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American Legion Post 157 Commander Susan Junker speaks to Bandera County commissioners.
Photo by Jessica Nohealapa’ahi
May 3, 2023
Commissioners Court Briefing
By Jessica Nohealapa’ahi
The Bandera Prophet
Painting a bleak picture, Bandera County Sheriff Dan Butts told commissioners the Sheriff’s Office is down several key staff members, and interest in law enforcement is waning.
“We continue to lose people. We lost jailers and one dispatcher,” Butts said last Thursday during commissioners’ regular meeting. “We’re short-handed with patrol, the jail and dispatch.”
Butts said school districts statewide are trying to recruit people, paying more for an 8-5 job that's Monday through Friday, with summers off. Salaries are also part of the problem, he said.
“Looking at the numbers, we’re the lowest paid sheriff’s office in the vicinity,” Butts said, adding interest in law enforcement is suffering.
“If I was looking for a career, I don’t know that I would choose law enforcement nowadays," he said. "Anything that happens anywhere in the world is going to be on the T.V. Quite frankly, we’ve got some knuckleheads out there that haven’t helped us. Some people have made bad decisions, and those bad decisions don’t help anybody.”
Pct. 4 Commissioner Jody Rutherford said at some point, the court would have to consider increasing salaries.
“We’re going to have to bite the bullet, and say, ‘Hey, we’re either not going to have a sheriff department and y’all are going to have to fend for yourselves, or we’re going to have to raise the tax rate,’” Rutherford said. “We’ve got all these great benefits, but you can’t eat benefits.”
In his March report, Butts said the Sheriff’s Office responded to 623 calls for service. Deputies traveled 27,408 miles, with an average response time to emergency calls of 14 minutes. Nineteen arrests were made: nine felonies and 10 misdemeanors; 68 property crimes and 76 crimes against a person were investigated; dispatch received 1,235 incoming 911 calls, with 4,325 incoming/outgoing calls. The county responded to 14 calls in the City of Bandera limits as the primary responders. There were 119 animal related calls; 24 dogs were picked up; the average dog population was 15; and the average cat population was one. The average inmate population at the Bandera County Jail was 60; there were 47 bookings and an average of five contract inmates.
Emergency Medical Services Director Shannon Griffin reported EMS responded to 247 calls for service; EMTs traveled 12,838 miles, with an average tone to response time of 58 seconds, and an average tone to on scene time of 10 minutes.
Griffin said EMS is working with the local nursing homes to know the difference between emergent and non-emergent ambulance transports. She said of 170 calls from one facility, 25 were denied by the insurance company because they were not considered emergencies. That expense, Griffin said, gets passed on to the patient.
“We do not deny a transfer,” Griffin said. “We are hoping to meet with the medical director, and hopefully we can prevent these bills from going to the patient.”
If a lab result is abnormal and a patient is having symptoms, that is a medical necessity for emergency transport. If there are no symptoms, she said, the insurance won’t cover an ambulance.
In other business, commissioners approved the closure of a road in the Hilltop subdivision in Lakehills, subject to a replat of lots flanking it. The petition was signed by neighboring property owners and would not impede anyone’s exit as there is no driveable access, Pct. 2 Commissioner Greg Grothues said.
~ American Legion Post 157 Commander Susan Junker requested and was granted use of the Bandera County courthouse lawn for five events during the remainder of 2023. Junker said two of the events would not actually take place on the lawn.
Junker added the Legion has taken over sponsorship of the local Boy Scouts, who had been meeting at the United Methodist Church. She said the Legion is working on reinvigorating the program and hopes to give the scouts more opportunities for success.
“We continue to lose people. We lost jailers and one dispatcher,” Butts said last Thursday during commissioners’ regular meeting. “We’re short-handed with patrol, the jail and dispatch.”
Butts said school districts statewide are trying to recruit people, paying more for an 8-5 job that's Monday through Friday, with summers off. Salaries are also part of the problem, he said.
“Looking at the numbers, we’re the lowest paid sheriff’s office in the vicinity,” Butts said, adding interest in law enforcement is suffering.
“If I was looking for a career, I don’t know that I would choose law enforcement nowadays," he said. "Anything that happens anywhere in the world is going to be on the T.V. Quite frankly, we’ve got some knuckleheads out there that haven’t helped us. Some people have made bad decisions, and those bad decisions don’t help anybody.”
Pct. 4 Commissioner Jody Rutherford said at some point, the court would have to consider increasing salaries.
“We’re going to have to bite the bullet, and say, ‘Hey, we’re either not going to have a sheriff department and y’all are going to have to fend for yourselves, or we’re going to have to raise the tax rate,’” Rutherford said. “We’ve got all these great benefits, but you can’t eat benefits.”
In his March report, Butts said the Sheriff’s Office responded to 623 calls for service. Deputies traveled 27,408 miles, with an average response time to emergency calls of 14 minutes. Nineteen arrests were made: nine felonies and 10 misdemeanors; 68 property crimes and 76 crimes against a person were investigated; dispatch received 1,235 incoming 911 calls, with 4,325 incoming/outgoing calls. The county responded to 14 calls in the City of Bandera limits as the primary responders. There were 119 animal related calls; 24 dogs were picked up; the average dog population was 15; and the average cat population was one. The average inmate population at the Bandera County Jail was 60; there were 47 bookings and an average of five contract inmates.
Emergency Medical Services Director Shannon Griffin reported EMS responded to 247 calls for service; EMTs traveled 12,838 miles, with an average tone to response time of 58 seconds, and an average tone to on scene time of 10 minutes.
Griffin said EMS is working with the local nursing homes to know the difference between emergent and non-emergent ambulance transports. She said of 170 calls from one facility, 25 were denied by the insurance company because they were not considered emergencies. That expense, Griffin said, gets passed on to the patient.
“We do not deny a transfer,” Griffin said. “We are hoping to meet with the medical director, and hopefully we can prevent these bills from going to the patient.”
If a lab result is abnormal and a patient is having symptoms, that is a medical necessity for emergency transport. If there are no symptoms, she said, the insurance won’t cover an ambulance.
In other business, commissioners approved the closure of a road in the Hilltop subdivision in Lakehills, subject to a replat of lots flanking it. The petition was signed by neighboring property owners and would not impede anyone’s exit as there is no driveable access, Pct. 2 Commissioner Greg Grothues said.
~ American Legion Post 157 Commander Susan Junker requested and was granted use of the Bandera County courthouse lawn for five events during the remainder of 2023. Junker said two of the events would not actually take place on the lawn.
Junker added the Legion has taken over sponsorship of the local Boy Scouts, who had been meeting at the United Methodist Church. She said the Legion is working on reinvigorating the program and hopes to give the scouts more opportunities for success.