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- Thu Apr 16, 2009 8:16 am
- Forum: The "Waiting Room"
- Topic: Harris County Applicants
- Replies: 247
- Views: 41730
Re: Harris County Applicants
I also thought that it was ironic that Mr. English used the words "because of to the tight economic situation" right after he told me he was going to spend $100 Million of our tax dollars for the DPS on everything except what I was complaining about.
- Thu Apr 16, 2009 8:10 am
- Forum: The "Waiting Room"
- Topic: Harris County Applicants
- Replies: 247
- Views: 41730
Re: Harris County Applicants
From the conversations that I've had with DPS and my District Representative, Harris County has one DPS officer performing background checks. This lone officer was pulled from performing said checks after Ike and his BC duty position was left vacant creating the huge backlog. He is now back at his desk and doing BC's. My complaint to this and I've sent letters to Sen. Dan Pattrick and my District Rep. Debbie Riddle asking how we can have only one person doing our checks. For the last two years Harris County alone averages 15.5% of Texas' applications or around 13,500 applicants per year. Even if every application was only a renewal, the state would receive $70 per application. This means that at a MINIMUM Texas DPS receives $922,200 from Harris County. If half of the applicants are new then they receive $1.4 Million from Harris County applicants alone each year.
To make things worse, this is part of a reply that I received from her office.
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.......
As the chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Rep. Riddle just this week completed a round of recommendations and funding that would do the following:
1) Appropriates nearly $80 million to DPS to restructure the driver's license division and information technology architecture throughout the department to improve efficiency and
2) Appropriated $20 million for the purchase of 450 additional vehicles for DPS, which makes the entire department vastly more efficient and decreases need for overtime and reduces turnover.
We are also currently considering DPS payraises, which will help decrease turnover.
Now, because of the tight economic situation, we were not able to fund specific strategies that benefitted CHL programs and only CHL programs, because we had to consider the largest bang-for-the-buck available. However, by increasing the efficiency of the entire department, limiting turnover, helping DPS recruitment new troopers, adopting mainstream business practices, and employing civilians to do paperwork jobs, the theory is the CHL divisions will also become more efficient because DPS will be able to focus more of the freed-up resources towards neglected areas like CHLs.
......
Sincerely,
Jon English
Chief of Staff
State Representative Debbie Riddle
phone: (512)-463-0572
fax: (512-463-1908
P.O. Box 2910
Austin, TX 78768-2910
jon.english@house.state.tx.us
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Basically, he is telling me that even though the CHL fees taken from us could easily pay for more BC personnel, we will get none of the $100 MILLION dollar pie.
To make things worse, this is part of a reply that I received from her office.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
.......
As the chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Rep. Riddle just this week completed a round of recommendations and funding that would do the following:
1) Appropriates nearly $80 million to DPS to restructure the driver's license division and information technology architecture throughout the department to improve efficiency and
2) Appropriated $20 million for the purchase of 450 additional vehicles for DPS, which makes the entire department vastly more efficient and decreases need for overtime and reduces turnover.
We are also currently considering DPS payraises, which will help decrease turnover.
Now, because of the tight economic situation, we were not able to fund specific strategies that benefitted CHL programs and only CHL programs, because we had to consider the largest bang-for-the-buck available. However, by increasing the efficiency of the entire department, limiting turnover, helping DPS recruitment new troopers, adopting mainstream business practices, and employing civilians to do paperwork jobs, the theory is the CHL divisions will also become more efficient because DPS will be able to focus more of the freed-up resources towards neglected areas like CHLs.
......
Sincerely,
Jon English
Chief of Staff
State Representative Debbie Riddle
phone: (512)-463-0572
fax: (512-463-1908
P.O. Box 2910
Austin, TX 78768-2910
jon.english@house.state.tx.us
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Basically, he is telling me that even though the CHL fees taken from us could easily pay for more BC personnel, we will get none of the $100 MILLION dollar pie.