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Commissioners continue to trim budget

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Albany News

By Donnie A. Lucas

County commissioners continued trimming the budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year that starts Oct. 1 and got their first look at tax rate numbers during a meeting held Monday.

The court continued to clip away at the expense side of the budget, hoping to have a document ready to propose in the next two to three weeks.

“The goal is to have a budget proposal by the last meeting of August or the first meeting in September,” county judge Robert Skelton said. “We will also have a proposed tax rate at the same time.”

The county currently has a tax rate of 58.91 cents per $100 of property value. However, calculations by the county appraisal district office have placed the “no-new-revenue” rate at 62.92 for 2020 due to a drop in county values this year of about $35 million. 

The “no-new-revenue” (NNR) rate, which until this year was known as the effective tax rate, is the number needed to raise the same amount of total tax dollars as the previous year based on the same taxable property.

The NNR total of 62.92 cents includes a maintenance and operations rate of 54.31 cents per $100 plus a bond debt rate of 7.77 cents per $100 that the county is paying for the law enforcement center.

The commissioners can adopt a rate up to the NNR without holding public hearings prior to adoption, whereas, any rate that exceeds the NNR triggers a public hearing before adoption.

During the budget workshop held near the end of the meeting, the court was able to trim $10,000 off of the sheriff’s budget because of lower inmate populations at the county-owned jail due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

“The sheriff was able to suggest some savings based on lower inmate population numbers during the pandemic,” Skelton said. “Every department has tried to trim in every area possible in order to keep the budget lower than the current year because of the current economy.”

The court also heard from county attorney-elect Rollin Rauschl about funding his office will need in the new budget. 

There was also a discussion about adding funds into the budget for the constable’s office. 

Retiring DPS trooper Xavier Perez, who has indicated he will file as a write-in candidate for the vacant constable’s seat during the November election, was present to talk about required training and equipment for the post, along with the salary structure.

No figures were finalized during the meeting as the process starts to wind down.

Parking Lot

Charlie Kearns with Komatsu Architecture attended the meeting to discuss the parking lot and possible handicap ramp at the JP office.

He told the court that since the project would exceed $50,000, it would necessitate taking bids, and a set of drawings would have to be created by a civil engineer and approved by the state prior to the start of the project.

The court has discussed the matter several times over the summer, possibly separating the paving of the parking lot from the ramp project.

Kerns told commissioners that due to the state’s accessibility act, the design would have to be completed by a civil engineer before going out for bids, even if only one portion of the project is considered at this time.

Skelton noted that he has applied for a permit with -TxDOT pertaining to the driveway ramp that connects to Highway 6.

No action was taken.

4-H, Feral Hog Grant

County Agent Kloey Painter gave the commissioners an update for the fall activities of the 4-H club, including the addition of a fashion and interior design component.

She said that Johnnie Hise of Moran, who is currently the club’s president, has been selected as a state officer for this region in the new field.

Painter said the plan is to offer local sewing clinics to prepare members for competition.

Painter also reported to the court the availability of a state grant to fund control of feral hogs, with three specific options available, including aerial control, bounty hunting, or trapping.

The court agreed that pursuing the grant was worthwhile. She asked each commissioner to talk to landowners about which methods they felt would be most effective.

The county officers unanimously agreed to proceed with the application process on a motion by Steve Riley.

Other Business

•DPS senior corporal Xaiver Perez was presented with a retirement resolution. A come-and-go reception in his honor will be held in the courtroom Friday, Aug. 14 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.

•Lanham Martin moved to reinstate the burn ban through Nov. 8 due to dry conditions in the county. The motion passed unanimously.

•Precinct 2 Commissioner Ace Reames said that he is awaiting two proposals to lease a motor grader, which was placed on the agenda for the Aug. 17 meeting. His current lease ends before the end of August.

•Treasurer Tammy Brown presented the court with a price estimate of $2,038 for a time clock program that would replace the current time sheets. She said that the new system would be much more accurate and provide additional information that would be beneficial.

Zac Fitzgerald with CTSI, the county’s technology support company, was at the meeting and said he would highly recommend the system, which is used by several neighboring counties.

•Commissioner Martin requested an explanation of a credit card charge for gasoline made in Benbrook by a deputy. Sheriff Ed Miller provided documentation that the trip was a transport of an inmate to a mental facility in the Dallas area. The sheriff requested that any questions about expenses by his department be directed to him in future, saying that rumors of misappropriation of funds were unfounded, as proven by the documents he provided to the court.

•The sheriff said he also wanted to “clear the record” about his department’s response time to a shooting in Moran. He reported that the first deputy arrived 16 minutes after the 911 call, with a second responder who was off duty arriving after 39 minutes. He was rebuffing statements that had been made that it took 40 minutes for the sheriff’s office to respond.

•It was reported that commissioner Cody Jordan is isolating himself at home due to possible exposure to the coronavirus, but he listened in to the meeting via an open telephone call. 

County and district clerk Cheri Hawkins also was unable to attend due to possible exposure.