Bexar County commissioners are confronting a tight fiscal year 2026‑27 budget cycle, evaluating over $25 million in proposed criminal‑justice spending. The proposals cover new sheriff’s deputy positions, the continuation of temporary family‑violence courts, and the preservation of an indigent‑defense program whose state grant is ending.

Sheriff’s Office request

The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office submitted the largest single request, seeking roughly $15 million for program changes. The core of the request is a $12.8 million ask to create 128 new deputy positions and reclassify 26 existing ones. Budget officials, however, did not recommend approval and omitted the request from the draft budget.

Instead, the budget office suggested keeping already‑authorized staffing levels and reserving funds until the sheriff’s office can fill its current vacancies. The department reports about 192 open positions, including 50 detention officers and 10 detention corporals that were previously placed in contingency. Budget and Finance Director Tanya Gaitan said the county wants to preserve funding in case the sheriff’s office can staff those roles.

Gaitan also recommended setting aside $11.2 million in contingency for detention‑overtime costs, reflecting the jail’s ongoing staffing shortfall. Additionally, eight positions tied to the county’s mental‑health response program, SMART, would be retained at a cost of roughly $806,000 after federal pandemic‑relief funds expire.

Equipment upgrades

Even as officials advise against most new spending, the draft budget includes capital items deemed essential. A $6.7 million allocation would fund a new body‑camera and Taser contract, while about $6.2 million is earmarked for replacing county vehicles, primarily used by law‑enforcement officers. Precinct 4 Commissioner Tommy Calvert asked staff to review the body‑camera and Taser costs, questioning whether existing contract terms could reduce the expense and whether the replacement schedule reflects the equipment’s useful life.

Indigent‑defense program

The Managed Assigned Counsel (MAC) program, created in 2021 with Texas Indigent Defense Commission funding, oversees private court‑appointed attorneys for defendants who cannot afford counsel. Executive Director Jim Bethke said MAC now supervises 237 private attorneys handling about 94 % of the county’s 32,000+ court‑appointed cases.

With the state grant ending, MAC is requesting $1.9 million to retain 16 staff positions. The county has funded the office through Dec. 31, placing the remaining nine months of fiscal‑year money in contingency while commissioners decide whether to make MAC a permanent expense. During the grant period, Bexar County contributed roughly $3.3 million of the $6.7 million total program cost, not including the more than $10 million the county spends annually to pay private attorneys directly.

County officials argue MAC provides oversight, training, and case‑management that were previously lacking. The Public Defender’s Office, which directly employs its own attorneys, investigators, and social workers, serves a smaller share of indigent defendants but also handles broader responsibilities such as filing writs to release inmates held on out‑of‑jurisdiction warrants.

Precinct 3 Commissioner Grant Moody asked staff to develop a side‑by‑side cost comparison of MAC and the Public Defender’s Office, noting concerns that defendants might receive different levels of representation depending on the system that serves them.

Family‑violence courts

County judges are seeking approval to keep two temporary family‑violence impact courts open beyond their original grant‑funded terms. These courts were created to address a backlog of family‑violence cases and are viewed by many commissioners as essential to protecting victims and preserving community safety.

Next steps

Commissioners will continue to review all proposals before adopting the final budget in September. The decisions will shape how Bexar County funds its public‑safety infrastructure, balances fiscal responsibility, and upholds its constitutional duty to provide fair legal representation for all residents.

Original reporting: San Antonio Report — read the source article.