Commissioners Court Prepares for 2021 Fiscal Year & More

Tuesday on KFYO Mornings with Dave King and Matt Martin, The Lubbock County Judge Curtis Parrish joined Matt Martin and Steve Evans to talk about yesterday's commissioner court meeting, preparation for the budget during the next fiscal year, raising the budget of the sheriff's office, getting the court system back on track, the Texas legislative session, Woodrow road, and more.

The conversation started with Judge Parrish talking about yesterday's Commissioners Court meeting. Curtis stated that it went well, and that they were able to take care of a lot of regular business, but the main thing that was done was the court gearing up to get on the next fiscal year calendar and figure out the budget. Parrish explained that they are in "appropriations mode" where they will find out what their budgetary needs are, and then, at the same time, they will switch into ways and means mode. He went on to say that they will take mid-June, July, August, and most of September to figure out what they need, what needs to be expanded, and what needs to be cut.

With the large push around Lubbock for police to receive a budget raise, and some officers moving to other cities that provide better pay, Parrish was asked if there is a push for a raise in the Sheriff's department as well. Curtis said that for the past 2 years, he has made it his priority to make sure that the sheriff's department was given plenty of funds as Lubbock continued to grow, and says that he will continue to do so. "We're going to look at public safety first. That's our first and top priority," Curtis said. Parrish was also asked how the sheriff's pay compares to the Lubbock police and to sheriffs around the state. He explained that it is generally lower, but that they are constantly moving against that and giving incentive pay to their deputies, both on the street and those staffing the detention center. He went on to say that they are always trying to find good new people, hire good people, and keep good people.

The Judge also talked about the 3 main areas that the court is constantly looking at, being public safety, infrastructure, and their court system, which he says is very important, as it has its fingers in our public safety. Focusing on the court system, Curtis explained that last year was very tough due to the COVID-19 pandemic, where they were unable to do in-person hearings and trials. Now the court is working to make sure they run a good, adequate court system and get through the backlog that piled up on them in an efficient manner.

Listen to the full interview with Judge Curtis Parrish in the audio above.

KFYO Mornings with Dave King & Matt Martin airs weekday mornings live, from 6:00 AM to 8:30 AM on News/Talk 95.1 FM and 790 AM KFYO, online at KFYO.com, & on the free KFYO app