County to return SB 22 grant funds

Young County possibly will have to return a significant portion of a state Rural Prosecutor’s Office Salary Assistance Grant grant because rules governing how to use the money are too restrictive for small town departments, County officials said last week.

Senate Bill 22, authored by Sen Drew Springer, established a grant program to provide financial assistance to qualified sheriff ’s departments and prosecutor’s offices in Texas counties with populations of fewer than 300,000. The grants were supposed to be used to increase salaries, hire additional staff and to purchase equipment to help with hiring and retention.

Young County applied for and received $350,000 for the Sheriff ’s Office and $175,000 for the County Attorney’s Office but may have to send a good chunk of the County Attorney’s money back to the State because of the way the grant rules were written, County Judge Win Graham said.

“The contract is considerably more restrictive than everyone was told when this Senate Bill 22 grant came out,” Judge Graham said. “

The Sheriff ’s grant does not include raises for dispatchers, or for deputies who do not perform traffic stops as a routine part of their duties, April 4.

According to the job listing on the Texas Municipal League website, the City is prepared to pay a salary of $90,000 to $110,000 for a candidate who is “a forward-thinking leader adept in navigating rapidly changing priorities, to steer the City’s vision as the next City Administrator.”

“The City of Olney envisions its next City Administrator to be a blend of insightful leadership, community passion, and analytical prowess - someone who, with his/her depth of experience and dedication, will further the City’s narrative of growth and community cohesion,” the ad The position will require “continuous interaction with department staff, City officials, parttime employees, and the general public.”

Candidates are required to have a bachelor’s degree and five years of “progressively responsible experience in city management, a major municipal department, or private sector executive management level … with experience in budgeting, finance and/or personnel management.”

Mr. Welch earned $81,000, and had more than 40 years experience in city/county administration when he retired in 2021.

The starting salary for the Seymour City Administrator, who has a doctorate in education, was $65,000, according to public records.

The City of Seymour has a population of 2,579, according to U.S. Census data.

The Archer City Administrator was hired at $70,000, public records show. Archer City has a population of 1,700, Census data show.

According to the job search website Salary. com, the average salary for a city administrator in a town the size of Olney, was $47,000 to $59,000.

Olney’s population was 3,001 as of 2022, census data shows.