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Bexar County commissioners have started to work on the nearly $3 billion county budget for this coming fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1.
Around half of the budget is for county operations and maintenance, and more than half of that spending goes to law enforcement, the jail, and the courts.
The budget for the coming fiscal year calls for 70 additional deputies to staff the South Tower of the Bexar County Adult Detention Center and up to $15 million to pay for overtime to staff the crowded facility, often housing around 5,000 inmates.
There's also $4.5 million for out-of-county inmate detention costs. Some inmates are now housed in Burnet and Kerr counties because of the crowded county jail.
Also, 22 new patrol deputies are included in the proposed budget to help patrol the ever growing residential subdivisions on the outskirts of San Antonio. More than half a million residents live in unincorporated areas of the county.
Sheriff Javier Salazar said while the county cannot match the City of San Antonio's density of patrol officers, added patrols are necessary in outlying areas because he said there has been a displacement of crime out of the city and into the county.
"Criminals are going to go where the cops are not," he explained to commissioners.
County Judge Peter Sakai backs a proposal to add one dedicated deputy constable to each of the four county constable precincts next year, assigned solely to rounding up those who don't pay traffic fines.
"I think the rule of law requires is that if you don't show up in court and you've been given adequate notice, you face the possibility that you may be picked up and brought to court," he added.
Sakai said he wants those proposed deputy constables to use their best judgment before taking someone into custody for an outstanding ticket, including consideration of a person's ability to pay.
Also proposed in the budget are three new officers for the sheriff's missing persons section and two new deputies who solely focus on DWI arrests.
There' s also funding for four additional uniformed deputies to work at the department's training academy.
