Primary Department: County Administration
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Jesse Dickerman, Interim County Administrator
Secondary Department: N/A
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official: N/A
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Transmittal
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A - Not a grant item
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
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Transmittal by the Office of County Administration of an update regarding preparation for implementation of the Harris County Worksite Safety Policy.
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Background and Discussion:
On November 13, 2025, Commissioners Court approved the Harris County Construction Project Safety Policy, which included a revised Contractor Safety Record Policy and a new Worksite Safety Policy, to establish uniform standards for all County construction projects. As part of the process of preparing to implement the Worksite Safety Policy (“Policy”), the Office of County Administration (OCA) coordinated with the Office of the County Engineer (OCE), Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA), Flood Control District (FCD), Department of Economic Equity and Opportunity (DEEO), and Human Resources and Talent (HRT) regarding any applicable staffing request submissions required to ensure effective implementation by July 1, 2026 (as per the Policy).
OCE and FCD submitted staffing requests to be considered for Commissioners Court approval on the January 8, 2026, Commissioners Court meeting agenda under separate agenda items.
• OCE requests approval for 23 new positions for a total cost of $2,400,000, including eight (8) Safety Inspectors to provide coverage for OCE’s 150 active construction projects; two (2) Health and Safety Managers to manage inspectors (1:9 ratio) across geographically disperse construction sites; one (1) Data Analyst to monitor safety trends and violation patterns; and two (2) Administrative Assistants to support documentation, scheduling, and coordination requirements.
• FCD requests approval for 12 new positions for a total cost of $1,278,855.56, including nine (9) Safety Inspectors; one (1) Health and Safety Manager; one (1) Data Analyst; and one (1) Administrative Assistant that the department intends to cover through its existing budget this year and potential request additional funds for future fiscal years.
DEEO, which serves as the County Safety Monitor per Section 16.1 of the Policy, intends to request approval for additional staff for this role at the January 29, 2026, Commissioners Court meeting.
HCTRA, which is exempt from the hiring freeze and currently already staffs some these functional roles, intends to submit a staffing request for two (2) Safety Inspectors and one (1) Data Analyst at a later Commissioners Court date.
Expected Impact:
Approval of staffing requests will enable implementation of the Worksite Safety Policy, creating more transparency about and oversight of worker safety issues and foster an environment in which workers can communicate safety concerns.
Alternative Options:
Delay of approval of the staffing capacity requested (pending Commissioners Court’s decision regarding the appropriateness of each request) could delay implementation of the Worksite Safety Policy.
County Strategic Plan Goal: 3. Make our economy more inclusive.
County Strategic Plan Objective: L: Foster more living-wage jobs that ensure worker safety, benefits, and stability across all educational levels.
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): N/A
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): N/A
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): L2: Further expand and enforce contractor worker safety policy/standards.
Health Initiative (Goal 4): N/A
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): N/A
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): N/A
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan: N/A
Prior Court Action (if any):
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Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
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11/13/25 |
4 |
For approval of a Harris County Construction Project Safety Policy, which includes (1) a revised Contractor Safety Record Policy and (2) a Worksite Safety Policy. |
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10/16/25 |
543 |
To direct the Office of County Administration, in partnership with Engineering Department, Toll Road, Flood Control District, Department of Economic Equity and Opportunity, Purchasing Agent, County Attorney’s Office, and Court Offices, to return to Commissioners Court on November 13, 2025, with a countywide Worksite Safety Policy establishing uniform standards for all County construction projects. At a minimum, this policy shall: incorporate feedback from labor and industry stakeholders; be modeled after evidence-based best practices from peer counties, labor and other organizations; be designed to reduce worksite injuries and improve worker protection; establish clear safety, monitoring, and inspection standards; and include training and enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance. |
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1/9/25 |
299 |
To direct the Department of Equity and Economic Opportunity to form a working group with Purchasing, Engineering, County Attorney’s Office, Flood Control, the Toll Road Authority, and any other relevant departments and key stakeholders including labor and contractors to develop a set of policy revisions to the Contractor Safety Record Policy and return to Court with the proposed revisions by May 2025, and that the policy go through a biannual review. |
Location:
Address (if applicable): N/A
Precinct(s): Countywide
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Anticipated Court Date: 1/8/2026
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): Click or tap to enter a date.
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Jesse Dickerman, Interim County Administrator
Attachments (if applicable): N/A