The Hill County Commissioners Court approved the purchase of equipment for the county’s newly created Development Services office during a meeting held Tuesday, September 22.
The department has consolidated several county duties, including on-site sewage permitting and inspections, subdivision regulation compliance, 9-1-1 addressing, street signs and county garbage cleanup.
Development Services Director John Crawson said that shifting the signage and cleanup duties to his office will free up road and bridge crews to focus more on their primary duty of maintaining county roads.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Larry Crumpton reported at the meeting that illegal dumping continues to be a major problem on county roads, and his crews have been addressing large furniture and other trash dumped in his precinct.
Crawson said that while the county’s recent cleanup events were successful, more needs to be done in each precinct. He plans to purchase a truck, four roll-off dumpsters and a trailer, with the goal of placing a dumpster in each precinct for trash collection.
“We did a county-wide cleanup, but we don’t think that’s enough,” he said. “We want to put a dumpster in an area and have citizens fill it up, and we’ll pay the dump fees.” He said that there are areas of the county that have a problem with trash, and some residents can’t afford dumpsters or even trash service. He encouraged anyone struggling with trash to contact him so a solution can be figured out.
Crawson said that the money for the equipment was already in the department’s budget, and he presented financing options through Government Capital for the court’s consideration. Commissioners approved financing the $190,914 cost of the equipment for five years with an interest rate of 5.559 percent.
Crawson said he also plans to hire an employee, which will be on an upcoming court agenda.
The court also approved a previously budgeted expenditure for Elections Administration, which plans to purchase 13 new printers to be used at polling locations starting with the November election. Elections Administrator Ada Motherspau said that the new printers will speed up the check-in process for voters. The total cost came to $14,285.
Commissioners discussed an agenda item brought to the table by Precinct 1 Commissioner Jim Holcomb, who requested to add another road and bridge operator position. Holcomb said that the higher-level road and bridge operator IV position would create an incentive for road and bridge employees, who could move up from road and bridge operator III by becoming certified on two pieces of equipment and accumulating three years of experience.
The court voted to approve the new position but tabled action on a job description as commissioners work through the document.
Commissioners tabled action on an agenda item related to the cancellation of a Community Development Block Grant through the Texas Department of Agriculture for Post Oak Special Utility District water improvements. County Judge Shane Brassell said that another accompanying agenda item needs to be approved at the same time.
Brassell said that the district learned that the grant would not be useful for the project it was planning to complete with the funds. The district is planning to reapply for the grant to work on other water lines.
The county’s mutual aid agreement with Hillsboro ISD was renewed. The agreement allows the district to utilize the county fairgrounds as one of its evacuation options for students in the event of an emergency.
The court declared multiple pieces of equipment as surplus material in Precinct 1, with the items to be sold through Rene Bates Auctions. Commissioners also declared a 2002 Mack dump truck surplus, and Holcomb plans to trade it in for a new haul truck in his precinct.
Commissioners approved several regular business items, including holiday schedules, payroll dates and court meetings for fiscal year 2027.
The court convened in executive session to receive information about a business prospect in the City of Hillsboro that is requesting a tax abatement or other economic development incentive. No action was taken on the item, and Brassell explained when open session resumed that the project is part of the steel industry. He said that the conversation had no connection to data centers, wind or solar projects, battery storage systems or similar developments.
The court’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 13, at 8:30 a.m. in the Hill County courtroom of the courthouse.
