The Hill County Commissioners Court met in a regular session Tuesday, August 13, and proposed elected officials’ salaries as the annual work of finalizing the county budget continues.
The proposed salaries reflect a 3.2% increase based on the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment and is the same increase proposed for other county employees this year.
During budget meetings held earlier this month, County Judge Justin Lewis said that he had requested that District Judge Lee Harris increase County Auditor Susan Swilling’s budget and bring her pay in line with the county judge’s pay. The district judge is responsible for setting the auditor’s salary, with the commissioners court observing and recording the decision.
Swilling recently came out of retirement and returned as auditor in an effort to correct issues in the office that had occurred since she retired. She told the court during budget hearings that she came back because she cares about the county and its future and not for the pay, and she was uncomfortable with the pay increase.
“We see what happens when we don’t have a good auditor,” Lewis told the court. “She’s worth every penny. We’re going to have to pay that to get someone else, so why would we pay you less and pay someone else more?”
During Tuesday’s meeting, Precinct 2 Commissioner Larry Crumpton questioned the substantial increase, but he said that he has nothing against Swilling and thinks she deserves it. Crumpton said that he wants to make it clear that the district court made that decision and not commissioners.
Lewis said that was true, but added that he personally was on record supporting the increase. “The district judge does that, I was supportive of that, and I think it’s necessary and proper,” he said.
He told the court that he has researched the pay of Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) in the area. “We are going to have to get our salaries where we can hire people,” he said. “You can’t get a CPA for what we’re paying Susan.”
The court approved the elected officials’ salaries, which were published as required last week, in a 4-1 vote with Commissioner Crumpton voting against the motion.
In other action at the meeting, the court approved an interlocal agreement between the City of Penelope and Precinct 3. Under the agreement, the county will perform work on Commerce Street near the school and seal coat it, with the city paying for materials, man hours and fuel.
Commissioners voted to keep fees charged for services provided by constables and the sheriff’s office the same as last year. The law requires each county commissioners court to annually notify the comptroller of any changes to these fees. Lewis said that officials reported that the current fees are in line with what neighboring counties are charging.
An amendment to the county’s tax abatement agreement with Midpoint Solar was approved to reflect a change in state law. When the agreement was approved, the court included language that addressed decommissioning of a project. Since that time, a state law has been put in place to establish penalties for solar companies that do not properly decommission a site.
The court also approved a final plat for the Rocky Ridge Subdivision, located west of Hillsboro.
The purchase of two servers for the Hill County jail’s camera system was also approved to replace servers that are at the end of their service life, and a lease agreement with Xerox was approved for a copy machine at the Hill County AgriLife Extension Office.
A burn ban was on the agenda for discussion, but Lewis said that conditions do not warrant a ban at this time. Commissioners will continue to monitor conditions ahead of future meetings.
In open forum, a resident of Chisholm Trail Retreat in Precinct 1 addressed the court about road conditions. He said that one road in the area is impassable, and other roads are damaging vehicles.
Commissioners ended the meeting with a brief budget workshop as they prepare to adopt a county budget at a meeting set for Tuesday, August 27.
