The Hill County Commissioners Court met in a regular session Tuesday, August 12, and heard additional requests as the county’s budget work for fiscal year 2026 continues.
Indigent Health Care Coordinator April Cook approached the court about increasing income guidelines for the indigent health care program. Currently, Hill County operates at the state-required scale of 21% of the federal poverty guidelines. Cook is asking to raise that number to 50% to assist residents who may lose Medicaid coverage under new federal legislation.
The indigent care program assists extremely low-income residents with basic medical services. Currently, a household of one person can only make $274 per month to qualify for the program, with their eligibility reassessed every 90 days.
With the change Cook requested, that income ceiling would increase to $652 for a household of one, which would allow those who have some form of income or assistance to qualify.
Cook previously asked that the indigent health care budget be increased by $155,000 to $275,000 for the coming fiscal year to accommodate an increase in residents seeking assistance and relieve some of the expected burden on the local hospital.
County Judge Shane Brassell said that the numbers were political speculation at this point, which gave him pause. No court order had been prepared for the meeting, and the issue was tabled to be discussed further in a future budget meeting.
The court was approached by the Hill County Fair board about sharing the cost of restroom renovations at the fairgrounds. Livestock Superintendent Stephen Denard told the court that restrooms near the show ring need to be torn down and rebuilt. The fair board has been considering the project for the past couple of years, and with prices continuing to increase, he said that the project would not be feasible if not initiated soon.
The fair board is expected to contribute $30,000 to the project and is asking the county to consider contributing the remaining $34,000.
The project will also create a small storage space that is needed at the site.
The court was open to the idea, but action was tabled to allow a memorandum of understanding to be drafted.
Commissioners scheduled a public hearing on the installation of a yield sign at HCR 3100 and Stadium Drive in Hillsboro for Tuesday, September 23, during the court’s regular meeting.
Action on a road use agreement between the county and Hillsboro Solar I and II was tabled to ensure that the document lays out the requirement that the company put money in escrow to protect county roads used to access the project.
The court voted to appoint a salary grievance committee comprised of county officials and members of the public. If a grievance is filed, members of the public would be selected from grand jury pool members.
Commissioners will hold their next regular meeting Tuesday, August 26, at 8:30 a.m. in the county courtroom of the Hill County Courthouse.
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