The Hill County Commissioners Court increased the county’s indigent healthcare poverty guidelines during a meeting held Tuesday, August 19.
Indigent Healthcare Coordinator April Cook recently asked the court to increase income guidelines for the program, which assists extremely low-income residents with basic medical care if they do not qualify for other state or federal assistance programs.
Hill County has been operating at the state-required scale of 21% of the federal poverty guidelines, but Cook asked to raise that number to 50% to assist residents who may lose Medicaid coverage under new federal legislation.
The change would mean that a household of one person could qualify if they made $652 per month. Previously, the limit was $274 per month.
County Judge Shane Brassell recommended approval, saying that the increase would not impact the budget. Counties must spend 8% of their general revenue tax levy on indigent healthcare, so the money would be designated for indigent healthcare whether it was budgeted for the increase or not.
“If there are people we can help, I don’t think we’re being unwise with these funds,” the judge said.
Commissioners discussed road and bridge job descriptions. Treasurer Rachel Parker said that Precinct 2 Commissioner Larry Crumpton was seeking a promotion for a foreman with specialized skills who supervises chip-sealing operations in multiple precincts. Parker said that if a new job title is created, the court would need to create a job description.
The court discussed whether a stipend would be more appropriate than a new job description, and whether either option might be “opening a can of worms” in other departments.
Commissioners were expected to review the issue and discuss it further at a special meeting August 26.
Commissioners approved a request from Sheriff Hunter Barnes to use leftover funds from the sheriff’s office budget this fiscal year for new patrol units. The sheriff said that he estimates a total of $500,000 to $700,000 will be left across all budgets, including the jail, at the end of the fiscal year on September 30.
Barnes said that he hopes to purchase between five and eight completely upfitted patrol vehicles with these funds, eliminating the need to lease new vehicles and pay interest.
Commissioners expressed appreciation to the sheriff and his administration for their work on the budget since taking office, considering the difficulties with managing that budget in the past.
The court approved a contract amendment with Guardian RFID for handheld devices that electronically log routine checks of jail inmates. Small adjustments were made to the document regarding the upgrade of aged equipment.
A road use agreement with Hill Solar in the Itasca area was approved after it was tabled at the court’s previous meeting. Because the project is not receiving a tax abatement, commissioners accepted the agreement as presented.
Commissioners were expected to hold a meeting Tuesday, August 26, to discuss the county budget and tax rate. The next regular meeting date is Tuesday, September 9, at 8:30 a.m. in the county courtroom of the courthouse.
The Lakelander 