CITY & COUNTY
News from Georgetown & Williamson County
QUOTE OF NOTE
Williamson County increases corrections officer pay
Georgetown City Council will meet Feb. 28 and March 14 at 6 p.m. at 510 W. 9th St., Georgetown. 512-930-3652. www.georgetown.org Williamson County Commissioners Court will meet Feb. 28 and March 7 and 14 at 9:30 a.m. at 710 S. Main St., Georgetown. 512-943-1100. www.wilco.org MEETINGS WE COVER rates will go into effect Oct. 1. GEORGETOWN As of Feb. 6, the city moved its bulky waste pickup to the regular trash day instead of Saturdays. Residents can request four free curbside bulky waste pickups per year through Texas Disposal Systems. HIGHLIGHTS GEORGETOWN City Council approved the maximum allowable water and wastewater impact fees for developers pursuing a building permit. Officials said these fees, which are based on the size of the water meter installed, allow the city to recover some of the infrastructure costs associated with growth. The new “THIS WILL ALLOW THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE TO BOOST RECRUITMENT FOR CORRECTIONS OFFICERS AND HELP FIX THE CURRENT STAFFING ISSUES IN THE JAIL.” CHARLES DUVALL, ACTING PRESIDENT OF THE WILLIAMSON COUNTY SHERIFF DEPUTIES ASSOCIATION, ABOUT THE CORRECTIONAL OFFICER PAY RAISES
BY GRANT CRAWFORD
COMPARING STARTING SALARIES
WILLIAMSON COUNTY Commissioners Court approved pay scale increases for sheriff’s office personnel Jan. 24, raising wages to the highest starting salary for corrections officers in the region. County Judge Bill Gravell called it the most significant pay increase for law enforcement and corrections officers in the county’s 175-year history, creating an additional $2.4 million in expenses. The new starting salary for corrections officers, which began Feb. 3, is $51,000, up from $42,153. Pay increases were given to corrections peace officers, sergeants, lieutenants and commanders as well as sheriff’s office deputies, sergeants, constables, lieutenants and commanders, dependent on years of service. The pay bump comes after entry-level corrections positions in Travis and Hays counties were raised in August 2022 to $50,000 and $50,013, respectively. Wil- liamson County has 62 open deputy corrections positions.
Williamson County raised the starting salary for corrections officers to the highest level in the region, surpassing those of Travis and Hays counties. The new salaries were effective as of Feb. 3.
Before increases
After increases
Williamson County
$42,153
$51,000
Travis County
$50,000
Hays County
$50,013
SOURCE: WILLIAMSON COUNTY/COMMUNITY IMPACT
County to begin inmate competency restoration program
Police department records rise in mental health calls
MOUNTING MENTAL HEALTH CALLS In the past four years, the number of mental health calls the Georgetown Police Department received more than doubled.
BY GRANT CRAWFORD
BY CLAIRE SHOOP
2019 2020 2021 2022
314
GEORGETOWN In an update to City Council Jan. 24, Police Chief Cory Tchida said the department has seen an increase in mental health calls over the last four years. In 2022, the Georgetown Police Department received 654 mental health calls for service, up 108% from 2019. Tchida said the number of calls last year could be “mislead- ing” because it only includes calls in which officers had prior knowledge it was a mental health call. “This doesn’t really even capture
WILLIAMSON COUNTY In partnership with Bluebonnet Trails Community Services, the county will start a jail-based competency restoration program this spring. These programs provide people deemed incompetent to stand trial with mental health services so they can proceed with their judicial process, according to officials. Precinct 3 Commissioner Valerie Covey said the state is supposed to provide such programs; however, there is a backlog.
565
608
654
SOURCE: GEORGETOWN POLICE DEPARTMENT/COMMUNITY IMPACT
the number of calls where we’re dispatched to a domestic distur- bance, and the whole reason the domestic disturbance is occurring is because someone is in a mental health crisis,” he said.
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GEORGETOWN EDITION • FEBRUARY 2023
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