Today, Fort Bend County Judge KP George held a press conference where he discussed the recently approved Fort Bend County FY2023 Budget, highlighting the importance of allocating funds dedicated to the fair and equitable pay for public safety employees, which include the District Attorney’s Office, Sheriffs and Constables, Emergency Medical Services, Fire Marshal, and Office of Emergency Management.

Joined by Fort Bend Sheriff’s Office Assistant Chief Deputy Manuel Zamora, Fort Bend DA Brian Middleton, Fort Bend EMS Chief Brian Petrilla, Fort Bend County Fire Marshal/Office of Emergency Management Coordinator Mark Flathouse, Human Resources Director Nicole Ledet, and Director of Finance, Investments, and Budget Pamela Gubbels, Judge George emphasized that the new budget would help the county maintain competitiveness with the external market to attract and retain employees, specifically in county’s public safety sector.

“Fort Bend County continues to grow. Today’s updated and unofficial census numbers show that we are at 882,577 people in Fort Bend County; we will have a million people in a few years,” stated Judge KP George. “We need to have more law enforcement officers due to this tremendous growth, we need to have the proper resources to provide what these agencies need.”

Fort Bend County Sheriff, Assistant Chief Deputy Manuel Zamora emphasized that offering a competitive compensation package will help increase recruitment efforts in the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s office, while also retaining personnel.

“This is a good day in Fort Bend County, not just for public safety personnel, but also for the citizens in our communities. It’s a good day because Commissioner’s Court spoke loud and clear yesterday,” said, Chief Deputy Zamora. “ The Sheriff’s Office had historically been challenged in getting competitive pay and benefits to personnel. As a result, we had vacancies; we are hoping that now that the pay is competitive, we can attract the best and the brightest.”

Judge George concluded the press conference with an emphasis that the comprehensive classification and compensation study leaves Fort Bend County citizens in a better position and allows the County to prioritize public safety and fund it accordingly.

You can find a full copy of the approved budget (when posted) on the Fort Bend County Budget Office website.