The Hill County Commissioners Court approved projects proposed by Hill County Sheriff Hunter Barnes during a Tuesday, September 8 meeting, as the sheriff reported a budget surplus at the end of the fiscal year.
Sheriff Barnes told commissioners the sheriff’s office expects to have more than $1 million remaining in its budget at the end of the fiscal year this month, and he requested to use those funds on needed improvements.
“We’ve been fiscally responsible with taxpayer money,” Barnes said. The sheriff said that the department has had surpluses the past two years since his administration took office.
Barnes asked commissioners to allow the office to use some of the unspent funds for several projects rather than requesting funding for the projects individually during the next fiscal year.
Among the projects Barnes outlined were repairs and upgrades at the county jail, including replacement of outdated speakers and the control system, as well as lighting and other improvements. He estimated the jail work could cost more than $350,000.
The dispatch center also needs repairs, including replacement of several damaged or outdated consoles. Barnes said that those improvements could also cost six figures.
Barnes also requested funding to renovate an unused gun range that he said is currently unsafe and inoperable. He said that he shut down the range and would like to convert the space into a larger, more secure property room.
The sheriff had the property room audited by an outside source, as it was full when he took office. The department is working to organize the room and improve its storage and security.
Barnes estimated the initial work to clean out the gun range and construct new walls would cost about $50,000, with another $8,000 to $10,000 potentially needed for an air-conditioning system.
Additional funds remaining after these projects could be used toward purchasing more vehicles, he said.
County Judge Shane Brassell and commissioners were in favor of the plan. “Prior to Sheriff Barnes and his staff taking over, the sheriff’s office generally ran $900,000 to a million or more in the red,” said Brassell. “Last year was $870,000 under budget, and this year we’re looking at a little over a million under budget.”
A portion of that savings is because the department is not fully staffed, but Barnes said that situation is improving with qualified applicants recently seeking positions.
Brassell emphasized the importance of keeping the jail up to standards and securing the property room, as those areas being in poor condition could have serious consequences.
Commissioners approved allowing the sheriff to move forward with the projects from his surplus funds.
The court voted to donate decommissioned sheriff’s office vehicles to multiple area fire departments. The vehicles are older and high-mileage vehicles that can be used to help departments respond to medical emergencies and other calls that do not require a large fire truck.
Volunteer fire departments requesting vehicles were Blum, Woodbury, Mertens, Aquilla, Covington, Whitney, Mount Calm, Cedar Creek, White Bluff and Bynum.
In another agenda item related to the sheriff’s office, Barnes asked the court to approve a memorandum of understanding with Sheriff App, which the office has been using to disseminate information to the public.
There has been a delay in adding information about incarcerated individuals to the app due to existing data not linking properly. The new agreement will ensure that inmate information is available to the public and also reduces the annual fee for the app from $7,000 to $1,000.
The court approved the updated agreement.
Commissioners approved an amendment to the sheriff’s contract with Correct Solutions Group, which provides inmate phone services. Barnes said that the Federal Communications Commission has changed commission fee rules for county jails. In the past, the county received a commission of 2 cents per minute for inmate phone calls. Under the amendment, the sheriff will forfeit the commission due to the new federal restrictions and guidelines that would result for the county.
A contract with Tech Friends was also approved. The company provides inmate tablet services at the county jail and was previously included in the Correct Solutions Group contract. The sheriff asked to separate the contracts for clarity and to establish required standards of service.
An interlocal agreement was also renewed with the Heart of Texas Behavioral Health Network, which provides basic mental health services for county jail inmates.
District 8 Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Administrator Jay Kingston provided an update on Extension activities in Hill County.
Kingston expressed appreciation to the court for the county’s support of Extension programs and highlighted some of the success the agency has seen over the past year.
He highlighted the efforts of Zach Davis in agriculture and natural resource programming. He reported that Davis’s row crops production programs included field days, seminars and workshops that reached over 91,000 acres in Hill County with an economic impact to producers of approximately $700,000.
In livestock and forage, programs reached over 130,000 acres of pastureland and impacted over 17,000 head of livestock with an economic impact of just under $1 million to producers.
Kingston said that the county’s feral hog bounty continues to make an impact, and programming has educated landowners about feral hog management strategies.
Horticultural programs are also provided to the public, and the Hill County Master Gardeners overseen by Davis have volunteered over 1,000 hours of work throughout the county.
He said that the county’s 4H program, overseen by Angie Nors, continues to grow in membership. Nors has also been active providing agricultural literacy programs for youth in Hill County schools.
Family and Consumer Science programs have been provided by Lindsey Breunig-Rodriguez, providing information on health, nutrition and physical activity. Breunig-Rodriguez and Nors also partnered for the first time to provide programming to Hill College students.
Commissioners approved a proclamation declaring September 17-23 Constitution Week.
The resolution signed by Brassell encourages the public to commemorate the 239th anniversary of the drafting of the United States Constitution.
The annual celebration of the Constitution was started by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). In 1955, DAR petitioned Congress to set aside September 17-23 annually to be dedicated for the observance of Constitution Week. The resolution was later adopted by the U.S. Congress and signed into public law on August 2, 1956, by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
In other action, commissioners observed and recorded District Judge Justin Lewis’s action setting salaries of the county auditor and assistants, along with court reporters. The court also approved budget amendments for Precinct 3, declared obsolete phones and scrap metal as salvage or surplus property and accepted an indigent defense fund grant in the amount of $32,455 from the Texas Indigent Defense Commission.
The next regular meeting of the court will be Tuesday, September 22, at 8:30 a.m. in the Hill County courtroom of the courthouse.
The Lakelander 