The Hill County Commissioners Court discussed upcoming budget amendments that will be needed to address issues that the new administration has discovered at the sheriff’s office during a meeting held Tuesday, January 28.
One issue Sheriff Hunter Barnes presented to the court involved a past-due bill for Leads Online, a law enforcement database subscription that the sheriff’s office uses to conduct criminal investigations. Barnes said that property-related crimes make up the bulk of criminal offenses in Hill County, and the database provides important information that investigators have used to solve cases for over a decade.
Barnes reported that in his first week on the job, he discovered that the previous administration had a bill for the service that was months overdue, and there did not appear to be a plan in place to pay for it. The sheriff said that the cost is $3,016, and no current funding is available for the bill.
“The bill has been overdue for some months, and it appears that there were 80,000-plus unread emails on an account over there where this was sent,” County Judge Justin Lewis told the court. Lewis said that he instructed the sheriff to pay the bill, but a budget amendment will be needed to address the issue. “I can’t have law enforcement not have the tools they need to do their job,” he said.
Barnes also reported that the sheriff’s office software budget was set at $5,000 for fiscal year 2025, which does not cover the large amount of necessary software that law enforcement relies on for its regular operations.
The sheriff said that before he took office, the office appeared to have spent $18,000 from the software budget — even though the department had budgeted $5,000 for software — with AXON for products, subscriptions and training.
“The 364% overdraw will drastically increase in the near future, once all expenditures are applied and reported,” Barnes wrote in his request. “These orders for equipment with AXON were made prior to me taking office.”
Lewis said that the bill for AXON body camera storage was going up annually, and the new administration has discovered that videos that did not need to be retained were being stored indefinitely. The judge said that the AXON bill for fiscal year 2023 was $6,192, but it had jumped to $18,016 by fiscal year 2024.
The sheriff said that his staff is working to clean up that system and eliminate videos that do not need to be retained. For instance, when a weapon is taken out of a holster, the body camera is triggered. These and other non-essential videos need to be tagged for deletion.
Barnes wrote in his report that his only option going forward is to bring the issues his administration is discovering to the commissioners court each time they arise.
Lewis told the court that he would have a budget amendment to present at a future meeting, but he wanted to make commissioners aware of the issue. “I want to make it very clear that the current sheriff and his staff, they’re not causing this problem,” said Lewis. “They’re working with us; we’re going to work with them.”
For example, Lewis said that in the last pay period, overtime at the jail came to .08 hours. Previously, it was over 200 hours per pay period.
“We have a contingency line,” Lewis said. “They’ve been very, very tight with the money. They’re applying for grants. We’re working with them, and we will bring back a budget amendment to fix several of these problems at once.”
Commissioners made appointments to the Emergency Services District (ESD) 1 and 2 boards of commissioners. Jimmy Johnson, Greg Brown and David Hasselbrock were appointed to the ESD 1 board, and Bob Stahl and Tad Duncan were appointed to serve ESD 2.
Commissioners reviewed a report from McKinstry breaking down the savings the county has realized in the third and fourth years of the energy contract the county entered into with the company in 2019. The goal was to improve energy efficiency at the courthouse and jail to save taxpayers money.
McKinstry recommended multiple projects, such as addressing longstanding problems with the buildings, replacing HVAC systems, adding water control devices to the jail and installing LED lighting. The company projected that the county would save $50,412 on annual energy costs, and they were required to pay the county if they did not meet that goal.
In year three of the contract, the projected savings was exceeded by $3,397. In year four, the county exceeded the projected savings by $10,532. County Judge Justin Lewis said that the numbers get better each year — a trend that should continue with the recent replacement of the courthouse chillers that were outdated and struggling to keep up with the summer heat.
The court approved an amendment to the county’s tax abatement agreement with Gransolar Texas Ten that extends the project completion date. The solar project is experiencing delays with ERCOT and requested that the date of completion be changed to December 31, 2027. The court approved the change, with Precinct 1 Commissioner Jim Holcomb voting against the motion.
A county grant administration policy was approved, adding a requirement that department heads and officials seeking grant funds present the numbers to the county auditor. The auditor will determine whether the administrative costs on the county’s end make seeking the grant worthwhile and forward her recommendation to the commissioners court.
A revised version of the county’s new culvert-setting policy was approved, including the application for property owners installing driveway culverts and a check-off form for commissioners to ensure the culvert meets the county’s standards. The goal of the policy is to prevent water damage to county roads from clogged culverts.
The court approved an adjustment in employee hours for Hill County Emergency Management, allowing a part-time employee to move to 30 hours with no salary adjustment. No additional funds were necessary, as the department has funds in its budget for the change.
Another in-budget expenditure was approved for Hill County Emergency Management in keeping with the county’s new spending policy that requires purchases over $5,000 to go before the court. The department needs to replace a VHF antenna that was struck by lightning at a cost of $8,100. Funds designated for radio system maintenance will be used for the purchase.
Commissioners approved an engagement letter with Haley & Olson law firm for condemnation proceedings. Lewis said that the county had an agreement to buy a dilapidated and unoccupied house behind the Covington Street annex, but the seller was found not to have actually owned the home and the process has become complicated.
“I’ve not asked this body to do this all the years I’ve been here, and I do not do it lightly, because I believe this is an exercise of authority that needs to be limited in scope, time and place,” said Lewis. “In these circumstances, if we’re ever going to correct title with that property, this is about the only way to do it.”
In other action, the court approved a final plat for the Puttrich Addition, which includes two lots in the Aquilla area; approved a credit application for JAG Metals allowing Precinct 1 to purchase bridge construction materials from the Cleburne business; and appointed over 70 members of the Hill County Historical Commission.
The court’s next regular meeting date is Tuesday, February 11, at 8:30 a.m. in the Hill County courtroom of the courthouse.
The Lakelander 