The Grayson County Sheriff's Office has a $500,000 state grant for the year ahead, aimed first at pay for the deputies who patrol county roads and the jailers who staff the county jail.
County commissioners on Monday received into their minutes the signed agreement with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts under the Rural Sheriff's Office Salary Assistance Program. County Judge Bruce Dawsey signed for the county on Aug. 12, and the comptroller's office gave final approval on Sept. 28, according to the agreement. It runs through Sept. 30, 2027.
Pay floors come first
The program was created by Senate Bill 22, passed by the Legislature in 2023 to help sheriff's offices in rural counties. Under the grant terms, the money must first be used to make sure the county pays at least:
- $75,000 a year to the sheriff
- $45,000 a year to each deputy whose routine duties include traffic stops
- $40,000 a year to each jailer responsible for inmates and jail security
Part-time and hourly workers in those jobs get an hourly equivalent of the same floors.
Once everyone in those jobs is at or above the minimum, the county may use the remaining money for further raises, to hire more deputies or other sheriff's office staff, or to buy vehicles, firearms and safety equipment. Vehicle leases qualify only if the county has the right to buy the vehicle and immediate possession of it.
The agreement does not say how many Grayson County employees currently earn less than those minimums, and the county's agenda item did not include a breakdown of how the money will be spent.
