Deputy constable to carry out duties as Watson recovers

With Jack County Constable Clyde Watson out of work for the foreseeable future, county commissioners added a part time deputy constable position to help process and serve cases through the constable’s office.

While Watson was out on medical leave following complications from surgery, elected officials and members of the courthouse staff came together for a word of prayer before commissioners court Monday, Aug. 4, asking for Watson’s healthy recovery and return. 

“If Clyde is out for an extended period of time we will continue to hold his position. He is the constable, duly elected by the people of Jack County, and we will continue to support him and his family,” Jack County Judge Keith Umphress said. “I have a gut feeling [he won’t be back] anytime soon.”

The workload was already backing up in the constable’s office before Watson was out, and the sheriff’s office has helped process new cases as they’ve come in. But Umphress said there was still a backlog of paperwork waiting to be served. And even if Watson were up and running at 100%, Umphress added, he would still need help to carry out the workload.

While the court may have agreed the county needed someone to fulfill the duties of the constable, commissioners disagreed as to whether that person should be supervised by the constable’s office or the sheriff’s department.

“What you would be doing is putting that responsibility back on the sheriff’s department. We tried to eliminate that responsibility, but we’ve always had to have a civil process deputy,” Umphress said. “There’s enough there to justify a person to do that work all the time, especially if you choose not to go with a deputy constable.”

The county will only have to find funding for the position through the end of the fiscal year (Sept. 30) because a part time position was already built into the constable’s office budget next fiscal year.

Umphress said Watson came to him previously, asking the judge to consider a part time position in the constable’s office to help with the growing caseload.

If the part time position is budgeted under the sheriff’s office, it could limit that department’s ability to hire full time officers.

“You’ve answered my question that the budget can handle that expense. Now my question is where will it be most effective,” Commissioner Henry Birdwell, Jr. said. 

Voting was originally tied, with Umphress and Commissioner Terry Ward electing to hire a deputy constable and Birdwell and Commissioner Gary Oliver voting against the measure. Commissioner Amy Salazar was not present to break the tie and commissioners weren’t eager to put the item back on the agenda for a future meeting.

But before adjourning the meeting, Birdwell made a motion to reconsider hiring a deputy constable and all but Oliver agreed to further discussions.

“I thought we would be able to fund that out of the sheriff’s office. There was some consideration and concern for salaries and I’ve changed my thought process on that,” Birdwell said. “If the sheriff's office isn't going to be able to hire that position without causing some conflict or concern, I think we need to move forward with putting it under the constable’s office.”

The measure passed a second round of voting, with Oliver still voting against it. County reserves will fund the part time deputy constable position through the end of the fiscal year.

“What you’re doing today is only funding it until Oct. 1,” Umphress said. “The only way you can fund it past Oct. 1 is to leave it built into your budget.”

Umphress said the court will have about 30 days to decide whether to fund the position for the next fiscal year.

Recommended for the position was former Jack County Deputy David VanderKaay. VanderKaay retired from the sheriff’s office in May where he was trained as a process server.