Hidalgo County commissioners took no action Tuesday on whether to support a resolution urging the creation of two new district courts, prompting the local administrative judge to ask them what other information they needed to make the decision.
None of the commissioners answered.
Instead, Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez told Noe Gonzalez, the local administrative judge speaking on behalf of the county’s district judges, that they would wait until the commissioners had the information they need.
“We are cognizant of the great need for this and we’ll try to expedite it as soon as we can,” Cortez said.
After learning the commission would take no action, Gonzalez told them that all the information, including state data and information regarding increased costs to the sheriff’s office, was available to them.
“This is the second time I’ve scheduled this. I guess the word would be, it is just so unusual to have this type of delay,” Gonzalez said. “What information do you all need?”
The item the commission took no action on would have only been a formal way of the county expressing support for the Texas Legislature to begin taking the steps needed for the creation of the two new courts, which Gonzalez says the state of Texas, through the Office of Court Administration, or OCA, has recommended to ensure there is consistent and equal justice throughout the state while also helping the county rein in growing costs associated with population growth.
“Our area has grown quite a bit,” Gonzalez said, explaining that an increase in civil and criminal filings accompany growth.
The OCA through its analysis says Hidalgo County needs 2.8 more district courts to meet the needs of the region’s population.
“We are asking for a proposition supporting two courts and hope the Legislature can listen to us and give us one if they can’t give us two,” Gonzalez said.
An increase in courts is proportionate to the disposition of cases, he explained.
For instance, in fiscal year 2020, Gonzalez said Hidalgo County, which has 12 district courts, disposed of approximately 21,000 cases while El Paso County, which has 16 district courts, disposed of nearly 30,000 cases.
“It’s a logical conclusion,” Gonzalez said of more courts equating to more case dispositions.
Hidalgo County recently surpassed El Paso County in population.
The local administrative judge says the creation of two new courts and associated dispositions would help move people out of the county jail — and jails in other counties where Hidalgo County inmates are held because of overcrowding.
That in turn would save the county money.
“That’s why I have been telling people who will listen, we are concerned about the jail population,” Gonzalez said, adding that just a week and a half ago 400 people were incarcerated in other counties.
And as of March 1, there were 1,232 people inside the Hidalgo County Detention Center placing it at nearly 99% capacity.
Additionally, The Monitor, through a Texas Public Information Act request, has obtained information from the county showing that the cost of housing inmates outside of Hidalgo County is steadily rising with a spike that correlates with the coronavirus pandemic.
In 2019, the county spent approximately $4,883,329 housing inmates over the year in Brooks, Cameron, Jim Hogg and Starr counties.
For that year, the county paid Brooks County approximately $2,844,504, Cameron County $239,577, Jim Hogg County $357,264 and Starr County $1,440,984.
The per-month cost to Hidalgo County ranged between $316,062 at its lowest in 2019 and $473,676 at its highest.
The difference for 2019 and 2020 is about $1,258,423 with a marked increase in per-month cost between August and December of last year, with the monthly cost pushing near $700,000 in the last four months of the year.
The total cost for housing inmates out-of-county in 2020 was approximately $6,141,752.
Last year, the county paid Brooks County $4,521,140, Jim Hogg County $357,912 and Starr County $1,262,700.
The lowest per-month cost in 2020 was approximately $345,852 while the highest monthly cost sat at around $686,984.
In 2020, there were three months where the county expended more than $300,000 a month and more than $400,000 a month. There were two months where the monthly cost exceeded $500,000, and four months where the monthly cost was more than $600,000.
The increasing jail population and rising costs are exactly what Gonzalez, the local administrative judge, is referring to when talking about the need for two new district courts to meet the needs of a growing population.
“The inmate population is not going to decrease,” he said.
And it’s costly to incarcerate people.
Gonzalez said Tuesday that keeping 50 people in jail for an entire year costs $1 million.
“If you can support the creation of two district courts … those two courts could dispose of a minimum of 50 of those heads from the incarceration area of our government,” Gonzalez said, adding that he thought two new courts would dispose of more than 50 cases a year.
As for the cost of two new district courts, Gonzalez said during a March 11 Board of Judges meeting that it would be $750,000.
It’s not immediately clear when the commissioners will receive whatever information it is that they are seeking or when the matter will again be up for consideration.
