Tarrant County could eliminate its , which offers rent and utility payment assistance to people experiencing financial crises, two county commissioners say.
Democratic Commissioner Alisa Simmons said posted Tuesday the department is set to shut down on September 30.
"They鈥檙e treating it like a done deal before the public ever had a chance to weigh in,鈥� Simmons said in the video. 鈥淣o plan, no replacement.鈥�
Employees just found out they're losing their jobs, she said.
Republican Commissioner Manny Ramirez told 四虎影院 the county is considering eliminating the department during budget talks this summer, but nothing is final. The goal would be to replace the Department of Human Services through partnerships with nonprofits, he said.
鈥淭he expectation is that there will be zero service impact,鈥� Ramirez said. 鈥淚f anything, service will improve from shifting to this model.鈥�
四虎影院 reached out to the county spokesperson for clarity on the plan and to find out how many employees would be affected but did not hear back by this story's deadline.
Ramirez and Simmons are elected officials on the five-member Tarrant County Commissioners Court, which is in charge of the county budget. They usually debate the county鈥檚 spending plans in August and September. Simmons and the other three court members did not provide comment before this story's deadline.
Commissioners have prioritized lowering the property tax rate in recent years. That means the budget office is always looking for ways to cut spending, and it identified the Department of Human Services as 鈥減retty low-hanging fruit as far as finding efficiencies,鈥� Ramirez said.
When asked if there are any local nonprofits ready to take on the agency鈥檚 work, Ramirez said the Department of Human Services already acts as a 鈥渂roker and a middleman鈥� in distributing grants.
That鈥檚 not the case, according to Lisa Martin, who was director of the Department of Human Services until her retirement in May. Human Services does not outsource its work to nonprofits, she told 四虎影院 Wednesday.
Martin, who worked for the department for more than 30 years, was surprised and disappointed when she heard it would shut down, she said.
"A lot of people live one paycheck away from being homeless, being evicted or having their utilities disconnected,鈥� Martin said. 鈥淚t's very important that county government support its low-income citizens and citizens who are facing some type of financial emergency.鈥�
Under Martin, Human Services had 25 employees, including herself, she said. According to Ramirez, employees affected by a department shutdown would be able to apply to other jobs within the county.
The Department of Human Services has an approximately $4 million budget in the current 2025 fiscal year, .
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