KingWm #LibertyMatters

Sorry, I missed this meeting and only listened to the recording today, on 10/24.  In this meeting, the first public discussion is held on the trail ride controversy.  Read this brief report and listen to the audio recording (convenient timestamps are provided).  Hear it all right here...

At 68 minutes, the second Commissioners Court meeting of the day, following the early 4-H meeting, enjoyed a little discussion.  The Court first declared October to be Czech Heritage Month and October 6th to be German American Day in Fayette County.  A subdivision variance is denied for access reasons, a burn ban is enacted, and we hear reports about grants, EMS & a tractor purchase for the ai...

Fayette County loves 4-H.  In the early special Commissioners Court meeting today, students from county 4-H chapters present their annual reports to the Court as the week of October 6-12 is designated National 4-H Week in Texas.  Hear Fayette County’s future deliver their reports right here...

The Court raced through another meeting, disposing of 27 items at 82 seconds each.  Constitution week was declared and celebrated and a question from Harvey may lead to policy change related to vehicle purchasing.  To be fair, all budget matters have been discussed and approved previously and amicably, and there was nothing really left to discuss, but it was breath-taking the rate at which the Cou...

Today’s budget meeting was like a 6-minute sprint with no comments or questions, with little discussion and without Commissioner Sternadel.  We dashed through a list of specific proposed budget amendments that had been previously discussed without objection and the budget is set for final approval Thursday.  The Joke of the Day goes to Andy Behlen when Commissioner McBroom asked, “Did you get all...

There was a very small audience for today’s brief meeting, running 10 minutes total with merely 5 minutes on the budget.  The Court discussed model policies for the Sheriff’s Department and Constables related to various policies and procedures required by a new state law.  There were a couple minor corrections to the budget and a member of the public advocates for increased pay for election worker...

Today in Commissioners Court, it was all about the battery storage facility.  The hearing lasted nearly an hour and there was much public discussion.  I don’t think the abatement ever stood a chance; it went down in flames.  In other news, September was declared “Childhood Cancer Awareness Month”.  The remainder of the meeting was pretty routine.  Hear all the public discussion right here...

The final budget meeting, at 18 minutes, was very routine.  Most of the decisions had already been made and there were only minor changes and additions.  The Court decided to increase the contingency fund rather than eliminate it, and they spent some time discussing body cams for Constables.  Where last year’s budget was contentious with 3/2 final vote, this year’s budget was approved unanimously...

To the delight of the ±26 members of the public in attendance today, the Court unanimously approved a resolution opposing the Hwy 77 bypass.  It was a fantastic 48-minute dialogue between the Court and the public.  There were ±17 commenters, and all 5 members of the Court gave their opinions, along with City Councilman, Ken Taylor.  [The next stop on the bypass train is 8/26, the next City Council...

Today’s 73-minute budget workshop was the most detailed and informative budget discussion in the past 2 years.  I can’t summarize everything; this very consequential discussion is one you must listen to.  Learn about your county government and discover the fiscal policy of the members of the Court as they discuss the budget.  In other news, we had three more public comments opposing the bypass, Dr...

The budget dominated the CC agenda today.  Property values didn’t rise so sharply so there is only about $650k in “new” revenue, and it’s already forcing budget cuts.  Every 1% in payroll increase is about $150k, so they won’t get the 5% they were hoping for.  They are still procrastinating most decisions, but Com Berckenhoff was absent, so perhaps it was better to wait.  In other news, we heard f...

The Fayette County Republican Party held its organizational meeting this evening.  The purpose was to issue the oath of office to the county and precinct chairs and officers and adopt the amended bylaws.  We then proceeded to discuss plans for the future and other party matters.  It was a well-attended meeting.  Congratulations to the new executive committee and thanks for your service.  Hear it a...

In this, the second major budget workshop of the year, the Court hears requests from county department heads for non-routine budget items.  The session lasted nearly an hour and a half with pretty good discussion (the quality of the discussions has improved this year).  However, the process is once again, moving very slowly, and they continue to procrastinate decisions as the 8/15 budget deadlines...

It took the court 28 minutes to dispose of 12 items, including 10 minutes worth of public comments.  Three speakers urged the court to support the eastern route for the proposed Highway 77 bypass.  (It’s not too late to influence the route decision.)  The Court breezed through several routine items before Judge Zapalac began the budget discussion with the recycling center and Precinct 4 Justice of...

Today in Commissioners Court, citizens express their opposition to the Wind Farm.  TJ Mac led the way followed by several other speakers.  Don’t miss the comments by former Judge Ed and Commissioner Brossman.  My comments?  1) Tell Governor Abbott to stop encouraging green energy scams in Texas, 2) recognize that private property rights end where they cause harm to your neighbors, and 3) while Cou...

The first half hour is the budget workshop. Two things were discussed: projects to use the borrowed Maintenance Tax Note money on, and revenue projections for the next budget cycle.  At 6PM the budget workshop was adjourned and the Regular Meeting started immediately. There were two public speakers. The first (me) covered a couple topics: advising the board of some education-related items in the a...

It was a very nice and productive meeting today, beginning with public comments on Juneteenth and the windmill farm.  Subdivision regulation via enforcement gets a boost today, there is a lengthy EMS report covering billing issues and scholarships, and the Muldoon Park and the airport construction project and were discussed.  The main event, however, was the discussion on employee benefits, the bu...

At 12 minutes, this was one of the shortest meetings I have attended.  The court spent a couple minutes approving a CVTC easement and a contract for the demolition of the last flood-damaged home.  Last November, a ballot proposition to investigate the expansion of broadband internet access was passed and the implementation of this proposal appeared before the Court today and consumed most of its t...

Today in Commissioners Court, Emancipation Day was declared, and the employee insurance renewal was discussed.  The new subdivision ordinance received its first test since adoption and survived.  We hear reports from the Grant Specialist and EMC, the EMS director, Chief Deputy Noviski and the Court approved a new part time animal control officer.  The most interesting thing, however, were the budg...

Courtesy of Jeff Parker: The public portion of the meeting was fairly routine at 42 minutes long.  One public speaker addressed the board on the library materials issue.  The board approved borrowing $2 million for 15 years via a Maintenance Tax Note – interest rate 4.495% plus $45,000 fee to the company that helped line up the lending bank.  Intruder Detection Audit Report – there was one “findin...

At 70 minutes, this meeting was a bit longer than normal and there were lengthy discussions on several topics.  This month is declared “Older Americans Month”, it was acknowledged that the County could install a culvert for a cemetery and the interlocal agreement with County VFWs was approved.  Most discussion revolved around jail inmate communications contracts (very interesting topic), the maint...

The tension in the Courtroom today was palpable as the SB22 budget was narrowly approved by a 3/2 vote.  While the simpler and generally smaller requests made by the Constables and County Attorney’s Office received little scrutiny, the request by the Sheriff’s Office drew criticism and ultimately divided the Court.  At issue was the overall use of the funds, the size and distribution of the pay in...

The first order of business was to approve the language of the amendment to the subdivision regulations.  I support most of the changes, but the court went too far by setting the minimum lot width of 170’ when 150’ would do.  The second topic covered the use of the SB22 grant funds.  There was no information available to the public at the meeting and no presentation was made.  All they said was th...

Today’s meeting was another one with great participation.  There were a number of topics with heavy discussion but the most interesting was the application requesting a 100% tax abatement for a giant battery project and the pending changes to the subdivision regulations.  While the proposed increase in subdivision platting will help ensure compliance with minimum standards, setting the minimum lot...

My crusade to update the subdivision regulations continued recently as I objected to the Pope subdivision on the grounds that it wasn’t platted.  With 15 lots, many long and skinny, it wasn’t clear whether the proposed residential development was viable or posed a threat to public health and welfare.  Essentially sustaining my objection, the Court called this special meeting to consider my recomme...