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COMANCHE -- A lengthy agenda produced a
long meeting for the Comanche County Commissioners on Monday, August
14.
An interlocal agreement between the
County and its three cities regarding emergency management and
consideration of increases in constable fees were among the more
notable action items.
And, following the conclusion of their
normal business, the Commissioners had to begin the hard work of
shaping a County budget for the coming fiscal year. The meeting
continued into the early afternoon before adjournment.
The meeting began with a presentation by
Sullivan Bradley, speaking on behalf of the Cross Timbers Bicycle Club
based in Comanche. Bradley noted that the Comanche Cyclone Bicycle
Tour had been successful in raising funds for worthy community
activities. He said the club had made the decision to award $500 to
each of the seven volunteer fire departments in Comanche County.
A presentation of donation checks was
made to representatives of the various fire departments.
Following the presentation, County
Emergency Services Coordinator Ray Helberg was asked whether he
believed the total outdoor burning ban should be continued and the
answer was a strong affirmative.
A motion was made by Commissioner Garry
Steele to renew the unexpired total outdoor burn ban for another 90
days. The vote of approval was unanimous.
In another agenda item related to fire
fighting, Karen Tiemann of the Priddy Volunteer Fire Department made a
request to the Commissioners Court for some financial support. She
noted that the Priddy firefighters had been busy in Comanche County on
several occasions in recent months.
In response to a question from Garry
Steele, Tiemann noted that Mills County does not provide any
significant support for their department.
All three Commissioners -- Steele, Bobby
Schuman and Chris Biggs -- expressed their intention to provide some
level of financial support for the Priddy firefighters in the coming
budget year in consideration of their help in firefighting in Comanche
County.
Doc Green, who is active with both the
Sipe Springs and Gustine Volunteer Fire Departments, spoke in
testimony to the good help provided by the Priddy firefighters.
Ray Helberg next presented an interlocal
agreement between the County of Comanche and the cities of Comanche,
DeLeon and Gustine for sharing the costs and benefits from a
centralized emergency management function, similar to the
9-1-1/Central Dispatch board.
Helberg said the governing board for
Comanche County Emergency Management would be chaired by the County
Judge and would include as voting members the mayors of the three
participating cities.
The Commissioners all seemed to feel that
an odd-numbered board would be needed so that tie votes would not
block needed business.
Commissioner Bobby Schuman offered a
motion that Garry Steele be appointed as a fifth member of the
governing board.
Helberg pointed out that the agreement
had already been adopted by the cities of DeLeon and Gustine, and that
any changes made at this stage would require their re-approval.
Helberg was asked if a budget had been
prepared and he circulated a budget around the meeting table. The
total annual budget for the agency for the coming fiscal year was to
be $42,617, with Comanche County to bear approximately 50% of the
total cost at $21,256. The cities’ share of the cost was to be $13,016
for Comanche, $6,675 for DeLeon and $1,370 for Gustine. Cost
allocations are based on census figures.
After further discussion it was agreed
that the existing interlocal agreement should be approved and any
additions made to the governing board be made at a later time. Bobby
Schuman withdrew his earlier motion that had not been seconded and
offered a motion to approve the existing agreement. Chris Biggs
provided a second and the vote to approve was unanimous.
Judge Arthur presented another interlocal
agreement, a Fire Protection and Disaster Mutual Aid Agreement that
Brown County had sent and requested to be approved. Since neither the
Commissioners nor the Judge seemed to be familiar with the proposed
agreement, Ray Helberg was asked to read through the eight page
document and give the Court his opinion.
Helberg later advised the Commissioners
that the agreement is a standard mutual aid agreement that the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) insists be in place before they
will agree to provide disaster relief funds. He added that the
agreement did not provide for any cost reimbursements between the
counties.
Bobby Schuman offered a motion to approve
the agreement, Garry Steele seconded and the vote of approval was
unanimous.
The Commissioners acted upon the
recommendation of County Auditor Joey Boswell to engage Rutledge,
Crain and Company, the public accounting firm that has served as the
county’s long time financial auditor, to perform the next independent
financial audit at an upper limited cost of $13,700, up from $13,250
in the prior year.
The Commissioners next considered whether
to impose an optional $1.50 road and bridge fee on all vehicle
registrations in the county, the proceeds of which are designated for
child and public safety expenditures.
County Tax Assessor/Collector Gay Green
was asked for her recommendation on the optional fee. She replied that
it would entail additional bookkeeping and that the county would only
retain 10% of the amount collected, with the remainder going to the
state. She offered her opinion that it would probably be best for the
county not to impose the fee.
Judge Arthur expressed his agreement that
the optional fee was not needed.
Garry Steele offered a motion to not
impose the optional fee and to leave the vehicle registration fee as
is. Bobby Schuman seconded and the vote to approve was unanimous.
The Commissioners approved the
reappointment of the members with expiring terms on the County’s Child
Welfare Board. Jim Dudley and Shirley Johnson, both of Comanche, were
reappointed to the Board. Carolyn Merworth and Sheila Stephens, both
from Comanche, have terms that expire August 31, 2007. Nancy Brown and
Kelly Dickey, both from DeLeon, and Sherry Perkins and Marlene
Shelton, both from Comanche, are serving terms that expire on August
31, 2008.
The Commissioners voted to accept a quote
from the Texas Association of Counties for group medical and dental
insurance. County Treasurer Billy Ruth Rust told the Commissioners
that the quote had not gotten to her office on a timely basis and that
it needed to be approved and returned by August 16. She noted that the
quote had only increased by 3% over the prior year and that the new
rate would be $532.69 per month per full time county employee.
After discussion that Rust should request
the insurance company to send renewal quotes directly to her office,
Garry Steele offered a motion, seconded by Chris Biggs, to approve the
insurance quote. The vote of approval was unanimous.
County Constable Mark McDonald and
Sheriff Jeff Lambert next presented their recommendations for
increasing certain Sheriff’s and Constable fees for serving court
papers and conducting other required official duties.
McDonald reviewed the fees charged in
neighboring counties and then recommended that subpoena and citations
(summons) fees be increased from $60 to $75. Fees for service of writs
were recommended to increase from $100 to $150. Citations for forcible
detainer were recommended to increase from $75 to $85. The other fees,
including livestock estray fees, were recommended to remain unchanged.
After questions and answers and
considerable discussion, Bobby Schuman offered a motion to approve the
Constable and Sheriff’s recommendations for fee changes. Chris Biggs
seconded and the vote of approval was unanimous.
Sheriff Jeff Lambert presented a standard
prisoner housing contract for Erath County and noted that the jail was
now housing their overflow prisoners. Lambert said the per diem rate
would be the same as charged other counties, $35 per day.
Chris Biggs offered a motion to approve
the contract and Bobby Schuman seconded. The vote to approve was
unanimous.
Sheriff Lambert said the paperwork
related to the Environmental Deputy had not yet been received, but
asked for a vote of approval from the Commissioners to expedite the
return of the papers and an October 1 start date. In response to
Commissioner questions, Lambert said the grant would not only cover
considerable equipment costs, but would cover 60% of the deputy’s
personnel costs for the first fiscal year. In the second year the
county would pick up 60% of the deputy’s costs and the grant 40%. The
portion of the environmental deputy’s costs covered in year three was
not yet determined, however, the grant would continue through three
years.
Both Gary Steele and Jeff Lambert voiced
their opinions that the need for an environmental deputy was growing
in importance.
Steele made a motion to approve the grant
and Bobby Schuman seconded. The vote on the motion was unanimous in
approval.
The interlocal agreement between the
Hospital District and the County concerning the transfer of title to
the old Comanche hospital building was discussed. It was noted that
Evan Moore had signed the deed on behalf of the Hospital District,
however, it was uncertain whether the interlocal agreement concerning
the transfer and future operation of the facility had been completed
and signed. Progress was apparent, however.
Sheriff Lambert advised the Commissioners
that the intercom unit in the original portion of the jail had gone
out of service and he had been required to purchase a replacement unit
at a cost of $3,917. It was noted that the intercom is a state
requirement and that if the intercom had not been replaced that the
portion of the jail that it served could have been required to be
closed.
Lambert also noted that a fire
extinguisher/suppressant system in the jail kitchen no longer met
current standards. He said he had been quoted a repair that would
extend its service life through January 2008. A new unit that would
meet applicable standards would cost around $2,300.
Although no vote on the matter was taken,
budget amendments will be required for both the intercom and the
extinguisher. Commissioner Schuman encouraged the Sheriff to take the
less expensive, repair alternative.
Sheriff Lambert was asked about the
jail’s financial performance in the current fiscal year and responded
that it was operating in the black, and should continue so as long as
unanticipated equipment repairs or purchases were not required.
In other business, the Commissioners:
• Discussed cancelling the JEDCO contract
for 9-1-1 addressing services.
• Renewed a contract with the Attorney
General for child support services.
• Approved a request to bury a cable in
the county right-of-way along CR 402.
• Approved forms required by the Texas
Department of Transportation for local participation in the off system
bridge replacement program.
• Approved the quarterly County
Treasurer’s report.
• Approved various emergency and
non-emergency budget amendments, accounts payable due and owing, and
the payment of salaries and related benefits coming due before the
August 28 meeting.
• Set the date for another budget
workshop meeting to be held on Monday, August 21. |
