Primary Department: Probate Courts
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: James Horwitz
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Secondary Department Head/Elected Official:
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Financial Authorization
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Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
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Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
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Request by Probate Court No. 4 for approval of a one-time lump sum salary supplement in lieu of payments over 26 pay periods from the Harris County Probate Court Support Fund - 2161 for staff effective November 15, 2025 for pay date December 5, 2025.
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Background and Discussion:
These salary supplements are designed to serve as an incentive to retain and motivate highly qualified court staff, encouraging continued high performance. These incentives are especially critical given the ongoing challenges our court staff has faced-and continue to face-due to the increased caseload in a highly populated county, continued maintenance in long-term and ongoing probate and guardianship proceedings, and the general cost of living, year to year.
The National Center for State Courts recommends that there be one Probate Court for every 500,000 residents. In Harris County, we have one Probate Court for every 900,000 residents. The only way we can continue to sustain our current level of service is to retain qualified and experienced court staff.
Additionally, these supplements have traditionally been provided as a one-time lump sum rather than distributed over time, which offers an added incentive for our valued court staff.
Expected Impact:
There will be no fiscal impact on the current general fund budget. Fiscal ...
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