Highlights from South Texas Conference – Austin

“Property tax relief – I think it was a real handy sound byte,” Rep. Carter Casteel, R-New Braunfels, told South Texas officials.
Thankfully, proposed remedies – appraisal caps and revenue caps – were soundly defeated in the Regular Session of the 79th Texas Legislature.
“We were actually hurting the very engine that drives state government,” continued Casteel, a member of a legislative panel invited to the 71st Annual South Texas County Judges and Commissioners Association Conference in Austin June 27-30. After all, she said, “county government is an arm of state government.”
“We killed them (caps) this time,” said Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, “and we’re going to keep killing them.” Some 175 officials gathered at the conference applauded Wentworth and Casteel, who had recently returned to the Capitol for a Special Session called by the governor to address school finance.
CJCAT general counsel Jim Allison labeled the 79th Regular Session as “the most negative session we’ve ever had” and warned officials that caps would be on the table during the Special Session.
“I urge you to redouble your efforts,” said Allison, after thanking judges and commissioners for communicating the danger of caps to legislators. None of the caps-related bills – some 20 bills representing appraisal caps and 10 bills calling for revenue caps – passed during the Regular Session.
While legislative issues were a focus of the conference, judges and commissioners were schooled in other topics pertinent to their offices.
For instance, Phyllis Foulds, Goliad County auditor, discussed the duties of her office and their relationship to the commissioners court. Foulds told officials that it’s the auditor’s job to make sure that “the budget is used the way you intended it to be used.”
Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams said he viewed Texas’ 254 counties as “independent small businesses” with unique problems. He urged officials to rise to the call of leadership and not to compromise on absolutes.
Tom Pollan, partner with Bickerstaff, Heath, Smiley, Pollan, Kever and McDaniel, LLP, of Austin, attempted to “demystify the bond issue process,” by explaining key players and defining various types of debt instruments. He encouraged officials to consult with a financial adviser early in the financing process.
During the Closing General Session of the conference, Max Sherman, chair of State and Local Government for the LBJ School of Public Affairs, discussed the erosion of confidence in government. Sherman advised against taking shortcuts and making seemingly small unethical decisions that will likely lead to professional and personal downfall. He borrowed the analogy of one of his students who likened trust to a piece of paper, saying “once you crumple it up, it’s very hard to straighten it out again.”
The conference included the Association’s annual business meeting, where officials passed 10 resolutions and voted on a new slate of officers, who were inducted at the Installation Banquet: President Nina Trevino, San Patricio County commissioner; First Vice President Miguel “Mike” Acosta, Zavala County commissioner; Second Vice President Evan Gonzales, Lee County judge; and Immediate Past President Edmundo “E.B” Garcia, Duval County judge. The South Texas Association applauded Garcia, thanking him for his service and leadership.
Julie Anderson, Editor