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About Civil Service Commission

The mission of the Travis County Sheriff's Office Civil Service Commission is to promote a quality Office by establishing and enforcing rules and regulations that pertain to employee selection, advancement, benefits, rights and working conditions consistent with the Office’s needs and circumstances.

Commission Members

Carlos Garcia

Carlos Garcia

Commission Chairperson

Chairman Carlos Garcia is from Rio Grande City, Texas. He came to Austin in 1980 to attend The University of Texas at Austin. In 1989, he graduated from the University of Texas Law School. Chairman Garcia worked as felony prosecutor for Starr and Travis Counties in the early 1990’s before becoming a criminal defense attorney in 1995. Much of Chairman Garcia’s work has involved capital trial work and serious felony work. Chairman Garcia was appointed as Chair of the Civil Service by Sheriff Sally Hernandez in 2000. Chairman Garcia’s interests include participating as a course director/or presenter in continuing education programs for attorneys and as a religious education teacher at Santa Cruz Catholic Church. Chairman Garcia is married with four children and one grandchild.

Sylvia Hardman-Dingle

Sylvia Hardman-Dingle

Commissioner

Sylvia Hardman-Dingle is a retired attorney. She served as the General Counsel, Director of Legal Services, and Ethics Advisor for the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) from 2004 until her retirement in 2016. She served as the Deputy Commissioner for Legal Services, General Counsel and Ethics Advisor for the Texas Rehabilitation Commission (TRC) from 1998 to 2004. She also was a staff attorney in the Fraud Unit of the Texas Department of Insurance was an assistant attorney general in the Tax Division at the Office of the Attorney General. She graduated from the University of Michigan and received a J.D from the University of Texas School of Law. She has served on several volunteer boards and committees including the Citizen Review Panel, the City of Austin Ethics Review Commission, and the State Bar Grievance Committee.

Dan Richards

Dan Richards

Commissioner

Born in Dallas, Texas, Dan Richards moved to Austin as a child in 1969 and has lived here ever since. Dan and his wife Linda have been married for more than 25 years and have two grown children. Dan has been a practicing civil trial attorney since his graduation from the University of Texas Law School. He is a founding partner at the law firm of Richards Rodriguez & Skeith LLP and has represented clients throughout the state of Texas in both State and Federal court. Dan represents individuals, companies and governmental entities in court as both plaintiffs and defendants.

Dan is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the American Board of Trial Advocates, the Austin Bar Association and the Texas Bar Foundation. Dan takes his work seriously and tries to use his time to make Austin and Central Texas a better place to live. Dan believes strongly in the responsibility of government to help those less fortunate.

In Memoriam

Walter Timberlake

Walter Timberlake

Commissioner

Walter Timberlake was born and raised in Austin, Texas. He has served on the Civil Service Commission for since January 1998. Walter worked for the Texas Department of Health and Community Affairs for several years. After serving the State of Texas in various capacities for over 29 years, he has retired and dedicates his time working with several civic organizations.

TAX RATE: TRAVIS COUNTY ADOPTED A TAX RATE THAT WILL RAISE MORE TAXES FOR MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS THAN LAST YEAR’S TAX RATE. THE TAX RATE WILL EFFECTIVELY BE RAISED BY 3.5 PERCENT AND WILL RAISE TAXES FOR MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS ON A $100,000 HOME BY APPROXIMATELY $9.12.