County Clerk substation closes in Dripping Springs

The Hays County Clerk substations in Wimberley and Dripping Springs have been closed, and they may not reopen. The substation in Kyle has also been closed, but there are plans for it to reopen in the future.

The Dripping Springs substation is located at 195 Roger Hanks Park way in the Hays Precinct 4 offices.

This does not impact Hays County Tax Assessor-Collector, Constables, Justices of the Peace and Commissioners’ offices, which remain open at the same substation locations.

“Wimberley and Dripping Springs services have been underutilized,” Hays County Clerk Elaine Cardenas said. “Closing those offices has had no impact on operations. We are re-evaluating the need to have offices in those locations. The Kyle substation—the first to open and the substation located in the fastest growing area of the county—has a steady demand for services. Our plans call for increasing staff in that location when we can.”

Cardenas has also stated that the closures are due to staffing issues.

“The County Clerk’s Office first encountered hiring problems in early 2021, when there were very few applicants for one position over many months and several of those declined to discuss the job when they learned how low the pay was,” Hays County Clerk Elaine Cardenas said. “Staffing issues have escalated since then and have become serious since March of this year. In the past six to eight weeks, seven staff members have resigned. Of those, five left for higher pay... Nine applicants have rejected job offers during that period due to the low pay. The resulting staff vacancies have significantly affected operations.”

The County Clerk issues documents such as marriage licenses and birth and death certificates, as well as recording and maintenance of all Commissioners Court minutes, Official Public Records and County Court Records.

The main County Clerk’s Office remains open at the Hays County Government Center in San Marcos.