CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Nueces County leaders have finalized their budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which is coming in at $147 million.
One hiccup came when the Nueces County District Attorney Jimmy Granberry stepped up Wednesday to make sure money for his department was being used correctly.
“There had been an agreement between my predecessors to somehow allow the county to take $320,000 out of that pre-trial diversion account,” said Granberry, referring to a new account he discovered a few days ago.
The pre-trial diversion account is a funding source that has tight limitations and can only be used for that specific program. Granberry said it's designed to help certain people who end up in the courts system avoid prosecution.
“It cannot go into our general budget," he said. "I cannot just use it to buy office equipment or pay lawyers.”
Granberry said that was the primary reason he went before commissioners Wednesday.
“They had identified 5 or 6 positions that they asked the county to pay for out of the general fund and then they would use this money at the end of the year to reimburse them if they had any,” he said.
Nueces County Pct. 4 Commissioner Brent Chesney said that, while he understands the importance of using the funds properly, the situation negatively “had a net effect on the budget, for now."
Chesney said that millions had already been cut from the budget before he realized the problem.
“That one hit us pretty hard because I didn't know about it, and I didn't really have a plan for it,” he said.
Chensey said that a solution was found when commissioners decided to put the money in a contingency fund under Granberry's department, meaning he has total control over the $320,000 fund balance.