“This program, which was implemented before I came into office, was designed to alleviate overcrowding in the jail,” said County Judge Mark Barr. “With the completion of our new 96-bed jail, the need for a full-time position in that office just isn't there anymore. So the commissioners and I voted to shift that position over to the sheriff's office.

“Mike Welling, who has headed up that office since it was created, will have his position shifted over so he can take care of the pre-trial bonding, but he can also serve papers for the HCSO.”

Howard County developed and implemented the pre-trial bonding program in June 2006, shortly after the county came under fire by the Texas Jail Commission for overcrowding and failure to meet state requirements. The program was lauded as a success by some county officials.

“It did what we needed it to do, and that keep the head count in the jail as low as possible,” said Barr. “So I feel like it was certainly a success.”

Barr said the change in the position doesn't mean he and the commissioner's court plan to nix the program altogether.

“We'll continue to handle pre-trial bonding in-house, so it's not like we're getting rid of the program,” said Barr. “We haven't abandoned the program. However, now that we're working within the guidelines of the state jail commission and we have the room, the need for the position to be full-time just isn't there.”

Also during Monday's meeting, the court decided to accept bids for mechanical work on county buildings.

“We're in a position where we need to add the new jail to our mechanical services, which is currently handled by Anthony Mechanical out of Lubbock and Midland,” said Barr. “And since our current contract is up in June, we felt it was best to go ahead and go out for bids on the work.”

Barr said the contract would cover work on systems such as heating and cooling on county buildings, including the county courthouse, library and new county jail, with a major emphasis placed on the utility costs of the 96-bed facility.

“We're really going to have to watch the utility costs at the jail until we have a better idea what to expect,” said Barr.

Contact Staff Writer Thomas Jenkins at 263-7331 ext. 232 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it