The Hill County Commissioners Court met in a special session Thursday, November 13 to canvass the results of the November 4 election.
County Clerk Nicole Tanner said that the successful election was a collective effort that involved late nights for county employees as they worked to put an election together with 72 hours notice.
The team came together after the termination of former elections administrator Aaron Torres days before early voting began.
Tanner reported that Hill County’s turnout was 17.34%, which is high for Hill County.
She said that a manual recount will be required as part of a statewide audit, which will include a sampling of precincts and should take a few days.
A public hearing was also held on the county’s sixth amended tax abatement guidelines, and there were no comments from the public. County Judge Shane Brassell said that the county’s counsel advised that the guidelines need to be adopted every two years. Commissioners approved the proposal.
In open forum, Abbott Volunteer Fire Department Chief Doreen Strickland said that she wanted to speak on behalf of volunteer firefighters and referenced comments made during open forum at a recent special meeting of the commissioners court.
At that meeting, Daniel Wilson accused Hill County Emergency Services District (ESD) 1 of multiple violations, including electioneering and improper handling of records. He said that the ESD submitted its last three audits late, it holds over $732,000 in funds without FDIC insurance or collateralization and has not responded to public information requests in a timely manner.
He said that the ESD used its official Facebook page to promote the recent election, and several fire departments also shared the post on their own pages.
Wilson said that he has filed complaints with the Office of the Attorney General and the Texas Ethics Commission.
Strickland said that she has been a volunteer firefighter in the county for 19 years and praised the new board for giving firefighters a voice.
“On a structure fire, I noticed a young gentleman pull someone out of a fire, and the bottom of his boots were out and they were flopping,” she said. “I went to the ESD board and they now have a bunker for gear for departments.”
Strickland said that the board is also getting gear donated from other counties and has provided bonus payments to fire departments to help them buy expensive gear. “If you’re stuck in your car, it costs me $25,000 for a set of jaws to get you out,” she said.
“We make mistakes like anyone else, but at the end of the day, we’re trying to be safe,” she said. “I wish people could understand what it takes to be a volunteer.” She said that the cost of attorneys takes away from money that could be spent on fire departments, and she encouraged anyone with complaints to come to a meeting and try to understand what the ESD does.
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