A day after many opened boxes filled with holiday presents, Denton County workers were packing boxes to move.

Wednesday, workers began moving boxes, furniture and other essentials from their current offices to the completed Steven Copeland Government Center in Cross Roads, which is expected to open next month.

DRC/Al Key

The Steven Copeland Government Center on FM 424 in Cross Roads is scheduled to open to the public in January. The moving process began recently.

Precinct 1 County Commissioner Cynthia White said the move will put her closer to her constituents, and it will decentralize the county’s government to allow for better access to the public.

County Tax Assessor/Collector Steve Mossman agreed.

“The area is exploding,” Mossman said. “I like the idea of meeting the needs of the people. I am excited to see it open.”

Mossman said the tax office in the new building would not be functional until late January because of a delay in state equipment for motor vehicle registration. Once that equipment arrives, county residents will be able to pay county taxes, register their vehicles and get new license plates.

However, Precinct 5 Constable Ken Jannereth said his office will struggle to operate the new location at the same time as its Sanger office, and he might resort to staffing the new office on certain days of the week.

“We are not upset about operating two offices,” Jannereth said. “But we will certainly need some more staffing. We will operate that office two or three days a week.”

Jannereth’s staff of seven cannot efficiently run both offices, he said, and during the county’s budget session, he did not receive any additional employees.

To properly staff both offices, Jannereth said he would need at least two more deputies and another clerk.

“Because of the population boom, the workload has increased,” he said.

“So it will take us a while to staff it.”

The county provided for 24 new full- and part-time employees to staff the center, including three patrol deputies and three communications officers in the sheriff’s office.

Once he does staff it, Jannereth said the new center would be a benefit for the residents.

“It will be a great facility to work from,” he said. “It will take a while to get adjusted to it.”

DAN X. McGRAW can be reached at 940-566-6875. His e-mail address is dmcgraw@dentonrc.com.

MOVING IN

The Steven Copeland Government Center, 1400 FM424, is named after a Pilot Point man who worked for the county’s road and bridge crew. He died on July 16, 2006, from a brain tumor. Earlier this year, Commissioner Cynthia White named the building in his honor.

Opening date: Most of the offices will be open by Jan. 6, but the tax assessor/collector’s office won’t be open until Jan. 22.

Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday

Who’s going to be there: Precinct 1 county commissioner, tax assessor/collector, county clerk, Precinct 5 justice of the peace, Precinct 5 constable, adult probation and sheriff’s office