The Hockley County Commissioners’ Court met for their regular meeting on Monday to discuss numerous agenda items and hear presentations.
Hockley County Sheriff Wischkaemper reported about the recent jail inspection saying it was almost perfect. He gave credit to the staff for successfully passing the inspection.
Commissioners approved the request of the Hockley County Sheriff’s Office to transfer three AR15 rifles to the Cochran County Sheriff’s office for law enforcement purposes. The two offices have a mutual aid agreement and ensure Cochran County was properly supplied and would benefit both parties.
They also approved a proposal from TK elevators to replace the elevator at the Hockley County Law Enforcement Center through Omnia Partners.
Following those discussions, the court heard a presentation concerning the Hockley County Memorial Library’s participation in TSLAC’s ILL Lending Reimbursement Grant for 2026, which allows libraries to be reimbursed for supplies. The court approved the item as well as a $100 donation to the library from Keeling Insurance. Judge Sharla Baldridge asked if having kids at the Wallace drew more library traffic, to which the library director said yes.
In other business, commissioners heard a presentation by Kasey Davis from Ropes volunteer fire department requesting a budget expansion. Davis discussed expenses and the budgets of neighboring departments and asked to work with the court to get to a place where they were “not so far behind.”
Commissioners agreed the department is underfunded but deliberated about what would be the most appropriate course of action. Davis said a lump sum every year to use for calls and other needs would make sense, and said the department was willing to provide annual accounting of fund usage. Judge Baldridge mentioned previous problems with giving lump sums in the past.
During the discussion, Commissioner Wisdom asked if all calls are of equal value, to which Davis said yes. Commissioner Carter also mentioned that fire departments used to not respond to wrecks and so did not previously need money for that.
It was mentioned that the department has been trying to get grants and received a $300,000 grant to buy a new truck and had found a truck for $320,000, requesting that commissioners split the extra cost and pay $10,000. The court agreed to consider the request.
Commissioners received a technology report from a representative from CTSI about updates and replacements and discussed how the UPS (uninterruptible power supply) at the Sheriff ’s office was malfunctioning. Judge Baldridge also reported laptops had stalled a few times.
A question was put forward about an extension of the firewall at the DPS. The presenter suggested using Starlink, though the court was also considering Vexus. Several commissioners said they had Starlink, and it worked well.
Commissioners heard from the Sheriff ’s Office about funding. Wischkaemper said they were doing well on their budget. He also said they wanted to give raises to two sergeants promoted last year as well as two other employees who had not received one. They also discussed a raise for one employee who had been doing exceptionally well. Commissioner Graf asked if they could move things in the budget to accommodate raises. Judge Baldrige said the office needed court approval to change salaries.
Commissioners also discussed updating the doors and intercom system at the jail. It was noted that the project would need to be done on a bid basis. Judge Baldridge said to get information on the company and if it was a part of a COOP.
The court also discussed changing the “subpar” records management system at the Law Enforcement Center. Wischkaemper called a representative from the company. Commissioners asked questions about how the software worked and who had used it before.
Commissioners also noted that an agenda item should be made concerning Sheriff ’s Office vehicles when they are ready and agreed to put items on the agenda that previously discussed as needed.