The Hill County Commissioners Court met Tuesday, July 22, to address regular county business in between budget hearings that were held last week.
In open forum, Denise Zamora of Whitney spoke to the court about the need to address dumped and stray animals in the county. She said that she no longer supports using taxpayer money for a shelter in Whitney and wants to encourage a public/private partnership to address the issue. She offered her experience as the founder of an animal rescue and from her experience in biohazard cleanup to address health and safety risks.
Amy Teal of Whitney spoke to the court about the county’s budget discussions for the second time after first approaching the podium during the previous day’s budget workshop. Teal said that she fights for lower taxes locally and around the state and is hoping the effort to eliminate property taxes is successful. In the meantime, she asked every taxing entity to establish a bare bones budget and lower taxes as much as possible. She also agreed with Zamora that animal control is a big issue and said that a county-wide animal advisory board would be a good idea.
Commissioners discussed the county’s purchasing and debarment policies passed by the court last December that require purchases of over $5,000 to come before commissioners for approval.
Precinct 4 Commissioner Martin Lake said that the policy is confusing and he thinks it needs to be eliminated. Lake questioned, for instance, if employees would have to stay in a building after an HVAC system went out while there is a delay in approving funds.
County Judge Shane Brassell said that quite a few grants hinge on the policy. “I think that might take some more discussion and maybe a workshop before we get rid of it altogether,” the judge said. “I believe it’s modifiable, but I don’t think we need to just scrap it.”
County Auditor Susan Swilling said that there have been questions about the policy, and Brassell said that he agreed it is not well understood. The issue was tabled and is expected to be discussed in a future workshop.
In accordance with the policy, Sheriff Hunter Barnes updated the court on several purchases of over $5,000 that were previously approved by commissioners with funds allocated for security equipment at the sheriff’s office.
Barnes said that some of the larger expenses included 24 patrol-grade rifles and 12 SWAT rifles that have been needed for decades and will serve the office for many years, a 64-gun safe to protect the department’s investment in rifles and bulletproof vests. A property room audit was also performed to assess the current state of the evidence room and its contents.
Commissioners voted to participate in a new national opioid settlement with multiple opioid distributors. Multiple opioid manufacturers are required to pay a total of about $720 million under the agreement to participating political subdivisions. The funds will be used to remediate and abate the impacts of the country’s opioid crisis.
The court renewed the county’s interlocal agreement with the Regional Public Defender Office. The program provides attorneys for individuals charged with capital murder in potential death penalty cases when they cannot afford their own attorney. Because the cost of death penalty cases can cost more than $1 million, the county’s participation at a cost of $12,395 annually ensures a public defender will be provided if needed.
The annual mutual aid agreement with Hillsboro Independent School District was renewed to allow the district to use the Hill County Exhibits Building as an evacuation area for students in the event of an emergency.
There were no public comments during a hearing on the proposed cancellation of the M. Mata Subdivision near Mount Calm. County Attorney David Holmes said that the county received a request from a surveyor to cancel a portion of a county road on the books that does not actually exist and is located in the middle of a pasture.
After investigating the issue with the county clerk, Holmes said that the plat for a subdivision in the area was filed in 1896. To clean up the issue, the court voted to cancel the subdivision.
In other property matters, the court approved minor plats for properties on HCR 2302 and HCR 2114. A preliminary plat was also approved for the Smith Addition on HCR 1424.
Commissioners voted on other routine matters before resuming budget hearings. See accompanying story for more information about budget discussions.
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