The Hill County Commissioners Court discussed appointments to the Emergency Services District (ESD) 1 board during a regular meeting held Tuesday, December 9.
The court approved the appointment of Bill Hefner to replace outgoing board member Ken Goins, but a vote on the reappointment of Chad Wilson, who currently serves as the ESD 1 treasurer, was delayed pending a required bond being in place.
Commissioners make appointments to ESD 1 and 2 boards, which oversee fire and medical response in the county, respectively. Once the volunteers are appointed, the ESD boards organize themselves, deciding which role each member will serve.
Under state law, the treasurer of an ESD board must be bonded like many other county officials. A bond is essentially a financial guarantee similar to an insurance policy that protects taxpayer funds.
County Judge Shane Brassell said that the requirement was recently brought to the county’s attention, and it has every intention of following the law.
Precinct 1 Commissioner Jim Holcomb initially made a motion to approve Wilson’s reappointment, but he withdrew his motion after Precinct 3 Commissioner Scotty Hawkins questioned whether the court should delay the appointment until the bond is finalized.
ESD 1 President Greg Brown spoke about a recent influx of open records requests that the board has received amid allegations of wrongdoing. “This is an unpaid position, and spending 30 to 40 hours on one person to make sure they have what they want makes it very difficult,” he said.
Brown told commissioners that he and Wilson have been in their roles for less than a year and have put numerous hours into the volunteer positions on top of their regular jobs. He acknowledged that there are problems, but he said that they cannot fix all of them overnight.
Wilson told the court that his integrity has been questioned repeatedly by Daniel Wilson, who has been requesting information from the board, and said that if he does not have the support of the commissioners court, he needs to think about whether he wants to continue volunteering.
Holcomb said that he reached out to (Daniel) Wilson after he spoke during a recent meeting and asked if he would be willing to serve on the board, but he did not volunteer. “If you’re not going to be a part of the solution, stop throwing rocks and be supportive of the effort that people are volunteering their time for,” he added.
Daniel Wilson spoke to the court during open forum about his issues with the ESD and asked for a delay of Chad Wilson’s reappointment. He said that he would not have to submit multiple public information requests if required documentation that should be posted online was available. He said that without minutes and records, the public cannot provide oversight. He again expressed concern about uncollateralized funds, which he said leaves three-quarters of a million dollars unprotected.
Daniel Wilson also said that the board is excessively charging him for open records requests, saying he was quoted over $2,000 for records that he said should be publicly available.
Doreen Strickland of Abbott Volunteer Fire Department spoke in support of the ESD, saying that the board members are some of the best fire departments have ever worked with, and they are working with fire departments to address their needs. “Put him (Chad Wilson) on the board,” she said. “This man gives 100 percent.”
Brassell said that he had no reservations about appointing Chad Wilson at any time. “I would be thrilled for him to serve,” he said. “As stated, I have not seen an ESD 1 board work as wonderfully as they have.”
If Chad Wilson is still willing to serve, commissioners are expected to vote on his appointment Tuesday, December 23, after the ESD 1 board meets and approves the payment for his bond.
Commissioners approved the creation of a county-wide animal control advisory board after concerned citizens presented the idea. The board will not be able to spend county funds, but it will identify problems and possible solutions to present to the court.
Denise Zamora with Paws Place Rescue said that the board would hold regular meetings and listen to the needs of residents. She also offered to complete any training that would be necessary.
Brassell suggested modeling the board off of the type of board that would be required if the county had its own animal shelter. That board would include a veterinarian, county official, animal shelter representative and animal welfare organization representative, along with any citizen volunteers.
Sheriff Hunter Barnes said that he would be willing to serve on the board, and the county will reach out to the Humane Society of North Texas, which partners with the sheriff’s office to conduct large animal welfare operations in the county, to see if representatives would be interested in joining the board.
The court will discuss the framework of the board and volunteers at an upcoming meeting.
The court approved upgrades to election equipment based on recommendations from the Hill County Elections Commission.
Brassell said that the county’s voting equipment is due multiple upgrades, and the recommendations will address the issues. A software and computer update from Hart Intercivic was approved, along with new check-in stations from KNOWiNK. The updates will be made prior to the March primaries, and the funds are available in the Election Administration budget.
Public hearings were held on proposals to implement a 30 mile-per-hour speed limit on HCRs 1143 and 1146. There were no comments, and commissioners approved the speed limits.
Commissioners set a public hearing for January 13 at 8:30 a.m. on a proposal to place a 30 mile-per-hour speed limit sign from the end of the pavement on Farm Road 3050 to HCR 1212.
In other action, the court accepted a $1,045 donation from Rachel Esparza for the Hill County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and observed and recorded several annual reports, including Chapter 59 reports for the district attorney’s and sheriff’s offices, the sheriff’s 2025 Federal Equitable Sharing Report and the Community Supervision and Corrections Department’s statement of financial position.
Other speakers in open forum were Lisa Reprogle, who asked for HCR 1212 to be paved, and Amy Teal, who encouraged students to apply for a scholarship offered to local youth to attend Texas Municipal League’s statewide Youth Advisory Commission Summit.
The court’s next regular meeting will be Tuesday, December 23, at 8:30 a.m. in the county courtroom of the courthouse.
The Lakelander 