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COMANCHE -- The Commissioners Court of
Comanche County met in a post-Christmas session on Wednesday, December
27, to consider a relatively light agenda.
The meeting was led by County Judge James
Arthur and attended by Commissioners Garry Steele, Chris Biggs and
Jimmy Dale Johnson. Commissioner Bobby Schuman was absent.
The first order of business was the
presentation by Judge Arthur of plaques of appreciation for service to
Comanche County for the retiring head of adult probation, Brenda
Marshall, and for outgoing officials whose term in office was expiring
at year end, Commissioner Chris Biggs and Justice of the Peace Rex
Plumlee.
Burn Ban
The Commissioners next discussed the
total outdoor burn ban.
Garry Steele noted that he was uncertain
why the matter had been placed on the agenda since the outdoor burn
ban, which included provision for a temporary lifting by the County
Judge, had recently been ratified by the Commissioners.
There never was an answer. Steele did
note that there had been a temporary burn ban lifting after a recent
rain and how dry conditions were at the present.
Judge Arthur asked Chief Dispatcher
Jennifer Kluge about how the burn ban procedures had been working from
her perspective. Kluge responded that Central Dispatch receives many
calls regarding requests for permission to burn, both during the
temporary burn ban lifting, and continuing thereafter.
Since the temporary burn ban was only for
two days, requests after that time frame have been denied.
Garry Steele stated that when a decision
is made for a temporary burn ban lifting, that it needs to be made and
publicized quickly, adding, "We lost nearly a full day this last time.
If this is not going to work, I personally feel like we need to
consider staying with a restricted burn ban and keeping Dispatch
posted as to when they can and can't burn."
Judge Arthur stated that he thought the
procedure was working "pretty good".
Steele responded that this was the first
time for a temporary burn ban lifting and reiterated that some
critical time was lost in the declaration and notification of the
temporary lifting.
Jennifer Kluge commented that some people
will burn without seeking the required permission.
Judge Arthur expressed hope that rain
would be received over the weekend and that he could lift the ban for
another 48 hours.
Chris Biggs said, "If we can let people
burn, let the people burn!"
The two other Commissioners expressed
their agreement with Commissioner Biggs. Jimmy Dale Johnson added that
without allowing some burning, the Commissioners would be "picking
things up off the road, or drinking it, if it ever does rain."
In light of the current dry conditions,
the Commissioners agreed, without taking a vote, to leave the total
outdoor burn ban in effect, "as is", with the continuing provision
that the County Judge could temporarily lift the burn ban following
rainfall. They further agreed that the fire pager notification used by
Central Dispatch to notify fire chiefs, firemen and law enforcement
personnel was working well.
Fire Marshall
The Commissioners next discussed the
procedures required for carrying the recently obtained Texas Peace
Officer's certification by the new County Fire Marshall, Chris Hill.
Sheriff Jeff Lambert noted that Hill had
contacted him regarding the Sheriff's Office carrying his
certification.
Lambert added that he had inquired with
the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officers Standards and
Certification (TCLEOSE) and been advised that it would not be
appropriate for his office to carry the Fire Marshall's certification.
Lambert said he was advised that the
County needed to set up the Fire Marshall's office as a law
enforcement agency and that that office would carry Hill's
certification. Lambert handed Judge Arthur a TCLEOSE application form
to be submitted to create the County Fire Marshall's office as a
recognized law enforcement agency.
Garry Steele suggested the matter be
placed on the next Commissioner's meeting agenda for approval of the
application.
The Commissioners next considered the job
description and investigation procedures for the County Fire Marshall.
Garry Steele asked Hill about his fire investigation procedures.
Hill responded that the area Fire Chiefs
could request his services, and added that he has requested Central
Dispatch to notify him of all structure fires.
Steele requested Hill to prepare a
procedures and job description for the County Fire Marshall's office,
and to prepare a list of tools and equipment that he uses that belong
to the county.
Steele then added, "While we are
discussing things with you, I want to say that I appreciate what you
have done to date. We have needed a little more activity in the Fire
Marshall's area and I think you are doing very well."
The other two Commissioners both voiced
their agreement.
The Commissioners next approved, on
unanimous votes, bonds for two incoming County officials, Justice of
the Peace William J. Koenig and Commissioner Kenneth Feist.
Payroll Procedures
Direct deposit of County employees'
payroll was the next agenda item.
County Auditor Joey Boswell commented
that he had requested the matter be placed on the agenda due to
complaints received from "three or four" employees that their payroll
deposits did not become available for withdrawal until the Monday
following the Friday payday.
Boswell added that he had discussed the
matter with County Treasurer Billy Ruth Rust and had found that she
had experienced computer problems causing the delay and concluded that
he did not know if a good solution to the problem was available.
Billy Ruth Rust then stated, "I've been
doing payroll for this county for 25 years, and I never missed a
Friday giving people their checks. This direct deposit is a different
ball game. We have to get in over a hundred time sheets and go through
them and then get them ready and do all the vacation and sick time,
and when there's a holiday we have to add the extra vacation days. It
takes time to do, to get the payroll ready to run. And, I have to run
it before I can get anything ready to take to the bank. If I don't get
it run by 2:00, it's not going to go in on Friday. It'll go in on
Monday."
Rust noted that the complaints involved
only the special Christmas bonus payroll.
Garry Steele commented that if a regular
Friday payroll date was missed that the County should notify all
employees that are affected.
Rust responded that earlier, in November,
a delay had occurred and that she had notified all affected direct
deposit employees. She added that she could not guarantee that the
payroll works every time because of delays in receipt of time sheets,
computer problems and the fact that the banks have to receive their
information by 2:00 p.m. on Thursdays.
Rust noted that she could go back to
issuing only printed checks again and be better assured of meeting
Friday payrolls, providing the Commissioners agreed.
"If I have to stay Thursday night until
midnight to have the checks out on Friday, I can do it," Rust added.
"Maybe we just need to go back to giving everybody checks, especially
if they're going to complain all the time."
Chris Biggs agreed, saying, "If they're
going to complain, give them a check."
Garry Steele noted that he was not
particularly worried about complaints involving the Christmas bonus,
since that was not a regular payroll. He added that if the employees
had been notified earlier when a regular payroll deposit was a day
late, then he failed to see where there was a problem.
Joey Boswell commented that he had heard
one employee state an intention to file a complaint under the Texas
Payday Law. He added that he had researched the law and learned that
it clearly states that it does not apply to governmental employees.
Garry Steele repeated that as far as he
could determine, the situation was not common and was being handled
properly when it did occur.
Billy Ruth Rust expressed her concern
that the current week might be yet another occurrence, in that two
days had already been lost due to the holidays, that it was now
Wednesday, that she had not received many timesheets yet, and that she
was short one employee due to illness. She suggested that, due to
circumstances, it might be better to issue printed checks this week.
In response to a question, Rust indicated
that perhaps a third of the County employees might be affected.
Rust lamented, "They're going to
complain, one way or another. You can't suit everybody. I just want to
do the best that I can."
Jimmy Dale Johnson said, "I say business
as usual. If the computer is not going through and you tell the people
that the money is not going to be there until a day or two late, and
they are aware of it, welcome to the computer world."
Rust noted that her computer had been
down for a week, and added, "It hasn't been fun."
Garry Steele and Chris Biggs both made
comments in agreement with Jimmy Dale Johnson.
Billy Ruth Rust suggested that she could
cut a manual check for affected direct deposit employees if the
payroll was delayed.
Garry Steele suggested that she contact
the supervisors and advise them if there was a problem.
Sheriff & Jail Operations
Sheriff Jeff Lambert noted that even
though he missed the last Commissioners meeting, he still did not have
much to discuss.
He noted that they had to replace the
compressor for the walk-in freezer at a cost of around $1,200. He
added that it was now “fixed and running.”
Lambert then stated that sometime after
the first of the year that he would be asking to Commissioners for
assistance in cleaning up some dump sites along County roads where
people had been illegally dumping. He said he would need help in
removing the illegal trash and a place to dispose of it all.
Jimmy Dale Johnson joked that since Bobby
Schuman was absent from the meeting that Precinct 3 would be a good
place for disposal.
Lambert noted that some of the dumped
items, including old tires, might present special disposal problems.
Lambert expressed his appreciation for
Commissioner Chris Biggs for his help to the Sheriffs Office over the
years and also to Justice of the Peace Rex Plumlee who has also helped
his office out during his tenure in office.
Lambert noted that he planned to conduct
an auction of various items early in the coming year and added that if
the Commissioners had any equipment they wished to put up for sale to
let him know.
The Commissioners then moved on to the
routine items of considering budget amendments, approval of accounts
due and owing, and the approval of the payroll. |
