* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:05] HEARING. THEY DON'T HAVE TO THE COURT OF THE MEETING. THERE'S SEPARATE PUBLIC HEARING. THE PUBLIC HEARING, YOU DON'T HAVE TO SIGN UP FOR, UH, THAT ARE YOUR, FOR THE PUBLIC HEARING. RIGHT. I'M HERE WEEK THIS MORNING. OKAY. ON THE BUDGET? YES, SIR. THAT WILL BE IN A PUBLIC HEARING. OKAY. BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO SIGN UP THAT, UH, MR. SMITH ARE ARE YOU SAYING THAT YOU'RE NOT WANTING US TO SPEAK THIS MORNING BEFORE THE COURT BEFORE IT STARTS? NO, IT WILL BE YOU SPEAK BEFORE I, I'M SPEAK FOR THE JAIL EMPLOYEE. OKAY. WELL, YOU CAN DO THAT IF THE PUBLIC HEARING. NO, ALL YOU. OKAY, THAT'S FINE. DON'T THINK WE HAVE ANYONE. WELCOME EVERYONE. THIS MORNING TO MONDAY, SEPTEMBER THE NINTH, THE MEETING OF THE CA COUNTY COMMISSION'S COURT WILL, UH, CALL THE COURT TO ORDER. UH, IF YOU DO WISH TO, UH, SPEAK TO THE COURT THIS MORNING, UH, AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE MEETING, WE DO HAVE A TIME THERE, REMARKS AND VISITORS, AND WE WOULD ASK THAT YOU LIMIT YOUR REMARKS TO THREE MINUTES DURING THAT PORTION OF THE MEETING. AND THEN WE'LL HAVE TWO PUBLIC HEARINGS, UH, THIS MORNING. ONE ON THE, UH, PROPOSED BUDGET, AND THEN THE SECOND ONE ON SETTING THE TAX. SO WE'LL ACTUALLY HAVE ADDITIONAL, UH, PUBLIC HEARING FOR PEOPLE THAT WOULD LIKE COME FORWARD. CALL THIS MORNING. I'VE ASKED, UH, COMMISSIONER SHANE TO OUR IN. THEN WE'LL HAVE THE PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE. VOTE THE FLAG. GRACIOUS. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR OUR BLESSING. WE JUST YOU TO BLESS OUR COUNTY, WHICH WE DO OUR, OUR JOB WITH OUR TAXATION WITH OUR COUNTY. WE ASK YOU TO GIVE US WISDOM THAT BE FAVORABLE. YOU ASK YOU TO BE WITH OUR, UH, SOLDIERS, THAT DEPENDING OUR GREAT NATION, BLESS THEM, BLESS THEIR FAMILIES, BLESS ALL OF US. THANK AMEN. THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND THROUGH THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD IN INVISIBLE WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. HONOR THE TEXAS FLAG, ALLEGEDLY JUST TO BE TEXAS, ONE STATE UNDER GOD, ONE INDIVISIBLE. I DO HAVE, UH, TWO PEOPLE THAT SIGNED UP TO ADDRESS THE COURT, UH, AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING FROM COUNTY ROSE, UH, 1 0 4 IN KAMAN. MM-HMM. AND MS. ASK, UH, ASKIN IF YOU'D LIKE TO COME FORWARD AND, UH, I'LL WAIT TO THE PUBLIC HEARING. PUBLIC HEARING. OKAY. YES, SIR. I, I'LL ALSO WAIT TO THE, OKAY, MR. SMITH. OKAY. FIRST ITEM IS THE CONSENT AGENDA. WE HAVE THREE ITEMS ON THE, UH, WELL, I DO HAVE ONE, A COUPLE OF ROUTINE CORRESPONDENCE. I THINK WE INCLUDED IN YOUR PACKET A, UH, PROCLAMATION, UH, FROM THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE REGARDING THE STATE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT THAT WOULD BE HELD ON NOVEMBER THE FIFTH. AND, UH, WE WERE DIRECTED TO POST THIS AND WE'LL GET IT POSTED, AND I'M SURE THERE WILL BE, UH, LEGAL ADVERTISEMENTS REGARDING, NEXT ITEM I HAVE IS THE COUNTY JP COURT COLLECTIONS. UH, AND YOU HAVE A COPY OF THAT, UH, SHOWING THAT OUR COLLECTIONS, UH, THROUGH THE, UH, END [00:05:01] OF JULY, THEY COMPLETED 50, AND THAT'S COMPARED TO 1,000,006 78, 36 LAST YEAR. SO THEY'RE DOWN A BIT, BUT, UH, PART OF THAT IS BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT WE HAD A PRETTY AGGRESSIVE CAMPAIGN COUPLE YEARS AGO, BUT I KNOW OUR CONSTABLES AND WORKING HARD GET THAT DONE. UH, ALSO, UH, ON THE CONSENT AGENDA, ITEM NUMBER TWO, WE HAVE THREE ITEMS, THE ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES FOR AUGUST THE 21ST, 2013, UH, AND AUGUST THE 26 13. UH, ALSO TO DISCUSS AND CONSIDER PROVING COLTON COUNTY EMERGENCY SERVICES DISTRICT NUMBER SIX, THEY'RE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING EPTEMBER 12, AND THEN TO CONSIDER APPROVING A MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT WITH COUNTY AND THE LAKES REGIONAL MHMR CENTER. AND THAT IS, WE'VE HAD IN PLACE FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS WHERE WE'RE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE HEALTH SERVICES, LAKES REGIONAL, WHICH IS MATERIAL, BE THE, UH, UH, GROUP THAT WE WORK WITH IN THAT REGARD. ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE COMMISSIONER SHANE? SECOND. ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. THOSE PUBLIC. OKAY. NEXT ITEM WILL BE A PUBLIC HEARING TO DISCUSS THE KAUFMAN COUNTY BUDGET FOR 20 13 20. A MOTION TO THE PUBLIC HEARING TO DISCUSS COMMISSIONER SHANE, THAT MOTION TO HAVE A SECOND, SECOND MANNING SECONDS. ALL IN FAVOR, SAY AYE. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AYE, UH, BEFORE WE, UH, AND WE WILL WANT PUBLIC, UH, INPUT HERE JUST IN A FEW MOMENTS, BUT I DID PREPARE A, UH, A BRIEFING OF THE, UH, AND IT'S ON THE TABLE THERE. I THINK WE MADE ANOTHER COPY. LOOKS LIKE THIS. IT'S ABOUT FIVE OR SIX PAGE HANDOUT, THE PROPOSED COUNTY BUDGET. UH, I WOULD LIKE TO GO OVER THOSE, UH, FIRST IF YOU DID GET ONE, UH, THERE SHOULD BE PLENTY THERE TOO FOR EVERYONE TO HAVE. BUDGET IS A PROPOSED BUDGET. WE TAKE FORMAL ACTION, AND I DID WANT GO THROUGH JUST BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS. CERTAINLY THIS IS NOT EVERYTHING THAT GOES, UH, UH, IT'S NOT EVERY DETAIL THAT'S IN, BUT IT'S SOME OF THE MAJOR ITEMS. UH, THE FIRST ITEM I'D LIKE FOR YOU SEE IS THAT THE TOTAL TAX RATE STAYS THE SAME SIX FIVE EVALUATION. I BELIEVE THIS IS EITHER THE FIFTH OR THE SIXTH YEAR THAT OUR BUDGET, I MEAN THAT OUR TAX STAY THE SAME. THE BUDGET TAX RATE HAS HAD SOME DIFFERENCES IN HOW THE MONEY IS ALLOCATED. YOU'LL SEE THAT IF YOU WOULD, YOU'LL NOTICE IN THE GENERAL FUND BUDGET, WHICH IS OUR MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION, BUT THAT'S A BIG, YOU NOTICE IT DOES SHOW, UH, A AMOUNT THE ING BUDGET OR THE NEW BUDGET, 3,420, AND THAT IS 520 FROM THE, UH, 12 OF 34 MILLION 948 4 1. SO YOU DO SEE THAT A NEW GENERAL FUND BUDGET IS DECREAS BY OVER HALF MILLION, UH, ON THE ROAD BRIDGE FUND, THE MONEY THAT GOES TO ALL OF THE COMMISSIONERS FOR WORK ON THE ROADS IN THEIR PRECINCT. THAT FUND IS INCREASED BY 1,000,040 4, 8 90. SEE THAT THE ROAD BRIDGE FUND FOR THIS YEAR IS FOR 6 MILLION 9 73, 6 92 AS COMPARED TO LAST YEAR, 5 MILLION 9 28, 800. AND THEN THE INTERESTING SINKING FUND. AND THAT IS THE FUND THAT WE USED PAY, UH, THIS YEAR IS, UH, BEING REDUCED BY HUNDRED 2,689. UH, AS COMPARED, UH, LAST YEAR WE HAD A, AN ESTIMATE OF 2 MILLION 1 76, 6 0 2. THIS YEAR, THAT BUDGET DECLINES, UH, TO 2,000,049. [00:10:02] UH, NOW THERE ARE OTHER SMALLER BUDGETS THAT ARE, THAT ARE HANDLED, UH, UH, BY FEES AND FINES THAT COME IN FROM, UH, VARIOUS OTHER, UH, UH, UH, PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE. BUT THESE ARE THE MAJOR LARGE FUNDS, AND YOU'LL SEE THAT THE TOTAL THIS YEAR, TOTAL BUDGET IS INCREASED TO FIVE YEAR 43. UH, THE, UH, IT IS INCLUDED IN THE BUDGET THAT EMPLOYEES THAT WERE EMPLOYED BY THE COUNTY AS OF FIRST TWO 13, WE'LL RECEIVE A ONETIME $600 PAY SUPPLEMENT IN NOVEMBER, THE TWO 13TH. THIS IS VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT WE DID LAST YEAR ABOUT AROUND, UH, THANKSGIVING TIME, UH, TO POINT OUT THAT ELECTED OFFICIALS ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THIS SUPPLEMENT, NOR OUR PARTTIME EMPLOYEES. THIS WOULD GO TO THE FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES, UH, THAT WERE EMPLOYED AS OF THAT DATE, THE EMPLOYEE AMOUNT AND THE COUNTY CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE TEXAS COUNTY AND DISTRICT RETIREMENT SYSTEM WILL REMAIN THE SAME AS IN PREVIOUS YEARS. UH, THE POINT OUT THE JAIL BUDGET HAS BEEN REDUCED BY A TOTAL OF 21 PERSONNEL FOR SAVINGS OF 1 2 50. JAIL HAS BEEN. AND THEN THE LAST MAJOR ITEM OF OUR BUDGET THAT'S INCLUDED IN, UH, IN THE VARIOUS FUNDS WOULD BE THE FACT THAT THE COUNTY WILL CONTINUE TO PAY THE EMPLOYEE SHARE OF MEDICAL INSURANCE OF FOUR 54 CENTS PER MONTH. THE NEXT PAGE, THIS IS A GENERAL SUMMARY, SUMMARY ON BUDGET, AND WE JUST DISCUSSED THAT. YOU'LL SEE THAT THESE SAME FIGURES, UH, WILL, UH, WILL SHOW UP, ACTUALLY LOOK AT A COMPARISON, UH, BACK TO THE, UH, DISTRICT AUDITED NUMBER BACK IN 2010. UH, AND YOU'LL SEE AGAIN THAT OUR PROPOSED BUDGET, THIS, THE GENERAL FUND IS 34, SORRY, 34,000,480. UH, AND THEN BELOW THAT YOU'LL SEE A SUMMARY OF THE EXPENDITURES IN THE GENERAL. YOU'LL SEE THAT, THAT BALANCE, UH, WITH A NUMBER OF, UH, BUDGET EXPENSES OF 34 MILLION 4 21 3 80. AND IF YOU LOOK, YOU'LL, YOU LOOK AT THE LAST THREE COLUMNS, UH, YOU'LL SEE WHAT THE ORIGINAL BUDGET ADOPTED. IF YOU LOOK FROM THE THIRD COLUMN ON THE MAP, YOU'LL SEE THAT WE'LL SEE ORIGINAL BUDGET THAT WE ADOPTED ABOUT THIS TIME LAST YEAR. UH, THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE HAS GONE THROUGH AND COMPARED THAT TO, UH, WHERE WE ACTUALLY ARE THIS YEAR, UH, AS OF, I BELIEVE, JULY THE 31ST. UH, MS. COOPER, UH, IS THAT THE 31ST OR THE, UH, I BELIEVE THAT'S WHAT YOU INDICATED TO ME. YES. UH, AND, UH, SO YOU CAN SEE SECOND PAGE, IT SAYS SIX 30. SO SECOND PAGE, YOU LOOK AT THE ACTUAL JULY, JULY, THEN WHAT THE PROPOSAL IS, AND THEN IF YOU RETURN TWO OTHER PAGES OVER, UH, YOU'LL SEE THE ROLL IN BRIDGE FUND BUDGET. THAT'S, UH, ANOTHER ONE OF OUR, UH, LARGE BUDGET. AND SAME WAY TO THAT, COMPARE WHAT WE ACTUALLY BUDGETED, UH, IN, UH, 2012, 2013. AGAIN, THAT'S THE ACTUAL, UH, BUDGET THAT WE ADOPTED LAST YEAR. UH, YOU CAN SEE WHERE WE ARE AND THIS BEEN UPDATED THROUGH, UH, AUGUST 14TH. YOU CAN SEE HOW MUCH OF THAT MONEY HAS BEEN SPENT THEN, WHAT THE PROPOSED BUDGET IS FOR NEXT YEAR. AND THE ROAD BRIDGE PROPOSED BUDGET FOR ALL FOUR PRECINCTS WILL BE 6,000,970 3006 90. AND I WOULD POINT OUT TO YOU THAT IS THE LARGEST EXPENDITURE, UH, IN OUR, UH, THAT'S THE LARGEST BUDGET WE'VE HAD, UH, AT LEAST GOING BACK TO NOT SEE HOW THAT HAS FLUCTUATED, UH, PARTICULARLY WITH THE YEAR THAT WE HAD THE, UH, UH, WHERE WE HAD THE TWO CUT OUT SPENDING WITH THE COMMISSIONERS, UH, [00:15:01] MOVE MONEY BACK INTO THE GENERAL FUND. UH, BUT THIS DOES GIVE AN INCREASE, UH, THAT, AND YOU CAN SEE, UH, THAT THE, UH, EXPENDITURES ARE AMOUNT, YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED JUST LOOKING, SEE HOW THE MONEY'S BEING TRANSFERRED, UH, TO THE, UH, ROAD BRIDGE PRECINCT, ROAD BRIDGE, UH, PRECINCT. UH, ONE LAST YEAR, WE RECEIVED A BUDGET AMOUNT OF 1,000,005 OH 7 3 5 5. THAT WAS THE ADOPTED BUDGET. THIS YEAR, THEY'LL RECEIVE PRECINCT ONE WILL RECEIVE 1,000,007 99 8 6, UH, ROLAND BRIDGE. UH, TWO. WE WILL CONTINUE TO RECEIVE THE, UH, SAME AMOUNT THAT WE RECEIVED LAST YEAR. UH, ROLLING BRIDGE, UH, THREE, WE AN INCREASE FROM 1 MILLION 4 51 TO 1 MILLION 7 9 9 8 1 6. AND THEN BRIDGE PRECINCT FOUR, WE'LL SEE AN INCREASE FROM 7 22. SO YOU CAN SEE THAT AS WE HAD, UH, INDICATED EARLIER IN THE BUDGET PREPARATION, WE WERE COMMITTED TO TRY TO MOVE, UH, UH, AT LEAST A MILLION DOLLARS AND ACHIEVED THAT, UH, BY, UH, THE AMOUNT OF TAXES THAT WILL BE COLLECTED FROM. UH, THEN IF YOU WANNA LOOK AT THE NEXT PAGE, UH, IT SHOWS THE IN DEBT SERVICE BUDGET, UH, FROM, UH, UH, THIS IS THE MONEY WE PAID, PAY OFF DEBT THAT WE HAVE THAT'S AT THE JAIL, AND YOU'LL SEE THAT THAT, UH, UH, DECREASES, UH, FROM 2 MILLION 1 76, 6 0 2 FROM THE ADOPTED BUDGET THIS YEAR. 2,000,049 WOULD BE THE, UH, AMOUNT NEXT YEAR AS FAR AS DEBT IS CONCERNED. THEN THE LAST PAGE, IF YOU'LL TURN TO THAT, UH, THE LAST PAGE, UH, SHOWS THE ACTUAL ADOPTED TAX RATE THAT IS BEING PROPOSED THIS MORNING. AND THE LEFT HAND COLUMN SHOWS HOW THOSE FUNDS WERE BROKEN DOWN LAST YEAR. BUDGET, BUDGET, THE GENERAL FUND, UH, IT WAS, UH, 0.47 CENTS. UH, AND THE GENERAL FUND THAT'S BEING REDUCED THIS YEAR TO, UH, 0.52. UH, THE ROAD BRIDGE MAINTENANCE FUND IS BEING INCREASED ZERO FIVE, UH, FOUR FIVE TO 0 7 4 OH. A, UH, NEARLY A 2 CENT INCREASE. INCREASE. TOTAL OPERATING GOES FROM 5 2 2 0 TO 5 2 6 0. AND THEN THE DEBT SERVICE FUND, SINCE WE DID SHOW A DECREASE IN OUR DEBT DEBT SERVICE FUND, DECREASES, UH, BY 0.40 AND TO FROM 0 3 4 5. UH, UH, THE TOTAL TAX RATE, AGAIN, REMAINS THE SAME AS WE HAD FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS. SO THAT IS A SUMMATION OF THE, UH, BUDGET. UH, NOW WOULD BE THE TIME TO, YOU WOULD LIKE TO FORWARD, COME WITH THE MICROPHONE AND IDENTIFY YOURSELF AND SPEAK TO WHATEVER PART OF THE BUDGET THAT YOU HAVE. WE HAVE A THREE MINUTE LIMITATION ON THAT. I DO, UH, REQUEST THAT YOUR, UH, COMMENTS, CERTAINLY WE PLEASED WITH FRANK COMMENTS, BUT I DO EXPECT THEM TO BE, UH, COMMENTS AS WELL. SO, TO COME FIRST, NOW, TIME TO DO THAT. AND, UM, I LIVE IN, UM, IN TEXAS, IN THE COUNTY OF CLIN, OUR COUNTY 1 0 4, AND I'M A NIGHT DETENTION OFFICER AT COFFIN COUNTY JAIL. AND IT SEEMS LIKE EVERY TIME THAT YOU HAVE A BUDGET MEETING AND YOU TALK ABOUT CUTS, THE FIRST GROUP YOU WANT TO CUT IS WITH THE JAIL EMPLOYEES. WHY IS THAT? WHY DO YOU WANT TO KEEP CUTTING THE STAFF WHEN WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE TO DO OUR JOB PROPERLY? NOW, THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ARE SENDING A VERY NEGATIVE MESSAGE TO THE JAIL EMPLOYEES. I FEEL LIKE YOU LOOK AT US BY SECOND CLASS CITIZENS. SO WHY NOT CUT US? IT APPEARS THAT THE JOB THAT WE DO FOR YOU DOESN'T MATTER. FIRST, YOU TRIED TO PRIVATIZE THE JAIL AND BE RID OF ALL OF US. WE FOUGHT BACK AND SHERIFF BURN SAID, NO. HE CARES ABOUT HIS EMPLOYEES AND THE SAFETY AND THE SECURITY OF THE JAIL. SECONDLY, YOU TRIED TO CUT OUR RETIREMENT AND CALL IT A RAISE. WE CAME [00:20:01] FORWARD TO PROTECT OUR RETIREMENT. NOW YOU ARE TRYING TO ELIMINATE MORE POSITIONS AT THE JAIL. THIS IS NOTHING BUT WRONG. IT APPEARS LIKE THE COMMISSIONERS MAY HAVE A PERSONAL VENDETTA AGAINST THE SHERIFF AND THE JAIL EMPLOYEES. THE BUDGET CUTS APPEAR TO BE SOLELY DIRECTED AT US. THIS IS NOT A QUESTION OF DOLLARS, AND IT'S DEALING WITH THE SAFETY AND SECURITY OF OUR JAIL. I UNDERSTAND THAT JAIL STANDARD STATES THAT THE BARE MINIMUM FOR STAFFING IS ONE OFFICER FOR EVERY 48 INMATES. AND THE AVERAGE POPULATION IN OUR JAIL IS AROUND 350 INMATES. ON AVERAGE, THIS EQUATES TO ABOUT EIGHT OFFICERS PER SHIFT. THIS WILL ABSOLUTELY NOT WORK IF A FIVE RACE UP OR AN INMATE DECIDES TO HURT THEMSELVES. THERE WILL ONLY BE TWO, TWO OFFICERS ON THE POD. ONE WILL BE IN THE PICKET AND ONE ON THE FLOOR. THE FLOOR OFFICER CANNOT GO INTO A CELL ALONE, AND THE PICKET OFFICER CANNOT LEAVE THE PICKET. THEY HAVE TO CALL FOR BACKUP WITH ONLY EIGHT OFFICERS. NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO COME. THIS PUTS OUR OFFICERS AND INMATES IN A POSITION TO BE SERIOUSLY HURT OR MAYBE EVEN KILLED. WHAT DO YOU TELL THE FAMILY OF THAT OFFICER? I'M SORRY. WE WEREN'T ABLE TO GET THERE IN TIME DUE TO ENOUGH, UH, DUE THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH STAFF. THE SAFETY OF THE JAIL WOULD BE GREATLY COMPROMISED. WE CANNOT CUT ANYMORE POSITIONS AND BE SAFE. MAYBE YOU SHOULD START LOOKING AT THE WHOLE COUNTY BUDGET AND NOT JUST AT THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT. MAYBE THE COMMISSIONERS TO THINK ABOUT TAKING BACK THEIR LAST PAY RAISE. THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT HAS NOT HAD A REAL RAISE OF ANY KIND IN NUMBER FIVE YEARS. HOW IS THAT FAIR? DON'T CUT OUR JAIL STAFF BY 21 OFFICERS AND PUT THE SECURITY IN DANGER. PUT THE SECURITY AND SAFETY OF OUR OFFICERS IN JEOPARDY. I'VE SAID BEFORE, WE NEED MORE DETENTION OFFICERS, NOT LESS TO KEEP OUR JAIL SAFE AND SECURE. PLEASE DO NOT CUT 21 POSITIONS. THE JAIL WILL NOT BE A SAFE PLACE FOR EITHER THE OFFICERS OR THE INMATES. THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE? I SPOKE COUPLE WEEKS AGO. I'M ASSISTANT IN POINT AND A TAXPAYER. UM, THROUGH ALL OF, UM, THE EVENTS THAT HAVE HAPPENED FROM THE JAIL PRIORITIZATION TO, UM, NOW THE BUDGET AND, UM, THE, UH, $1 MILLION CUT TO THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE BUDGET, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE JUST SOME THINGS THAT I HAVEN'T QUITE UNDERSTOOD. I LIVE IN FLORIDA, AND THAT TOWN HAS GROWN TREMENDOUSLY. UH, COMMISSIONER YOU SAT IN MY LEADERSHIP CLASS NOT TOO LONG AGO. WE TALKED ABOUT THAT VERY THING. TERRIBLE'S GROWING. CRANDALL'S GROWING EVERY, EVERY CITY, FOR THE MOST PART IS GROWING IN THIS COUNTY. WITH THAT, THEIR LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES ARE GROWING TOO. BUT FOR WHATEVER REASON, THE COURT HAS DECIDED TO DECREASE THE ONE AGENCY THAT BEARS THE MOST RESPONSIBILITY TO HOUSE FOLKS WHO HAVE EITHER BEEN CONVICTED OR AWAITING THEIR COURT DATES, PROTECTING THOSE PEOPLE IN UNINCORPORATED AREAS AT THE COUNTY WHO THEY, THEY EXPECT POLICE SERVICES JUST LIKE I DO IN THE CITY OF. UM, BUT THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT HAS DECIDED TO DECREASE THAT. I DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT AS A TAXPAYER. I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT. AS SOMEBODY WHO GOES OUT AND SERVES THE COMMUNITY EVERY DAY, I CERTAINLY DON'T UNDERSTAND IT. WE HAVE SUCH RESPONSIBILITY TO EVERY SINGLE TAXPAYER TO PROTECT THEM. THIS YEAR IS A PRIME EXAMPLE. WHO WOULD'VE EVER THOUGHT SOMETHING LIKE THAT WOULD HAPPEN IN TEXAS? NOT ME. BUT, YOU KNOW, I WOULD LIKE TO THINK THAT WE'RE GONNA BE PREPARED FOR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, GOD FORBID, ONE DAY AGAIN. BUT BY CUTTING OUR STAFF AND CUTTING OUR FUNDING, THAT ISN'T GONNA HELP. OUR BUDGET HAS PRETTY MUCH THE COUNTY, THE OVERALL BUDGET HAS PRETTY MUCH REMAINED THE SAME, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE MOVING OF MONEY TO THE ROAD BRIDGES. I LIVE IN THE CITY, THE ROADS REALLY DON'T AFFECT ME A WHOLE LOT UNLESS I GO DOWN REAR ROAD, THEN I'LL PRETTY MUCH, YOU KNOW, LOSE MY, UH, BUT NO OFFENSE, MR. THAT'S TRUE. MEAN IT'S TRUE. UM, SO I DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND THE BIG SHIFT. I MEAN, I KNOW THAT THERE ARE PLACES THAT WE CAN CUT, BUT WHY ONE DEPARTMENT? WHY ONE, ONE THAT FOR YOUR SAFETY, YOUR SAFETY, YOUR SAFETY, AND YOUR SAFETY. JUDGE, [00:25:01] WHY ARE WE CUTTING FROM THAT ONE DEPARTMENT A MILLION DOLLARS? THAT'S A LOT. THAT'S A LOT OF FOLKS. UM, I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT'S CHANGED IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS. UH, I, I, I FEEL LIKE THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE HAS A WHOLE, HAS ALWAYS DONE A REALLY GOOD JOB. WE HAVE HIGH STANDARDS. WE FOLLOW OUR SHERIFF WHO HAS SET HIGH STANDARDS FOR US, AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO SO. BUT I, I JUST CAN'T REALLY WRAP MY HEAD AROUND WHY THIS HAS CHANGED ALL OF A SUDDEN. YOU KNOW, I, I HAVE CHILDREN AND I WOULD LIKE TO THINK THAT MY CHILDREN ARE GONNA BE SAFE AND PROTECTED, JUST LIKE YOU HAVE CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN. I'M SURE YOU WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THAT NOT ONLY DO WE PROVIDE LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES, BUT WE ALSO PROVIDE AWARENESS AND EDUCATION THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY. WE WANNA EDUCATE PEOPLE ON HOW TO KEEP YOUR KIDS SAFE, HOW TO KEEP YOUR PROPERTY SAFE. IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT PUTTING BAD GUYS IN JAIL AND KEEPING THEM THERE. FOLKS, COME SPEND SOME TIME WITH US. COME SEE WHAT WE DO. IT'S NOT ABOUT JUST PUTTING THEM IN JAIL AND KEEPING THEM THERE. IT'S A MUCH BIGGER PICTURE, MUCH BIGGER. I PROMISE YOU, YOU CAN SPEND A WEEK WITH ME, YOU'LL HAVE YOUR EYES COMPLETELY OPEN AND OF COURSE, BUT THE SHERIFF'S PERMISSION, I'D BE GLAD FOR YOU TO DO THAT. I DON'T THINK IT'S FAIR THAT WE DO THIS TO OUR CITIZENS. UM, I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND YOUR CONSIDERATION ON THESE MATTERS. IT'S, IT'S A MUCH BIGGER THAN ANYBODY UNDERSTANDS AND WHAT WE DO. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. WE HAVE OTHER, UM, AGAIN, I'M REALLY NOT CONCERNED ABOUT THE MONEY ASPECT OF WHAT'S OCCURRED IN THE JAIL TRYING TO DO APPROACH TO THESE FIGURES HERE. THE REDUCTION IS ACTUALLY 1.8 MILLION, NOT 1.2 MILLION. THE MEDICAL CONTRACT REDUCTION. I ACTUALLY WORKED OUT THE JAIL. THAT THAT SEEMS QUITE WELL THE AREAS COULD PRODUCE THE BUDGET IN THE JAIL. BUT, UH, WHEN I, I, I'M GONNA BE WORKING IN THERE TONIGHT AT SIX O'CLOCK TILL SIX O'CLOCK TOMORROW MORNING, UM, STARTING BACK ON FOUR DAY SHIFT, THE PREVIOUS SHIFT I WORKED, UH, I BELIEVE FOUR PEOPLE CALLED . UM, THAT WOULD BE EQUIVALENT TO WHAT YOU'RE PROPOSING HERE. UM, WE HAVE TO CALL PEOPLE IN TO COVER UP THE SHIFT. IF WE TRY TO WORK IT WITH THE FOUR PEOPLE, ABSENT THE SITUATION, NOT NECESSARILY FOR MYSELF, BUT SEVERAL OF THE OTHER OFFICERS, IT WOULD'VE MADE IT VERY, UH, DANGEROUS. UM, AND I DON'T THINK THAT TAKING THE MONEY, TRANSFERRING IT FROM JAIL TO THE ROADS RIDGES, IS, UM, I MEAN, WHAT WE WANT. WE JUST WANT IT SO THAT WE LET OUR CRIMINALS OUT OF THE JAILS. UH, BUT THEY HAVE NICE ROAD TO DRIVE AWAY. MR. SMITH, SOMEONE ELSE. M AREA. WHAT'S YOUR PERSONAL NAME? SUNNY VEZ. AND I'M PRECINCT. I ADDRESS HERE, JUST THIS BUDGET HERE ABOUT BASICALLY THE PRECINCT. I'VE SEEN ONE PRECINCT GO UP ON THEIR BUDGET ABOUT THOUSAND. OKAY? I CAN UNDERSTAND THAT. WE NEED THAT MONEY TO WORK ON THOSE. BUT FOR INSTANCE, I SEEN AN ISSUE WITH THE, UH, COUNTY EMPLOYEES IN FOUR [00:30:01] BACK IN AUGUST, OUR ROAD, THEY IN THE TRUCK ONE HOUR AND 24 MINUTES. IF YOU START, WE'RE NOT PRODUCING PRODUC AND DOING WHAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING, MOVE THAT MONEY BACK TO WHAT BE WE WORK AT THE JAIL FOUR, SIX HOURS A WEEK WHEN WE'RE ON CALL, THAT MEANS WE COME IN ANOTHER 24, WE PUT IN 70 HOURS EVERY WEEK, TWO DAYS. THE REST. ONE DAY IS TOTALLY ONE DAY. I'M ASKING, UH, YOU ALL TO LOOK AT YOUR ROAD AND THAT WHERE YOUR BUDGET IS. BUT I CAN'T SEE WHERE YOU, YOU'RE COME UP WITH, AND WE'RE NOT GETTING, THIS IS WHAT I SEEN LAST TUESDAY OR WEDNESDAY. I PLAYED GOLF, OAK GOLF. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, VALEZ. JUDGE, I'M LOOKING AT THIS A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY. I LOOK AT IT AS A MORALE ISSUE. YOU HAVE REALLY SET THE EMPLOYEE BACK UNDER HEELS, CUTS, POTENTIAL CUTS, UM, AND I, I'M SETBACK BY THE NUMBER OF, UH, PEOPLE YOU ARE CUTTING IN THE JAIL. LET ME GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY ON THE JAIL. WHEN I TOOK OFFICE A FEW YEARS AGO, THE JAILERS QUALIFIED FOR FOOD STAMPS. WHAT WE WERE DOING IS WE WERE TEACHING THEM FOR ONE YEAR, TRAINING THEM, AND THEY'D GO TO ELLIS COUNTY OR WHATEVER COUNTY. AND THEIR PAY WAS REALLY INCREASED BY, BY SUBSTANTIAL MARGIN. AND I GOT, I DID HAVE TIME TO READ THIS, BUT I JUST QUICKLY LOOKED AT IT. IT, THIS IS THE PROPOSED BUDGET BECAUSE THE ONE ON THE ONE ON THE WEBSITE DOESN'T EVEN COME CLOSE TO THIS. AND I PREPARED MY NOTES FOR THE ONE ON THE WEBSITE, BUT THAT BUDGET WAS PROPOSED BACK. YES, I CLEARLY UNDERSTAND THAT. YES. AND I KNOW IT'S GONNA CHANGE. 31. SO OBVIOUSLY WHAT I SEE HERE, JUST A QUICK PERUSAL OF THIS. 31 DEPARTMENTS THAT BUDGET INCREASES. 17, INCLUDING THE JAIL GOT DECREASED. COUNT 'EM UP. I DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO BE PERFECT. YOU MAY, YOU MAY CORRECT ME ONE OR TWO, BUT I JUST REALLY HAVE A PROBLEM, UH, WITH PICKING ON ONE DEPART. I'LL GIVE YOU, YOU TOOK A MILLION DOLLARS AWAY FROM THE JAIL. WE PUT IT IN ROAD BRIDGE. I DON'T HAVE PROBLEM OF THAT. I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH, THEY TOOK IT JUST FROM THE JAIL. THE, THE REQUIREMENTS TO MAINTAIN THE JAIL. YOU KNOW, THEY, THERE'S A SHERIFF'S ACADEMY. I'M ON THE BOARD OF THE SHERIFF'S ACADEMY. I CAN HOW MANY CLASSES ARE IN THE ACADEMY? 2030. THESE ARE IN SERVICE REQUIREMENTS. THEY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE. IF YOU DEDUCT 21 PERSONNEL FROM THEIR LIST, THEY WON'T HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE TO DO THEIR JOB. THERE'S, THERE'S IN-SERVICE REQUIREMENTS THAT THESE JAILERS NEED TO DO BY LAW. I'M ON THE BOARD. WE, WE AUTHORIZE ALL THESE DIFFERENT CLASSES. THEY HAVE THREE INSTRUCTORS, I BELIEVE. UH, ONE OF 'EM IS A SCHOOL TEACHER, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY VERY WELL, UH, THAT TEACHES EACH CLASS. YOU DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH MONEY THAT SAVED THE COUNTY BY NOT HAVING TO SEND THEM TO WHEREVER BOSTON. IF YOU GO TO AUSTIN AND BACK FOR LESS THAN THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR A THREE DAY COURSE, NO, YOU, YOU NEED, YOU NEED TO VISIT THE JAIL. YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT GOES ON IN THAT JAIL. WE HAVE HAD FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS, EXCELLENT RATINGS IN THAT JAIL. THESE CUTS ARE GOING TO BAD FROM AROUND, BAD FOR PRODUCTIVITY. UH, I JUST WANT YOU TO BE AWARE. I SIT IN THAT SEAT AND I KNOW WHAT IT TAKES TO, UH, MAKE THE BUDGET FAIR. SO 31, 31, [00:35:01] UH, 31 DEPARTMENTS GETTING INCREASES IN 17, GETTING DECREASED. THAT'S NOT RIGHT. UH, ONE FINAL THING I'VE NOTICED ONE OF THE COMMISSIONERS IN HERE IS, UH, TOLTON HUNT COUNTY, HUNT COUNTY EQUIPMENT LEASE AND PURCHASED 140,000 HOFFMAN COUNTY LEASE AND PURCHASED IS $1 MILLION. IS THERE A REASON TO LOOK AT THAT? THANK YOU. OTHER COMMENTS? ANYONE ELSE WISH TO, UH, ADDRESS SHANNON GARDNER AND THE CHILDREN'S ADVOCACY CENTER? UM, I HEARD ABOUT IT, UM, PREVIOUS TO THAT, LOOKED AT IT. I GUESS MY CONCERN IS, UM, YOU KNOW, WORKING SERVICE PROVIDER IN COUNTY, WE WORK WITH CHILD, WE WORK CLOSELY WITH ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES. SHE DIDN'T KNOW, UM, THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE, BY FAR IS THE MOST PROGRESSIVE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY IN THE COUNTY. NOT TO OFFEND THE OTHERS, BUT PART OF THAT IS DUE TO THE LEADERSHIP THAT EXISTS THERE IN THAT DEPARTMENT. UM, I'M NOT, UM, I RESPECT THE FACT THAT THE DECISIONS THAT YOU GUYS HAVE TO MAKE ARE REALLY DIFFICULT. UM, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, I'M HOPE YOU RESPECT THE FACT THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN CUTS LIKE THIS ARE MADE, THAT IT'S GONNA DIRECTLY AFFECT THE CITIZENS OF THE COUNTY. UM, AND NOT JUST THE PEOPLE THAT ARE EMPLOYED THERE, BUT THE PEOPLE BEYOND THAT, THEIR FAMILY AND, UM, UH, THE VICTIMS THAT WE SERVE ON A DAILY BASIS, OR THAT THEY SERVE ON A DAILY BASIS. UM, AND WHEN YOU MAKE THOSE KIND OF CUTS, UM, THEY'RE GONNA BE DIRECTLY AFFECTED AND IT'S GONNA CAUSE PROBLEMS. UM, I'VE SPOKEN WITH OTHER ADVOCACY CENTERS, UM, WHERE THEY'VE HAD OTHER MUNICIPALITIES THAT HAVE HAD, UM, AND IT'S THE IMPACT THAT IT HAS JUST ON OUR VICTIMS THAT WE SERVE IS TREMENDOUS. AND IT'S, UM, IT'S SAD TO SEE. AND, UM, I JUST, UH, I GUESS MY HOPE IS THAT YOU GUYS WOULD JUST REMEMBER THAT IT AFFECTS A WHOLE LOT MORE PEOPLE THAN, UM, JUST WHAT THIS PIECE OF PAPER CAN EVEN DESCRIBE. UM, WE WANT THE BEST FOR OUR COUNTY. I THINK WE ALL WANT THE BEST FOR OUR COUNTY. THERE'S ANY DOUBT ABOUT THAT. THAT'S WHY YOU GUYS ARE IN THE POSITION THAT YOU'RE IN. UM, BUT AS A SERVICE PROVIDER AND WHAT I'VE DONE FOR MY ENTIRE CAREER, UM, I KNOW THAT WHEN PERSONNEL IS AT, SERVICES ARE CUT. AND I THINK THAT'S THE LAST THING ANYBODY WANTS FOR THE CITIZENS OF OUR COUNTY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE? I'M JOHN. GOOD. THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO SPEAK. BRUCE. JUDGE, SORRY. UM, PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES THAT ARE BEING CUT IN THE JAIL, ASKED TO SHERIFF, CLEARED THIS UP. I THOUGHT THE 21 PERSONNEL WITH PEOPLE THAT ARE MOVED FROM DISPATCH OVER TO THE NEW CENTER, AND THE SHERIFF DIDN'T CLEAR THAT UP. UH, THE 350 FOR THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF, UH, PEOPLE AT THE JAIL RIGHT NOW, THE INMATES IN THE JAIL THAT'S ABOVE, WELL ABOVE THE NATIONAL, THE AVERAGE WE HAD OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS, WE HAD AN AVERAGE OF BETWEEN, BETWEEN TWO 50 AND 2 75. IT HAS GONE UP THIS YEAR. DEFINITELY. UM, ALSO THE JAIL IN HUNT COUNTY THAT JIM DE WAS TALKING ABOUT, UH, HOLDS ALL, I MEAN, IT HAS ALMOST 400 PRISONERS WITH HALF THE STAFF THAT WE HAVE HERE. THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT YOU'RE COMPARING, BUT WE DON'T NEED TO COMPARE THE ROADS IN HUNT COUNTY WITH THE, UH, SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT HERE IN CATON COUNTY. SO WHAT I, WHAT I'M ASK IS THAT WE DO NEED TO LOOK AT THIS VERY EFFECTIVELY. WE HAVE PEOPLE IN CALIN COUNTY THAT PAY TAXES. THEY'RE PAYING FOR THESE PEOPLE. IF THERE ARE EXTRA, THAT NEEDS TO BE SOMETHING THAT'S CONSIDERED THE PEOPLE OF CONMAN COUNTY ARE PAYING FOR THIS. AND IT'S NOT FAIR FOR THE PEOPLE HERE TO BE PAYING FOR SOMETHING THAT OTHER COUNTIES ARE DOING VERY EFFECTIVELY WITH [00:40:01] MUCH LESS PEOPLE AND MORE, UH, INMATES. SO I JUST ASK AND PRAY THAT YOU GUYS REALLY LOOK AT THIS CLOSELY AND DO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE ACCORDING TO WHAT THE PEOPLE OF COPELAND COUNTY NEED, NOT WHAT THE, BASICALLY THE JAIL EMPLOYEES NEED. I UNDERSTAND THOSE PEOPLE OUT THERE. DO A HARD JOB, DO A GOOD JOB, BUT IF WE'RE OVERSPENDING, WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT ALSO. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR SPEAK. THANK YOU MR. COOK. OTHER FOLKS THAT WOULD LIKE TO THIS MORNING, DO ANY OF COMMISSIONERS HAVE ANY COMMENTS BEFORE WE CLOSE THE, YOU WANT? WELL, I WROTE DOWN A FEW NOTES AS WE WE'RE GOING ALONG. I APPRECIATE, I APPRECIATE YOUR INPUT. WE APPRECIATE YOUR INPUT IN THE LAST SEVERAL MINUTES. WE NEED TO LISTEN TO WHAT WE FOR SURE. UH, THE FIRST LADY CAME, SORRY, REMEMBER YOUR NAME. THE LAST PAY RAISE FOR THE COMMISSIONERS WAS THE LAST PAY RAISE THAT EVERY EMPLOYEE GOT. WE DON'T GIVE OURSELF RAISE. MATTER OF FACT, WE APPLY RAISES THE LAST RAISE, COMMISS RAISE ALL EMPLOYEES. UH, MR. PETER ROW IS A CITY ROAD WHERE YOU LOST YOUR TRANSMISSION, AND YOU CERTAINLY CAN ON THAT ROAD, , IF YOU GO DOWN THE COUNTY PORTSMOUTH. IT'S FAIR. IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT GOOD. IT IS FAIR, JIM. UH, THE 31 DEPARTMENT INCREASES. I LOOK TO THE SAME THING. A LOT OF THAT PROBABLY WAS WHEN WE DO A $600, UH, ONE TIME PAY SUPPLEMENT AND IT INCREASES THEIR BUDGET BY 600 PLUS SOCIAL SECURITY BOOK RETIREMENT. AND SO THERE COULD BE, IF THERE'S MANY EMPLOYEES IN A DEPARTMENT, IT'LL SHOW AN INCREASE IN THAT DEPARTMENT. I DON'T THINK WE HAVE VERY MANY INCREASE IN DEPARTMENTS AS WE'RE GOING DOWN TO THERE UNTIL THIS $600 CAME IN. AND THAT WOULD, THAT WOULD RAISE THEIR BUDGET NUMBERS UP. SO YOU'RE PROBABLY RIGHT. BUT I BET WHEN I WENT BACK THERE AND LOOKED THERE FOR, I THINK MOST OF THE TIME IT WAS DUE TO A LITTLE BIT OF SALARY INCREASE. AND THAT'S NOT REALLY A SALARY INCREASE. IT'S A ONE TIME STIP. UH, ONE, THE LAST THING LOOKED AT, UH, JOHN USED TO LOOK AT HUNT COUNTY. MR. ZA AND I BOTH WENT UP THERE. MY ASSUMPTION WITH HUNT COUNTY WAS THEY'RE HIGHLY UNDERSTAFFED. THEY HAD A FIGHT BREAKOUT WHILE WE WERE THERE, AND IT WAS CHAOS. THEY HANDLED IT. THEY DO A GOOD JOB, BOYS. A TOUGH JOB. GOT TOUGH JOB. IT LOOKS TO ME, IT APPEARS TO ME THAT THEY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE UP THERE HUNTING. YEAH. UH, THE LAST THING I WANNA SAY IS THAT THERE'S NEVER ENOUGH MONEY TO GO AROUND. IF YOU WANT SERVICES, WE CAN DO TWO THINGS. WE CAN RAISE TAXES AND HAVE CERTAIN, HAVE INCREASE SERVICES. NOBODY WANTS TO RAISE TAXES. I BET THERE'S NOT VERY PEOPLE OUT THERE THAT REALLY WANNA SAY, RAISE MY TAXES. AND THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE'VE BEEN COMING FROM, IS ONE OF OUR, UH, FIRST PRIORITY WE GOING IN HERE WAS WE'RE NOT GONNA RAISE TAXES. AND WE DID THAT. IT'S BEEN TOUGH TO DO IT. AND, UH, LASTLY I GONNA SAY THAT IT IS NOT JAIL VERSUS ROAD AND BRIDGE. ROAD AND BRIDGE DOES NEED A LOT OF, EVERY, EVERY DEPARTMENT COULD USE SOME MORE, UH, RESOURCES. MY ORIGINAL ASSUMPTION, ANYTHING THAT WE SAVED OUT OF JAIL, I WOULD'VE PREFERRED TO PUT INTO LAW ENFORCEMENT, TO SHERIFF DEPUTIES, PEOPLE ON THE STREET TRYING TO CATCH THE BAD GUYS. IF THERE'S SOME EFFICIENCIES BE MADE AT THE JAIL, I WOULD'VE LIKED TO HAVE SEEN THAT GONE INTO LAW ENFORCEMENT. DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING? WELL, MY WHOLE TAKE ON THIS WHOLE THING COMING BACK FROM BEING ON COURT AGAIN, IS THAT, UH, YES, WE STARTED TALKING ABOUT, UH, WHAT WE NEED TO DO SOME CUTS THIS YEAR. AND WE DO HAVE THE ISSUE OUT HERE WITH, UH, THE JAIL GETTING MAJORITY OF THE, AND, AND THE JAIL AND, AND THE OFFICER OUT GETTING MAJORITY OF THE MONEY. THEY, THEY'RE WELL PAID INDIVIDUALS, BUT WE HAVEN'T SEEN ANY COOPERATION, I'M SURE TO COME FORWARD AND SAY, LET'S GO OUT HERE AND SEE IF WE CAN BRING IN SOME OTHER, UH, UH, UH, PEOPLE THAT ARE DETAINED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN MENT OUR, UH, JAILHOUSE OUT HERE TO MAKE THE PAYMENTS ON OUR DEBT SERVICE ON OUR BOND THAT WE STILL PAY ON. WE OWE $13 MILLION TODAY ON OUR BOND BOMBS ON THE JAIL. WE'RE TRYING TO COME TO Y'ALL, Y'ALL FOR A NEW, UH, UH, COURT BUILDING. I, I THINK THAT IT IS, UH, WE'VE GOTTA SHOW MORE THAT WE'RE ALL WILLING TO DO SOMETHING, [00:45:01] UH, COME FORWARD. LET'S ALL MAKE THIS HAPPEN. WE CAN'T, UH, DO THIS BY OURSELVES, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO DO THE BEST WE CAN WITH THE FEW DOLLARS THAT WE DO GET FROM OUR TAXPAYERS. AND I APPRECIATE THAT, AND I DO APPRECIATE EVERYONE THAT'S COME FORWARD THIS MORNING. BUT I THINK IF WE HAD MORE COOPERATION IN COUNTY, WE CAN MOVE THE SAME FORWARD. MR. I'D LIKE TO ADDRESS MR. VALDEZ'S COMMENTS SAYS, UH, WORKERS SITTING IN THE TRUCKS, UM, NOW ON THE, ON THE JOB THERE BEHIND THE ENDING OAK GOLF COURSE, WHAT WE HAVE TO DO IS WHEN WE PUT OUT ROCK ON THAT ROAD, WE HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL ALL THOSE TRUCKS ARE EMPTY AND THE ROCKS SMOOTHED OUT WHERE WE CAN DETERMINE IF WE NEED TO MAKE ANOTHER ROUND OF ROCK. AND I KNOW 30 MINUTES SOUND LIKE A LONG TIME FOR THOSE GUYS BE SITTING THERE, BUT IF WE DON'T RUN ALL THOSE TRUCKS TOGETHER AND THEY GET ALL SCATTERED OUT, IT JUST, IT JUST SPREADS THE PROJECT. NOW, THIS HOUR AND 24 MINUTES, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THOSE GUYS SITTING IN THE TRUCK. UH, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT WAS, IF YOU SAW THAT WHEN WE GOT A BAD LOAD OF OIL OVER THERE AND WE WERE TRYING TO DETERMINE WHAT TO DO. I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS THAT OR NOT. I MORE THAN HAPPY TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT IT BECAUSE I TRY TO RUN THAT OPERATION EFFICIENTLY AS I CAN DOWN THERE. AND, UH, BUT I'LL BE HAPPY TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT IT, MR. YOU'VE ALREADY SPOKEN, BUT I WILL DO THIS. IF YOU'D LIKE TO COME FORWARD AND SPEAK AGAIN, I'LL ALLOW YOU TO DO THAT. BUT ANYBODY ELSE THAT, UH, WANTS TO COME FORWARD, I'LL ALSO ALLOW THEM TO DO THE SAME THING. BUT TO BE FAIR, THANK YOU MUCH, JUDGE. I JUST WANT, WANT TO CLEAR SOMETHING UP. THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT I DO ON, ON A WHIM. THE JAIL, COFFMAN JAIL IS A POD SYSTEM. THE HUNT COUNTY JAIL IS, I THINK INLINE, HELP ME OUT. INLINE OR LINEAR SYSTEM? LINEAR, OKAY, FOLKS, ALMOST IS A LINEAR SYSTEM. THEY REQUIRE DIFFERENT OPERATION PROCEDURES. UH, AND, AND I'M REALLY DISTURBED WITH THE FACT THAT WE'RE CUTTING 21 PERSONNEL OUTTA THAT JAIL. WE HAVE HAD EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT RESPONSE FROM THE, FROM THE JAILERS. WHEN THE, WHEN THE JAIL STANDARDS COME DOWN, WE ALWAYS GET A GREAT REPORT. I, I WORRY THAT, UH, WE WON'T NEXT TIME. I REALLY HATE TO SAY THIS BECAUSE I LOVE ONE. UH, DON'T ELABORATE. UH, YOU LIKE HUNT COUNTY. THE SALARY FROM A HUNT COUNTY COMMISSIONER IS $53,000. THE SALARY FOR A COTTON COUNTY COMMISSIONER IS 77,000. OKAY. OTHER COMMENTS? ANYBODY ELSE WISH TO COME FORWARD BEFORE WE END? ONE MORE COMMENT, BRUCE. I'M SORRY, AHEAD. NO, GO AHEAD, SIR. YOU MIND? YEAH, GO AHEAD. ONE MORE QUICK, QUICK COMMENT. TALK ABOUT ROADS AGAIN IN HU COUNTY ROAD THAT THE RIDGE ROAD BRIDGE FUND, THERE IS EIGHT AND A HALF CENTS, I BELIEVE FOR THE HUNDRED EVALUATION. WHERE THE LARGEST WHAT BE FIVE, 5%. IT'S GOING FROM HAND. SEE, THAT'S WHERE WE NEED TO BE BECAUSE WE'RE NOT ROADS. AND YOU TALKING ABOUT LOADS, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT KIDS THAT GO ON BUSES TO GO ACROSS THESE BRIDGES, GO ACROSS THE ROADS. YOU TALKING ABOUT KIDS ON BUSES, THEY NEED TO BE JUST AS SAFE AS THAT JAIL DOES AND PEOPLE TALKING THE COUNTY. SO, UM, THAT, THAT WAS ONE ISSUE I HAD. MAY I, MAY I SAY SOMETHING REGARD? HUNT COUNTY GETS ABOUT $3.2 MILLION IN SALES TAX THAT GOES TO THEIR FUND THAT WE DO NOT RECEIVE. HUNT COUNTY DOES NOT GRANT A SENIOR CITIZEN FOR THEIR TAX WHEN THEY TURN 65. SO WHEN YOU START COMPARING COUNTIES TO COUNTIES, PARTICULARLY WHEN IT RELATES TO REVENUE, UH, IT'S VERY HARD TO DO. BUT $3.2 MILLION IN SALES TAX THAT WE DO NOT RECEIVE, THAT'S ABOUT FIVE OR 6 CENTS ON OUR TAX BASED TIME. BUT OUR TOTAL REVENUE IS HIGHER THAN COUNTIES IS. I'M NOT, I'M NOT ADVISED, I DIDN'T LOOK AT THAT. I DID LOOK AT THE AMOUNT OF SALES TAX LABOR. THEY, THEY DO HAVE A LOWER TAX RATE, BUT THEY ALSO GET $3.2 MILLION. JOHN, I UNDERSTAND. AND SALES TAX THAT CANNOT BE IGNORED. THEY DO NOT FREEZE THEIR TAXES ON PEOPLE THAT ARE OVER SIX, FIVE YEARS LATER. SO THERE ARE VARIANCES THERE. I MEAN, THAT'S MAX. THAT'S, [00:50:01] YOU CAN GO TO THE, YOU CAN GO TO THE WEBSITE, GO TO THE CONTROLLER WEBSITE AND I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, BUT WE'RE PULLING IN OTHER THINGS BESIDES WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE JAIL SYSTEM THERE COMPARED TO WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR JAIL SYSTEM HERE. WE'RE COMPARING, UH, ORANGES AND APPLES WHEN WE SHOULD BE COMPARING WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THEIR JAIL WITH ALMOST 400 PRISONERS A DAY. AND THEY'RE GETTING, UH, CONTRACTS IN TOO, AND THEY'RE CHARGING MORE FOR THE PEOPLE THAT THEY'RE CONTRACTING THAN WE ARE CHARGING FOR SOME REASON. SO I'M NOT AN EXPERT AT RUNNING A JAIL, NOR DO I WANNA BE. WE HAVE PROFESSIONALS THAT DO THAT, AND I THINK WE HAVE VERY WELL RUN. AND JUST SO YOU'LL KNOW, AND THE OTHER AUDIENCE MEMBERS WILL KNOW TODAY, THAT SHERIFF CALLED ME OUT TO MEET WITH HIS, UH, COMMAND STAFF ABOUT TWO MONTHS AGO. AND WHENEVER WE WERE WORKING ON THE, UH, THIS BUDGET AND ASKED ME WHAT DID I NEED HIM TO DO TO, UH, UH, HELP US BALANCE OUR BUDGET. AND I ASKED HIM IF THERE'S ANY WAY HE COULD CUT BACK APPROXIMATELY A MILLION DOLLARS MILLION AND IT'S JAIL BUDGET, UH, OUR SHERIFF'S BUDGET COMBINED, UH, THAT WOULD HELP A GREAT DEAL. AND HE TOLD ME, I'LL DO WHAT I NEED TO DO BECAUSE THAT HAPPEN. HE DID NOT ARGUE ABOUT IT. HE SAID, I'M A TEAM PLAYER. I'LL DO WHATEVER I NEED TO DO. UH, THE SHERIFF AND I ALSO VISITED, UH, UH, PEOPLE THAT HAVE PRIVATIZED JAILS. UH, WE MADE A TRIP TO JOHNSON COUNTY. IT SEEMS TO HAVE WORKED VERY WELL THERE. UH, BUT UH, YOU KNOW, IN OUR CASE, MAYBE IT DOESN'T WORK AS WELL. UH, WITH FOREMOST OF HIS THOUGHT WAS THE FACT THAT HE DID NOT WANT TO LOSE EMPLOYEES IF WE TRANSITIONED TO A PRIVATIZED JAIL. AND AGAIN, SOME COUNTIES IT'S WORKED VERY WELL. OTHER COUNTIES, IT'S BEEN A COMPLETE DISASTER. A COUNTY IN NORTHEAST TEXAS WHERE A FIRM THAT HAD A CONTRACT WITH, UH, UH, THAT PARTICULAR COUNTY, UH, WALKED OFF AND, AND LEFT HOLE IN THE BAG. THEY HAD THEIR, THEY START RUNNING THEIR GAS, THEIR JAIL. SO YOU CAN, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN PROVE JUST ABOUT ANYTHING YOU WANT TO PROVE. YOU FIND DIFFERENT, UH, UH, DIFFERENT SCENARIOS, BUT IT, IT'S, AGAIN, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO DETERMINE, UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT ONE COUNTY DOES IS COMPARED TO ANOTHER. I'VE ALSO ASKED THE SHERIFF THIS YEAR TO HAVE, UH, THE JAILS COMMISSION TO COME IN AND DO ANOTHER, UH, SURVEY OF STAFFING. UH, AS WE MOVE INTO THIS NEW YEAR, WE STEEL BUDGET AND JUST SEE HOW THAT COMPARES AND, UH, SEE IF, UH, IF THERE ARE, UH, WE'RE WHERE WE NEED TO BE. IF WE, IF OUR JAIL POPULATION GOES UP TO 500, UH, PEOPLE LIKE WE HAD IN THERE ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO, UH, UNDER A DIFFERENT DISTRICT ATTORNEY, UH, WELL THEN OBVIOUSLY WE'LL HAVE TO DO SOMETHING. UH, BUT WE WE'RE AT ABOUT 300 PEOPLE NOW. 5, 3 15, I'M NOT SURE. I'M NOT SURE WE'VE EVER BEEN DOWN TO TWO 50 OR 2 75. BUT STANDARDS BACK, I WAS LOOKING AT THE DAILY POPULATION THAT I HAVE NO RESEARCH. I WANT, I WANT TO CORRECT SOME OF THE INFORMATION, BUT I OUT ELSEWHERE INFORMATION, GUYS, ON THE THREE PEOPLE THAT YOU USED WHEN YOU DID THE, BECAUSE EVERY ONE OF THOSE, THOSE THREE GROUPS HAVE NOT LOST A CONTRACT AND HAVEN'T WALKED AWAY FROM THAT'S NOT TRUE. MR. THAT'S NOT, NO, THAT'S NOT TRUE. COULD YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT DO? YES, SIR. I'LL TELL YOU. I'LL TELL YOU. RATHER NOT DO IT IN A PUBLIC MEETING. THAT'S NOT TRUE. YOU IS THAT ONE PEOPLE DREW USING THERE? THAT'S ONE THAT DID ON OUR CONTRACT. THEY SUBSEQUENTLY PULLED OUT BEFORE THE BID WERE, UH, RECEIVED. THEY WERE GONNA PULL OUT BEFORE WE EVER GOT THE BID. OKAY, THANK YOU. THANK YOU. OTHER COMMENTS? MORNING, JOAN. GOOD MORNING. MY NAME IS JOAN. I'M CORPORAL ON THE NIGHT SHIFT. I WORKED LAST NIGHT FROM PM TO 6:00 AM BEEN WORKING WITH POP COUNTY FOR THE LAST YEAR, A MONTH AND A HALF. WORKED IN JAILS, UH, FOR APPROXIMATELY SEVEN YEARS. I'VE WORKED IN, UM, DIRECT SUPERVISION. I'VE WORKED IN LINEAR SYSTEMS AT THE SUN COUNTY. AND THIS IS, UH, THE INDIRECT SUPERVISION GUYS. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TAKING, UH, POSITIONS AWAY FROM US. THAT'S FINE. WHEN YOU'RE DOING SO, LIKE MS. ASPEN WAS TELLING YOU SOME OF THESE OTHER FOLKS THAT COME UP HERE TO ADDRESS THE WORK YOU'RE PUTTING TO JAIL AT, UH, AT RISK FOR SAFETY, THE OFFICER'S SAFETY AND HOW, HOW ARE YOU GONNA EXPLAIN TO THE FAMILIES THOSE GIVE HOW THE SHERIFF'S PERMISSION? I'D LIKE THE [00:55:01] PERSON INVITED TO EVERY ONE OF YOU GUYS TO COME OUT AND WORK WITH US. I SPEND A 12 HOUR SHIFT WITH US. BETTER YET, SINCE YOU'RE CUTTING OUR POSITIONS BACK, HOW ABOUT WE GET YOU ON OUR ON CALL LIST SO WE CAN CALL EACH ONE OF YOU IN WHEN WE'RE SHORTHAND SO THAT YOU COME IN ON THE SPUR OF THE MOMENT AWAY FROM YOUR FAMILY AND RESPOND TO A FIGHT OR A MEDICAL EMERGENCY OR BOTH GOING OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE JAIL WHEN SHORTHANDED, IF YOU HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET ACROSS. CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, YOU, UH, ADDRESS THE PUBLIC IN REGARDS TO BRINGING FEDERAL, UH, FEDERAL PRISONERS. IF THAT'S THE CASE, YOU EXPECT FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO, TO BRING PRISONERS TO OUR JAIL. IF WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH STAFF TO THOSE POS TO WATCH PRISONERS. I DON'T BELIEVE SO. NOT BELIEVE SO. THANK YOU MR. CHAIR. OTHER COMMENTS? MR. THANK YOU JUDGE. UM, I WOULD LIKE TO RESPOND TO COMMISSIONER SHANE. UM, WHEN, WHEN YOU SPOKE ABOUT NO COOPERATION WITH THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE, YOU KNOW, I'M GONNA HAVE TO DISAGREE WITH YOU HERE. FIRST OF ALL, UM, REGARDING THE, UM, CONTRACT INMATES, THOSE INTENT HAVE BEEN MADE MANY TIMES. WHEN I WAS ASSIGNED TO THE JAIL ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO, WE HAD INMATES COMING FROM HENDERSON, VANTA COUNTY, I'M SORRY, NOT HENDERSON COUNTY. I'LL CORRECT MYSELF. IT WAS SMITH COUNTY, VANTA COUNTY. UM, AS FAR AS THE DEVIL INMATES GO, WE HAVE APPLIED FOR THAT, BUT WE'VE BEEN TURNED DOWN. I'M GONNA AGREE WITH THE GENTLEMAN THAT JUST SPOKE. HOW DO YOU EXPECT US TO SUPERVISE ALL THOSE PEOPLE? WE DON'T HAVE THE STAFF TO DO IT. THEY'RE NOT GONNA BRING THOSE FOLKS TO US. AND, AND REGARDING THE COOPERATION OF THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE COMMISSIONER, I'M GONNA DISAGREE WHOLEHEARTEDLY WITH YOU BECAUSE I HAVE SEEN THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE PROVIDE SERVICES AS FAR AS TRUSTEE TO THE DIFFERENT COUNTY BARNS FOR TRASH PICKUP. AND THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE AS A WHOLE HAS GIVEN AND GIVEN AND GIVEN. BUT THAT'S WHAT WE DO. WE DON'T MIND, BUT DON'T TELL US THAT WE'RE NOT A COOPERATIVE AGENCY. THAT'S JUST VERY FAR FROM THE TRUTH, SIR. VERY FAR FROM THE TRUTH. UM, AND YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ALSO ABOUT THE PRIVATIZATION AND HOW THIS IS MR. COOK, HOW YOU BELIEVE THAT THIS IS GONNA BE GOOD FOR OUR COUNTY. DO Y'ALL, IF YOU'VE SPENT ANY TIME IN THE JAIL, YOU'LL KNOW THAT THAT IS AN IMMACULATE JAIL. I'VE HAD INMATES WHO WERE CONTRACTED FROM SMITH COUNTY, WE WERE BOOKING 'EM OUT TO SEND THEM BACK FOR COURT DATES. AND THEY'RE ASKING ME, CAN I PLEASE STAY BECAUSE IT'S CLEAN. I MEAN, WHEN YOU HAVE AN INMATE ASKING YOU TO STAY IN YOUR JAIL, WE KNOW YOU'RE DOING SOMETHING RIGHT BECAUSE IT'S, THAT BUILDING IS VERY WELL. AND EVEN THE, THE COMPANIES THROUGH THE PRIVATIZATION HAVE COMMENTED ON THAT. NOW, DO YOU THINK THAT THOSE COMPANIES ARE GONNA KEEP THAT SAME LEVEL OF MAINTENANCE? THAT'S NOT THEIR BUILDING. THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT. THEY'RE NOT GONNA KEEP THE BUILDING IN THE SAME CONDITION WE ARE. SO WHEN THE PRIVATIZATION THING FALLS THROUGH ONE DAY, WHICH I BELIEVE IT WILL, THEN WE'RE GONNA BE STUCK WITH LOTS OF REPAIRS IN A BUILDING THAT'S NOT BEEN TAKEN CARE OF. AND I JUST AS A TAXPAYER, I DON'T WANT THAT. I MEAN, THESE TAX DOLLARS ARE HARD TO COME BY AND I, I THINK WE JUST REALLY NEED TO BE SMART WITH THAT. UM, AND AS FAR AS, UM, FOR YOUR INFORMATION, MR. COOK, UM, AS FAR AS THE, UM, SUPERVISION AND EVERYTHING AT HUNT COUNTY, THEIR SYSTEM, THEY HAVE ONE CONTROL ROOM. THE WAY THEIR JAIL IS MADE, WE HAVE SIX CONTROL ROOMS. SO THOSE HAVE TO BE MONITORED BECAUSE IF YOU HAVE SOMEBODY IN A PAW OR IN A CELL BREAKING UP A FIGHT, I DON'T THINK YOU WANNA WAIT ON ANOTHER PERSON TO HAVE TO COME AND OPEN THAT DOOR FOR YOU TO LET SOMEBODY IN TO COME. THAT'S THE SYSTEM THAT, THAT THE COMMITTEE FOR THE JAIL CHOSE WHEN IT WAS DESIGNED. AND THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE. AND IT HAS TO BE STAFFED ACCORDINGLY. IT HAS TO BE STAFFED FOR THE SAFETY OF THE OFFICERS AND THE INMATES. 'CAUSE I KNOW EVERYBODY IN THIS ROOM AT SOME POINT KNOWS SOMEBODY WHO HAS EITHER BEEN INCARCERATED OR MAY BE, WHETHER [01:00:01] IT BE A FAMILY MEMBER OR A FRIEND. BUT YOU DON'T WANNA PUT THOSE FOLKS AT RISK EITHER. IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT THE INMATE, I MEAN THE DETENTION OFFICERS, IT'S ALSO ABOUT THE SAFETY OF THESE INMATES BECAUSE IF WE LET THEM GET HURT, ULTIMATELY WHO'S GOING TO, WHO'S GONNA GET SUED? KAUFFMAN COUNTY. SO, YOU KNOW, BEFORE WE START TALKING ABOUT HOW HUNT COUNTY DOES THINGS, I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO LOOK AT HOW THE, THE SYSTEM IS DESIGNED. THAT PODS IN THE COUNTY, AT THE COUNTY JAIL ARE DESIGNED AND ARE TO BE STAFFED A CERTAIN WAY TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF INMATES AND DETENTION OFFICERS. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER COMMENTS BEFORE WE CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING? I'LL KEEP, I'LL KEEP, I'LL KEEP IT REAL SHORT. NONE OF US STILL HAVE RUN JAIL. WE'VE BEEN OUT THERE, I'VE BEEN LOOKING AT JAIL, HAS THE LAST SIX, SEVEN YEARS. I DON'T HAVE RUN JAIL. BEEN LOOKING AT IT. I CAN'T FATHOM WHAT GOES ON OUT THERE. IT'S JUST A REALLY TOUGH JOB. HOWEVER, I WANNA SAY THAT I'VE GOT A LOT OF CONFIDENCE IN MY SHERIFF. IF THE SHERIFF SAYS HE CAN MAN THAT JAIL WITH 21 YEAR PEOPLE, I BET HE CAN. AND HE FINDS OUT THAT HE CAN'T. HE'LL COME BACK TO US AND WE'LL FIND SOME MORE PEOPLE. IF THE JAIL STANDARD SAID WE HAVE TO HAVE MORE PEOPLE OUT THERE, WE'LL HAVE TO HAVE MORE PEOPLE OUT THERE. THAT'S ALL I'M GONNA SAY. I LIKE, I INTENTIONALLY WAITED TILL EVERYBODY HAD A CONFIDENCE. SO WE KNOW WHAT WE'RE ADDRESSING. AND Y'ALL AWARE THE LAST AUDIT IS DONE BY TEXAS JAIL STANDARD COMMISS SHOWED THAT THEY HAD ABOUT 37 MORE EMPLOYEES THAN WAS THE STATE AVERAGE FOR THAT FACILITY. NOW I'M ASSUMING THEY TOOK INTO ACCOUNT TO DESIGN THE BUILDING WHEN THEY DID THAT. SO I, I CAN APPRECIATE, YOU KNOW, THE EMPLOYEES PROTECT THEIR OWN. THAT'S, THAT'S GOOD. I MEAN, THEY'RE A TEAM JUST LIKE GER TEAM AND EVERY OTHER DEPARTMENT AND I APPRECIATE, GREATLY APPRECIATE THE WORK THEY DO. I KNOW IT'S JOB. WE VISITED, HUNT EVERYBODY THERE. THEY WERE, THEY WERE, THEY WERE, THEY, THEY DID A GREAT JOB. AND I'M SURE OUR EMPLOYEES, YOU KNOW, DO THE SAME I'M SURE. BUT JUST TAKING HUNT COUNTY COMPLETELY OUT AT THE STATISTICS WE WERE GETTING, UH, IF, IF THE SHERIFF SAID HE CAN TAKE 21 PEOPLE OUT AND STILL MAINTAIN SAFETY AND STANDARDS THAT WE NEED. I'M, I APPRECIATE YOU DOING THAT. AS FAR AS THE, THE PEOPLE TALK ABOUT THE SAFETY OF THE JAILERS OVER OUR ROADS. I MEAN, IT'S CLEAR BY THE NUMBERS. YOU KNOW, OUR VOTING BRIDGE FUND HAS BEEN GOING DOWN AND NOW WE BACK UP. SO HOPEFULLY WE CAN IMPROVE IT. AND I WOULD, UH, I WOULD STICK MY NECK OUT TO SAY THAT. I'M SURE A LOT MORE PEOPLE GET HURT ON THE COUNTY ROAD THEN GET HURT IN OTHER COUNTY. I KNOW A LOT DAMAGE. DONE ANY, UH, POSSIBILITY. FAR UNDERSTAFFED. UH, THE SHERIFF DOES A GREAT JOB IN MANAGING, REALLY APPRECIATE. THEY SAY WE DON'T HAVE PEOPLE JOB. HE SAID WE, WE, I'VE GOT OVER 200 MILES FROM PRECINCT THAT WE HAVE TODAY'S COST. ALRIGHT, UH, CHERYL, YOU, YOU'VE BEEN UNUSUALLY QUIET. I'M SCARED TO SAY ANYTHING. I'LL SAID ALL I DID . OKAY, ALL WE NEED TO MOVE ALONG. DO ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT THE, UH, UH, BUDGET? UH, I APPRECIATE EVERYBODY, UH, THE COMMENTS, THE WAY THE COMMENTS HAVE BEEN PRESENTED. UH, THAT'S, UH, UH, AGAIN, THAT'S HOW DEMOCRACY WORKS AND THAT'S HOW WE'RE SUPPOSED TO LISTEN TO OUR PEOPLE. AND I THINK WE'VE, UH, TRIED TO DO THAT. SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING. I, THE PUBLIC HEARING HAVE A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER CLARK. WE SECOND. [01:05:05] ALL IN FAVOR? SAY AYE. AYE. THOSE OPPOSED? UH, NOW I ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO, UH, ACT ON THE, UH, WELL THAT'S ON THE TAX NOW. SO APPROVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE, WE HAVE A MOTION FROM SHANE TO APPROVE THE PROPOSED BUDGET. WE LAST HOUR. SO, UH, DO I HAVE SECOND? SECOND. COMMISSIONER MANNING SECOND THAT MOTION? ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. I'M SORRY. WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT REVISION FOUR LISTED. OKAY. ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. PUBLIC. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. JUDGE. I LEAVE, I'VE GOTTA GO TO COURT, BUT BRIAN'S GONNA BAIL WITH COURT. OKAY, THANK YOU. WOULD YOU COME FORWARD? I KNOW YOU, YOU I PROMISE GET YOU HERE BY NINE 30. SO WE'RE GONNA MOVE ITEM 13 BEFORE WE, UH, HAVE HEARING. THANKS SIR. I APPRECIATE IT. UH, I GAVE YOU ALL A COPY OF HIGHLIGHTED THAT THE UPDATED VERSION, SOME UPDATED CORRECTIONS ON THAT. SO AS YOU CAN SEE, TAXES COLLECTED YEAR TO DATE ARE 28 MILLION 594 6 FOR A PERCENTAGE OF 98 7. SO YEAR DATE, 3,017,853. WE'RE STILL COLLECTING BACK TAXES FROM PRIOR YEARS. AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE FAR RIGHT HAND SIDE, WE STILL HAVE A LOT OF MONEY THAT HAS BEEN, THAT HAS NOT BEEN PAID FROM PRIOR YEARS. SO WE'RE ON COLLECTING THAT WITH THE ATTORNEY AND THROUGH THE THINGS THAT WE DO OFF. SO WE'LL CONTINUE WITH THAT. HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? COUPLE WEEKS AGO. THREE WEEKS. 90. ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OF THE TAX SESSION? THAT'S NUMBER NINE. NUMBER, NUMBER. THERE WASN'T A CORRECT AGENDA. THERE'S ONE ON THE TABLE OVER THERE. I'M SORRY. UH, I HAVE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE REPORT FROM THE TAX SESSION MOTION. SECOND, MR. SHANE SECOND MOTION. ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? ALL, ALL HEARING, HEARING TO DISCUSS AND FOR, UH, 13, I HAVE HEARING MR. SHANE SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. A RIGHT, THE PUBLIC HEARING DEALS WILL SETTING UP THE TAX RATE AND AGAIN, YOU HAVE A PAGE LISTED ON THE PROPOSED BUDGETS. LAST PAGE. AND AS MATTER WHAT OUR PROPOSED BUDGET TAX RATE WOULD BE FOR, UH, THE 2013 2014 YEAR TOTAL TAX RATE STAYS THE SAME. THE THE TAX RATE, UH, FOR THE GENERAL FUND IS, IS AND THEN THE DEBT SERVICE FUND IS FIVE A TOTAL RATE OF 5 6 5. ANYONE WISH TO THE COURT ON THE [01:10:03] ANYONE TO COURT? SHOCKED. ALRIGHT, I'M GONNA ENTERTAIN A MOTION. ANY COMMISSIONER HAVE ANY COMMENTS? WE'LL HAVE A MOTION TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING SO MAY MR. MANNING MAY THAT MOTION SECOND, UH, COMMISSIONER MARK SECOND MOTION. ALL IN FAVOR SAY A. ALRIGHT, WE HAVE SPECIFIC LANGUAGE WE REQUIRED TO READ. WE SET ENTERTAIN A MOTION IF SOMEONE WOULD SIX. I MOVE THAT THE PROPERTY IN TEXAS BE SET BY THE ADOPTION OF A TAX RATE OF GENERAL GRADE FUND 0.45203 BRIDGE 0.0740 INTEREST IN SINKING RATE 0.0305 FOR A TOTAL TAX RATE OF 0.5565. THIS TAX RATE WILL NOT RAISE MORE TAXES FOR MAINTENANCE ON THE OPERATION AND LAST YEAR'S TAX RATE AND THE TAX RATE WILL RAISE TAXES FOR MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS ON A $100,000 HOME BY APPROXIMATELY ZERO. HAVE A MOTION FOR THE COMMISSION. MANNING, DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. COMMISSIONER SHANE, ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. THOSE OPPOSED ALL. WE'RE GOING DO A COUPLE OF OTHER ITEMS BEFORE WE TAKE A BREAK. BEEN SITTING HERE FOR A WHILE NOW. FIRE MARSHAL COME UP AND DISCUSS, CONSIDER ATTEND COUNTYWIDE NINE, THE AVERAGE FOR THE 30 DAYS AT THAT POINT, HOW ARE THE FIRE DEPARTMENTS? ARE THEY STILL HAVE PRETTY GOOD COMPLIANCE WITH? YES, THE WORST TIME THAT WE HAVE ARE THE WEEKENDS OVERALL. I COMPLI EVERYBODY OUT THERE. I'D JUST LIKE TO SAY THAT, UH, I BELIEVE THE CITIZENS ARE DOING A BETTER JOB THIS YEAR THAN THEY EVER HAVE. BEING CAREFUL NOT TO DO ANY BURNING. UH, WE HAVEN'T HAD THE MAJOR FIRES, THE BIG FIRES LIKE, LIKE, BUT UH, I BELIEVE THE SYSTEM REALLY PAYING ATTENTION BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT ANY LIVE LAWS OR PROPERTY DAMAGE. AND I JUST, I WE NO MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER MANNING. HAVE A SECOND. ANY DISCUSSIONS FAVOR? SAY YOU HAVE A, UM, WE TALKED, UM, FINANCING AND IT'S NOT COMPATIBLE WITH OUR CURRENT LONGEVITY PROCESS. AND RIGHT NOW, CURRENTLY YOUR LONGEVITY KICKS ON ON THE DATE OF YOUR ANNIVERSARY. SO IF YOUR ANNIVERSARY DATE ALL PAY PERIOD, DEBBIE'S HAVING TO GO BACK AND MANUALLY CALCULATE HOWEVER MANY DAYS OF THE OLD RATE AND THEN THE NEW RATE AND THEN THAT AND PAY THE PERSON. SO CHANGING THE POLICY WOULD JUST ALLOW, UM, THE LONGEVITY TO BE EFFECTIVE ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE PAY GRADE IN WHICH THEIR ANNIVERSARY DATE FALLS. [01:15:07] ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS? BOTH THEM I HAVE THE DISABILITY TOO. WELL, WE NEED TO APPROVE THIS. OKAY. REALLY THIS, THIS BRINGS WHAT THIS WILL DO TO BRING WHAT WE'RE DOING TO COMPLIANCE REQUIRE POLICY ALWAYS. YEAH. WELL WE HAVEN'T STARTED DOING THIS UNTIL WE ALL APPROVE THE POLICY, BUT IT WILL, UM, ALLOW US TO NOT HAVE TO MANUALLY CALCULATE SALARIES, WHICH WILL SAVE MM-HMM . AND WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH DW TWO, UM, OUR, BECAUSE WE GIVE A PERCENTAGE FOR LONGEVITY, IT'S NOT COMPATIBLE WITH THEIR SYSTEM. SO THEY'RE IN THE PROCESS OF FIXING THEIR SOFTWARE COMPATIBLE WITH OUR LONGEVITY PROCESS. SO WE WON'T HAVE TO MANUALLY CHECK THE LONGEVITY ALL BE CALCULATED UNDER THE SYSTEM. SO RIGHT NOW WE HAVE TO KEEP OVER THE LOG, BUT WHEN THEIR DAY IS EFFECTIVE, MAKE SURE THAT WE CHANGE THE RAIL ON THAT DAY AND ALL THAT. SO ANY QUESTIONS? YEAH, I HAVE A QUESTION. I, EXCUSE ME. JUST FOR INSTANCE, SAY THAT THE, THE FIRST DAY OF PAPER PERIOD IS THE FIRST AND EMPLOYEES ANNIVERSARY DATE IS ON FIFTH DAY. UH, WILL HE LOSE THAT FIVE DAYS LONG DEAL? NO, HE'S NOW GAINING IT PRIOR TO HE WAS LOSING. NOW HE WAS GAINING, SO IT'S A BENEFIT FROM THE EMPLOYEE. OKAY. WE'LL SAY HIS, SAY HIS IS ANNIVERSARY DATE IS ON, ON, LET'S SAY THE, UH, LATER TWO PERIOD. YEAH. LATER IN THE PAPER PERIOD. SAY IT'S ON THE, ON THE 10TH DAY OF MONTH AND THEN THE PAY PERIOD IS NOT TILL THE 15TH. MM-HMM . THEY'LL GET LONGEVITY PAID THAT ENTIRE FEE PERIOD. OKAY. SO THE RATE WILL CHANGE. SO THEY WON'T LOSE, THEY WON'T LOSE OR GAIN ANYTHING. RIGHT? THEY WELL, THEY'RE GAINING, THEY'RE ACTUALLY GONNA GAIN, THEY'LL GAIN. SO THEY GAIN YES. BECAUSE RIGHT NOW WHAT THEY, IF THEY'RE ON THE FIFTH, UM, THE FOUR DAY, THE FIRST FOUR DAYS OF THAT PAY PERIOD ARE CALCULATED AT THEIR OLD RATE AND THEN THE FIFTH THROUGH THE 14TH ARE CALCULATED ON THE NEW RATE. SO THEN THEY COMBINE THOSE TWO RATES AND THAT'S WHAT THEIR PAYCHECK IS. NOW THAT RATE WILL BE THE SAME. THAT ENTIRE PAY PERIOD IS NOT DIVIDED OUT. SO THE EMPLOYEES ARE ACTUALLY GAINING, AND KAREN HAS WORKED WITH LAURIE IN GETTING THIS ALL ROUNDED UP. LIKE IT SHOULD BE. IT'S, IT'S WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING IS JUST A LOT OF WORK MANNER. SO SAME, SAME FOR EVERY SAID IT WOULD TAKE FOUR. I APPROVE THAT. ALRIGHT. WE HAVE A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER CLARK. WE HAVE A SECOND, SECOND, SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER. ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. THOSE OPPOSED. ALRIGHT. ITEM NINE IS ALSO DISCUSSED. CONSIDER APPROVING CHANGES TO THE LONG TERM DISABILITY, UH, POLICY, UH, THAT WE'VE HAD OR BENEFIT. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN RECALL WE TALKED ABOUT IN THE, UH, UH, BUDGET FOR, UM, IN CURRENTLY WE PAY A, WE HAVE TWO DIFFERENT LONG TERM DISABILITY PLANS. THERE'S A COURT PLAN AND A BUY PLAN. THE COUNTY PAYS FOR THE COURSE PLAN AND THE EMPLOYEE PAYS FOR THE PLAN. UM, IF WE ELIMINATE THE COURT PLAN, UM, THAT THE COUNTY PAYS FOR, WE'LL BE SAVING ABOUT $25,000 A YEAR. THIS PLAN, UM, HAS, WE'VE HAD IT FOR TWO YEARS. WE'VE HAD NOT ANY EMPLOYEES HAVE NEVER CLAIMED ON IT. THEY ARE NOT OUT. THEY TO BE OUT SIX MONTHS BEFORE THEY CAN EVEN FILE ON IT. AND THEN THEY ONLY GET PAID UNTIL THEY COME BACK. SO WE DON'T HAVE ANY EMPLOYEES THAT EVER STAY OUT SIX MONTHS. WE USUALLY TRY TO GET 'EM BACK AT LEAST PART-TIME, LOT DUTY, SOMETHING, GET 'EM BACK SO THEY CAN START WORKING AGAIN. AND SO WE'D BE SAVING $25,000. IF WE CANCEL THE PLAN, UM, IT WILL CHANGE THE RATE. CURRENTLY THE EMPLOYEES PAY A SEPARATE RATE OF 22 CENTS FOR $300 OF THEIR BASE SALARY AND UM, NO MATTER THEIR AGE. SO IF YOU, WE DROP THE COUNTY PART, IT'LL INCREASE THE COST FOR THE EMPLOYEES. IT'LL BE AGE ENDED, SO IT'LL INCREASE THE, WE DON'T HAVE THAT MANY EMPLOYEES ON IT. WE HAVE ABOUT 69 EMPLOYEES, UM, AS OF AUGUST. AND THEN WE'VE SPOKEN TO PROBABLY 10 OR SO THAT ARE GONNA DROP IT. I, YOU SAID YOU HAVE NUMBER FACT, WE'VE NOT HAD ANY CLAIM THROUGH THE YEARS. I MEAN THAT'S SEEMS TO BE, [01:20:01] WELL WE'VE NEVER HAD A CLAIM EVEN ON THE, YEAH, NO EMPLOYEES HAVE EVEN BEEN OUT 90 DAYS TO PAYMENT, SO WE DON'T HAVE VERY GOOD PARTICIPATION QUESTIONS OF, UH, LAUREN, I TO ENTERTAIN A MOTION APPROVE RECOMMENDATION A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER SHANE. DO HAVE A SECOND? SECOND ROSA, ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. OPPOSED? ALRIGHT. ITEM NUMBER 11. THANK YOU. NUMBER 10 BEFORE IT. SO BY EITHER SUBJECT, OCTOBER S MONEY, THAT'S THE MANY OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES DO INCLUDE UNTIL TAX. ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE, OKAY, I HAVE A MOTION. COMMISSIONER CLARK TO ACCEPT REPORT. COMMISSIONER SECONDS. ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ON FAVOR STATE? AYE. A OPPOSED, WRONG JUDGE, WE DON'T, WE DON'T THIS REPORT COURT THAT SHOULD NOTHING SHOULD BE THERE. OKAY, WE'LL, UH, MOTION. ALL A FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. OPPOSED? NEXT WILL BE THE, OKAY, THIS IS YOUR REPORT AS OF AUGUST 31ST, 11 MONTHS INTO YOUR BUDGET. YOUR BENCHMARK IS ABOUT 91.7%. GENERAL REVENUES ARE AT 94.122%. YOUR EXPENDITURES FOR REVENUES ARE AT 86.079, WHICH IS REALLY GOOD. UH, ROAD AND BRIDGE FUNDS ARE AT 92.697. YOUR TRANSFERS ARE AT 94.14. ACTUAL ROAD AND BRIDGES. ALL FOUR PRECINCTS. REVENUES ARE AT 75%, BUT YOUR EXPENDITURES ARE AT 62.75, GOT ONE MONTH AGO AND FEES BIG MONTH. SEPTEMBER. YES SIR. AND THE MISCELLANEOUS, SOMETIMES IT'S DOWN, RIGHT? SO WE GET ALL THE TRANSFERS AND THEN A FEW OF THOSE FEES COMING AND WE DUNNO. THE FINANCIAL [01:25:01] REPORTER OFFICER'S REPORT FOR AUGUST, 2013. MOTION I, I OWE. ALRIGHT, WE'VE ALREADY DONE ITEM 13, ITEM 14 IS TO DISCUSS AND CONSIDER APPRO THE COUNTY DISTRICT FIRST RECORD ARCHIVE PLAN FOR FUNDING YEAR 2013. YOU HAVE A DOCUMENT ON THAT. I'D ASK RHONDA IF SHE COME OVER THIS MORNING, BUT I THINK SHE TRIAL. SO THIS IS HER TYPICAL PLAN THAT SHE HAS TO SEPTEMBER 1ST, 2013. IT DOES INCREASE THE, UH, FEE THAT, UH, ALREADY INCREASED THE FEE FOR $5 TO $10. AND IN 2019, WE'LL VERT BACK TO FIVE BY WE SHOULD, I MEAN WE SHOULD INCREASE IT. I, NO, YEAH. ALRIGHTY. HAVE A MOTION TO ACCEPT, UH, THE REPORT. SO MAKES THAT MOTION TO HAVE A FAVOR, SAY AYE. AYE. OPPOSED? ITEM NUMBER 15. UH, MA'AM IS HERE. THIS IS TO DISCUSS, CONSIDER THE RESOLUTION OF THE GRANT APPLICATION FOR THE CAPITAL MURDER GRANT. GOOD MORNING. UH, THAT THE APPLICATION HAS GONE IN FURTHER MURDER TRIAL. UM, THIS ONE IS ALSO THROUGH THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE, JUST LIKE THE SECURITY GRANT RIGHT NOW. THE TOTAL, UM, THAT WE HAVE APPLIED FOR IS 381,997. AND, AND ONE, UM, THIS KIND OF HOW IT ADDED OUT, THIS WILL START US. WE'LL HAVE STARTED US BACK WHEN WE CREATED THE COMMAND CENTER. FEBRUARY 1ST. GONNA TAKE IN THE EXPENSES WE HAD THEN THROUGH TO DECEMBER 31ST, 2014. NOW THEY HAVE TOLD US WE CAN COME BACK AS NEEDED AND, UH, BECAUSE THIS, THIS IS A VERY DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCE AND THERE MAY BE MORE EXPENSES THAT WE HAVE, WE CAN COME BACK AND ASK FOR MORE PHONE, BUT THIS IS WHERE WE'RE GONNA START. WE SHOULD KNOW SOMETHING WITHIN MAYBE THE NEXT TWO WEEKS IF THEY'RE GONNA APPROVE THIS. THIS HELPS PAY FOR THE COMMAND, IT HELPS PAY FOR SOME SECURITY FOR SOME OF THE UPGRADES THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO DO TO TRY OUR COURTROOM TO PREPARE FOR THE TRIAL. AND THEN SOME OF THE EXPENSES DURING THE TRIAL. SO IT'S FROM FEBRUARY THE FIRST AND THEY ALLOWED US TO EXTEND IT TO DECEMBER 31ST. THIS IS SOMETHING THEY USUALLY DON'T DO. USUALLY IT WOULD BE FEBRUARY, FEBRUARY, BUT THAT WON'T EVEN GET US INTO THE TRIAL OR INTO THE JURY SELECTION. AND THEN WE'LL COME BACK AND NEXT YEAR AND APPLY FOR THE REMAIN ORDER OF WHAT WE NEED TO DO. AS, AS WE, AS WE SEE THAT THIS ISN'T GONNA BE ENOUGH FUNDING, WE GO BACK AND WE ASK FOR MORE AND APPLY FOR. AND I THINK, UH, I KNOW YOU'VE WORKED HOURS ON THIS ALONG WITH JUDGE WILEY AND THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE AND EVERYBODY, BUT IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THE, UH, GOVERNOR'S OFFICE HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL, VERY HELPFUL AND UH, HAS UH, UH, ALLOWED US TO GO BACK AND CLAIM SOME EXPENSES. THE LADY WHO I'M WORKING WITH, UM, HAS WAS, IS AN ATTORNEY AND SO SHE REALLY UNDERSTOOD THE PROCESS. SO WE WERE ABLE TO REALLY GET DOWN TO THE DIFFERENT COSTS, UM, FROM THE TRANSCRIPTS, THE COURT REPORTER, EVERYTHING. SO WE'RE HOPING THAT WE HAVE WHAT WE NEED IN HERE IF WE, IF WE NEED MORE THAN WE HAVE LOT FOR MORE. AND I FEEL CERTAIN LOOKING BACK AND THAT THAT WOULD BE SO, AND THE TOTAL DOWN IS 3 81, 3 81 997 0 1. YOU WANNA TELL THE REST OF THE STORY? THE REST OF THE STORY IS WENT ON VACATION. AND SO SHE'D BEEN TALKING PEOPLE THE OFFICE. SO SHE THOUGHT SHE JUST THANK CARRIED YOUR DAUGHTER WITH YOU AND THEY HAD A NICE VISIT [01:30:01] AND IT PROBABLY DIDN'T HURT THAT SHE CARRIED SOME, UH, COOKIES WITH HER, A FACE WITH A VOICE THAT MADE THE BIG DIFFERENCE AND MADE IT PERSONAL. AND THEN I WAS ABLE TO TELL OUR STORY BEFORE I WALKED OUTTA THE ROOM. EVERYBODY WAS CRYING AND IT WAS JUST, YOU KNOW, THEY UNDERSTOOD WHERE WE WERE COMING FROM AND IT CAME REAL. IT WAS ALREADY REAL AND I APPRECIATE YOU ON. SO THE RESOLUTION IS WHAT NEEDS TO BE READ AND I BELIEVE YOU HAVE THAT I'LL, I MEAN IT'S NOT THAT LONG, WHEREAS COLTON COUNTY FINDS IT IS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE CITIZENS OF COLTON COUNTY THAT THE CAPITAL MURDER GRANT TO BE OPERATED FOR THE YEARS 2013 IN 2014. AND WHEREAS COLTON COUNTY AGREES THAT IN THE EVENT OF LOSS OR MISUSE OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE DIVISION FUNDS, COLTON COUNTY ASSURES THAT THE FUNDS WILL BE RETURNED TO THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE DIVISION FULL. ANY QUESTIONS? APPRECIATE. ALRIGHT, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO, UH, APPROVE RESOLUTION FOR THE, HAVE A MOTION FROM SECOND COMMISSIONER ROSA. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. UH, NEXT ITEM IS THE, UH, ONE WE'VE ALREADY TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT. UH, AND I'LL GET ALL THAT KIND OF ALL DEADLINE. BEEN PRETTY FLEXIBLE WITH THIS, WHICH HAS WORKED PRETTY GOOD, BUT, UH, I THINK WE'RE JUST MEETING EVERY OTHER WEEK NOW, OR EVERY, YOU KNOW, THE SECOND AND FOURTH, UH, THIS, UH, GIVE US SOME DEADLINES THAT NEED TO BE MET. WE ALSO KNOW THAT THERE'S ALWAYS EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES WE NOT HAVE CALL THING, BUT THIS DOES GIVE US WAY TO, UH, MAKE SURE WE'RE ALL ON THE PAGE AND, UH, ANYBODY HAVE ANY, ANY QUESTIONS? SO I FIRST WANTED TO MOVE THAT WE ACCEPT THIS PROCESS. SECOND. OKAY. WE MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER CLARK. SECOND ITEM NUMBER, UH, DISCUSS AND UH, CONSIDER ADOPTION OF TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE 22 6 2 7 6 RESTRICTION ON FUTURE TRANSACTIONS OR CONTRACTS WITH PERSONS TO THE COUNTY AT THE TIME OF THE TRANSACTION CONTRACT. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT JOHN HAS BEEN WORKING ON AND YOU HAVE A COPY OF PUBLIC NOTICE IN PAPER. AND UH, THIS SIMPLY IS WHERE WE HAVE SOMEBODY THIS BE A BUSINESS ENTITY OR INDIVIDUAL OR SURE. WHO'S GONNA KEEP UP WITH THIS? UH, I WOULD IMAGINE PROBABLY THE TREASURER WILL HAVE TO WORK WITH THEM MAKING SURE, PROBABLY WITH YOUR OFFICE AS WELL. SURE. THEY WOULD DO THAT. DO YOU HAVE A SUGGESTION? WELL, I, BEFORE MENTION SOMETHING ABOUT ME DOING IT, I'M JUST WONDERING WHAT RESOURCES AM I GONNA HAVE TO PULL THE INFORMATION THAT SOMEONE OWES US MONEY. BECAUSE THIS COULD VERY, THAT'S WHY I'M ASKING. PROBABLY WHAT WE DO IS WORK WITH OTHER COUNTIES TO RIGHT. FOR US TO CONTINUE PAYING THEM. RIGHT. WOULD THE [01:35:01] TAX ASSESSOR COLLECT OR NOT ME MORE BIG, I THINK, BUT I THINK WE WOULD ALSO PROBABLY THE FEES AND FINES. THAT WOULD BE A GOOD RESOURCE TOO. PROBABLY WHAT WE IS GETTING EVERY, MAYBE WE CAN FIND ANOTHER COUNTY. I THINK JOHN MAY ANOTHER COUNTY FIND OUT, YOU KNOW WHAT PROCEDURES. OKAY, THANK YOU. WHY WE, UH, WAS JOHN NOT HERE? JOHN WAS HERE, THERE WAS SOMETHING THAT HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE LOOKING, I DON'T REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT IT WAS, BUT I KNEW HE SUPPOSED HE HAS, DO YOU CALL SOME KIND OF STIPULATIONS? TRANSACTION TRANSACTIONS, EMPLOYEES. SO WE, IT'S NOT GONNA HURT, I DON'T THINK. PUTTING IT OFF FOR A COUPLE WEEKS. WE NEED TO BE CLEAR ON EVERYTHING. YEAH. MAKE SURE CONTRACT ON JANUARY SOMETHING. CHECK. WELL, I THAT'S WHAT THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES AND AGAIN, PARDON? GO AHEAD JUDGE. NO, I WAS GONNA SAY THAT JOHN WAS PREPARING AN ORDER, BUT I GUESS GOT, THERE'S NOTHING IN MINUTES THAT WE'VE ALREADY APPROVED. IT JUST SAYS PROCESS. OKAY, I CLARK MOVES THAT WE TABLE. UH, ITEM NUMBER 17, MR. SHANE SECONDS. ANY, ANY DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. A THOSE OPPOSED. ITEM NUMBER 18 IS TO DISCUSS AND CONSIDER APPRO LOCAL FOR ROAD FOR THE CITY OF CONFINE AND COUNTY. THIS IS A, UH, ROAD MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT FILLED OUT EIGHTH JULY. WE JUST RECEIVED HAVE MOTION FROM, UH, COMMISSIONER MANNING TO APPROVE UH, THE AGREEMENT IN AGREEMENT WITH THE OF ANY OTHER DISCUSSION. ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE OR OPPOSED? ITEM NUMBER 19 IS TO DISCUSS AND CONSIDER REJECTING BID 13 UH, DASH OH THREE USED SKID LOADER FOR PRECINCT ONE, JACK. GENTLEMEN. UH, WE, WE RECEIVED ONE BID, UH, AND THAT WAS FROM R WE ALSO HAD A, UH, ANOTHER BID THAT THEY TRIED TO TURN IN ANOTHER VENDOR, BUT IT WAS ABOUT 20 MINUTES LATE SO WE DID NOT ACCEPT IT. THE ONE BID WE DID RECEIVE, UH, THE FAILED OUT SOME BASED ON THAT REJECT THE BID AND REBID. AND, UH, HAVING SAID THAT, MORE COMPETITION THAT I'LL MAKE A RECOMMENDATION. OKAY, WE HAVE A MOTION AGENT THAT WE, UH, UH, REJECT BID 1303 FOR THE NEW BIDS FOR PRECINCT ONE. YES. UH, WE HAVE A MOTION FROM, UH, COMMISSIONER TO DO THAT AND FROM, UH, COMMISSIONER, ANY DISCUSSIONS? ALL [01:40:01] IN FAVOR SAY DISCUSS AND ABI FOR THE USED SKI STEER LOAD PRECINCT ONE. I WOULD MAKE A RECOMMENDATION THAT WE THIS COMPETITION, WE HAVE A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER RESOLVE. WE HAVE A SECOND. COMMISSIONER SHANE. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. OPPOSED? JUDGE, IF I, IF I COULD COMMENT QUICK ON, ON ITEM 17, JUST TAKE ON, I'M SURE JOHN HAS A BETTER, SINCE THAT IS ON SECTION TWO BID, YOU KNOW THAT, UH, THERE'S SOMEONE BIDDING ON SOMETHING AND THEY OWE MONEY DON'T HAVE. SO I THINK IT'S PRETTY FLEXIBLE ON THAT. OKAY, SHE UPDATED INFORMATION ALL ITEM NUMBER 21 IS TO DISCUSS, CONSIDER ADOPTING NEW PROJECT AGREED FORM TO BE PUT IN PLACE. PRECINCT GUY. I CAME UP WITH THIS. I, YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS FILLS ALL THE INFORMATION, ADDRESS ALL THE INFORMATION THAT I WOULD NEED TO AS WELL. ANYBODY HAS ANYTHING THEY WANNA ADD TO THAT? I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH IT. ALL THE NEEDS PROJECT. THERE'S MORE LINES. MORE LINES. YEAH, YOU DON'T HAVE TO FILL ALL. OKAY. ANYBODY HAVE ANY COMMENTS? LOOKS GOOD. LEGAL IT. SO I MAKE A MOTION. SET THE NEW PROJECT AGREEMENT FORM. WE HAVE A MOTION FROM ROSA TO APPROVE THE NEW PROJECT AGREEMENT FORM. WE MY TRANSFER. WE WERE A LITTLE LATE GETTING LINE TRANSFERS OUT. WE HAD SOME EMAIL ISSUES FRIDAY. UM, ANYBODY GOT ANY QUESTIONS THEY'D LIKE TO ASK OF THE TRANSFERS? NO MA'AM. PROMISES. PROMISES. ALL I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE LINE ITEM. TRANSFER A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER SHANE. DO HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. MR. MANNING. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. NUMBER 23 IS ALWAYS DISCUSS. 4 48 THERE. ONE WE HAD, THEY'RE ALL [01:45:08] SOMETHING THE DIDN'T SHOW UP. GIMME A COPY. EASY. THAT IS I'M 30, 33, 40. GENERAL FUND. TOO SMALL. YEAH. YES. THAT WAS THE COMMISSION. WHAT IS YEAH, THEY HAD UH, 36 CENTS. I THE RIGHT ONE TO RERUN THAT. LEAST TWO. AT LEAST TWO PAIRS. [01:50:07] I THINK Y'ALL WERE GONE. TOOK FRIDAY. UH, SHE MAY SIGN OFF [02:00:56] IT [02:00:56] BRING MORE MONEY. HE GOT INVOLVED WITH THAT DONKEY. THEY BROUGHT HIM 80 OUT SO YOU KNOW WHAT THEY'RE CALLING. YEAH, I CAN IMAGINE. HE SAID HE FOR MATERIAL. OH YEAH. NOTICED THERE WAS SOME, WELL, PAPER HAD TWO OR THREE WATER LINE BOOKS. THOSE GUYS WERE DOWN Y'ALL WITHOUT WATER. 24 HOURS. WHAT THAT WHEN YOU HAD TO FIX YOUR DOOR. WHAT'S THAT? THE FALL PANELS OR ARCHITECTURAL SIDE OF THE, NO, IT'S NOT ME. THE PROPERTY OR THE MIDDLE OF THE PROPERTY. [02:05:32] YOU KNOW WHAT? AND THREE, DO APPRECIATE YOU ALL WIRING. THAT WAS BEFORE. WELL, PROBABLY, [02:10:05] WHICH IS ILLEGAL. WE CAN CHANGE. NOT PENETRATING. [02:16:03] NEW YORK WOULD'VE SHOWED UP LAST NIGHT. SIX. TURNOVER. I, I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE BILL. COMMISSIONER MANNING MAKES THAT MOTION. HAVE A SECOND. THAT SECOND ALL SAY. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.