el paso but a lot of these leaders have a bad judge of character. The truth will come out Choices decision and consequences.
how can I get my $800.00 in probation fees waived at east overland street if I'm a homeless young adult with no job.
I'm a class a misdemeanor homeless young adult . How can I get my 800.00 in probation fees waived in east overland street . I got evicted and lost my job and have zero $ .
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