BURNET — A $50,000 state grant is giving the Burnet County Sheriff's Office another tool in its arsenal to fight crime by adding an extra deputy to serve warrants.
An increase in population and a growing caseload means another deputy is needed to help with the warrants-bond division, officials said.
However, the grant is funded at 100 percent the first year, 80 percent the second year and 60 percent the third year, which means funding will have to come from other sources to maintain the position.
The grant came from the Criminal Justice Division of the Texas Governor's Office, Sheriff W.T. Smith said Sept. 26.
"It's a critical part of the Sheriff's Office," he said.
An increase by 30 percent in the county's population since 2000 means the additional deputy is needed for the warrant-bond division, which was created in 1996.
Since that time, only one deputy has staffed the office.
"All the bond and warrant information from the district clerk, county clerk and some justices of the peace is tracked through this (division)," Smith said.
The division collects all the warrant information and a deputy tries to locate the person named in the paperwork.
Often the address is out of date or wrong, Smith said.
"The address we get when the person is arrested usually isn't any good," Smith said. "So the deputies (in the warrant-bond) division begin going through databases and other information to locate the person."
Once the address is updated, the warrant is handed to a patrol deputy or deputies so they can pick up the person.
The division also tracks bond information from the Burnet County Jail. Smith said if an individual posts a cash bond, the division makes a record and monitors the case.
"After the case is adjudicated, if the person is entitled to getting the cash bond back, we have to return it and all that is tracked and handled through this office," Smith said. "It's a tremendous amount of work."
Burnet County Judge Donna Klaeger said county commissioners will review the grant after a year to decide whether to reapply when funds runs out.
Smith said deputies currently on the payroll can apply first, but the search could go outside the department.
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