The Hill County Commissioners Court met in a regular session Tuesday, August 6, to consider routine county business prior to beginning budget hearings with county officials.
The court approved opening a non-interest bearing account with Wells Fargo and Midpoint Solar as part of the road usage agreement between the county and solar company. The account will contain funds the county requires the company to set aside to cover any damages it causes to county roads.
Commissioners also approved a new per diem form with a non-attendance clause. The change will require that county employees who are given meal funds for job-related travel pay the county back if they end up not attending the event.
The court approved a three-year agreement with Filebound, a cloud-based document management system that will replace the county’s previous program, OnBase. The system is expected to reduce the need for additional storage space in the future as documents that do not have to be physically retained are stored digitally.
The county has moved away from OnBase due to the cost and unnecessary features. County Judge Justin Lewis said that the Filebound program can be purchased for one-sixth of the cost of OnBase.
The court also renewed the county’s agreement with Google for Government for another three years at an annual cost of $35,640. The system manages the county’s email and other online services with enhanced security features for government offices and includes 275 licenses.
An interlocal agreement was approved with the City of Malone that will allow the county to mow two steep ditches along Hackberry and Evergreen streets with the city covering the costs of manpower and fuel.
A minor plat for a small division of property at 1418 HCR 4235 in Hillsboro was approved. Commissioners also approved a final plat for the Mayspring Mount Calm Subdivision just outside of Mount Calm.
Commissioners voted to use a jury pool to appoint members of the county’s salary grievance committee. Counties have the option of appointing elected officials to the committee or utilizing the jury list to form a committee.
In other general business, a slightly amended county holiday schedule for 2025 was approved after a typographical error was corrected, Tax Assessor-Collector Krissi Hightower was designated as the individual to calculate tax rate information in accordance with Texas Tax Code, and Auditor Susan Swilling was appointed to prepare Chapter 59 reports regarding seized property.
The annual agreement between the county and Community Supervisions and Corrections Department was approved outlining the responsibilities of each party, and the Hill County CPS Board treasurer’s report was observed and recorded.
There was discussion during the meeting about the county’s request for FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) assistance related to spring flooding. Emergency management officials reported that the request for public assistance was denied, with only displaced individuals eligible for assistance in Hill County.
Lewis reported at the end of last week that he had filed an appeal and was contacting legislators about the issue.
See accompanying story in this edition for information about county budget hearings that followed the regular meeting.
The Lakelander 