Public criticizes proposed full‑time secretaries as commissioners approve job description funded from precinct budgets

A member of the public told the Erath County Commissioners Court on Monday that the court should not create new full‑time secretary positions for two commissioners after reducing the duties of an existing position, calling the change “frivolous spending.” The court later approved a revised job description for secretarial support for Commissioners in Precincts 2 and 4 and said the positions will be paid from the commissioners’ road and bridge funds, not the county general fund.

Carla Trussell, who addressed the court during the public‑comment period, said the court had removed indigent services duties from a secretary post because of prior mismanagement, which “cut the workload of that position nearly in half,” and argued the reduced workload should mean part‑time hours rather than adding new full‑time secretaries for Commissioners Ray and Buck. “Creating personal secretary positions as taxpayer expense is not stewardship. It is frivolous spending,” Trussell told the court.

Court members moved later in the agenda to approve a tailored job description for a secretary to serve Commissioners 2 and 4. The job description had been narrowed to remove duties that previously belonged to other offices, and the court clarified that only the two commissioners would pay the employee’s salary from their precinct funds. Commissioner Ray moved to approve; Commissioner Buck seconded, and the court approved the job description by voice vote.

Court discussion in support of the new position cited the need for an on‑site county representative during business hours in remote precincts, improved public access and a phone presence in precinct offices, and a place to receive deliveries and manage local paperwork. Commissioners also noted the positions would use 10‑hour workdays to provide coverage and that the deputies’ pay would come from precinct (road and bridge) budgets.

Why this matters: The action affects local staffing and taxpayer funding at the precinct level and drew public comment regarding fiscal responsibility and prior personnel changes.