Primary Department: Probate Courts
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: James Horwitz
Secondary Department: Choose an item.
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official:
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Financial Authorization
Project ID (if applicable):
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable):
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable):
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable):
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable):
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): Choose an item.
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
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.
end
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 impact will be on the Judicial Maintenance Fund also known as the Probate Court Support Fund - 2161.
Alternative Options:
County Strategic Plan Goal: N/A
County Strategic Plan Objective: N/A
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): Choose an item.
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): Choose an item.
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): Choose an item.
Health Initiative (Goal 4): Choose an item.
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): Choose an item.
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): Choose an item.
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan:
Prior Court Action (if any):
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Location:
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Precinct(s): Choose an item.
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Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
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Current Fiscal Year Cost |
Annual Fiscal Cost |
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Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
Recurring Expenses |
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Funding Sources |
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Existing Budget |
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Other |
$ 72,300.15 |
$ |
$ 72,300.15 |
$ |
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$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Existing Budget |
$ 72,300.15 |
$ |
$ 72,300.15 |
$ |
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Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
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Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Additional Budget Request |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Funding Sources |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Grants - Proposed Budget (For Grants Items only) |
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Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
No. of Grant Years |
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Local Match Source - Existing Budget: Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Local Match Source - Additional Budget Request: Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Grant Funds Applied for/Awarded (Total) |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new PCNs) |
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Current Position Count for Service |
- |
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Additional Positions Request |
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Total Personnel |
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Anticipated Court Date: 11/13/2025
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): 11/15/2025
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or COVID-19 related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Jose Martinez, Court Manager, Probate Court 4
Attachments (if applicable):