Appreciation to Hosts and Sponsors
WHEREAS, the Panhandle County Judges and Commissioners Association semi-annual meeting was held on September 6, 2018; and,
WHEREAS, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service hosted the Panhandle County Judges and Commissioners Association in the most efficient and hospitable manner; and
WHEREAS, the law firm of Perdue Brandon Fielder Collins & Mott sponsored the catered lunch for the conference attendees and guests; and
WHEREAS, the Panhandle Chapters of the professional associations of County Extension Agents and Warren Cat sponsored the breaks for conference attendees and guests; and
WHEREAS, the businesses iDocket.com, Advanced Drainage Systems, Alliance for Community Solutions, Driskill Halfway House, Computer Transition Services, Inc. and Burns Architecture, LLC provided sponsorships for the conference; and,
NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that the Panhandle County Judges and Commissioners Association thanks all of the hosts, professional associations, sponsors and vendors cited above for their support and sponsorship of this conference.
PASSED on September 6, 2018.
PANHANDLE COUNTY JUDGES AND
COMMISSIONERS ASSOCIATION
__________________________________________
Commissioner Floyd French, President
__________________________________________
Judge DJ Wagner, Vice-President
__________________________________________
Commissioner Leon Church, Secretary/Treasurer
Resolution
Appreciation to Support Organizations
WHEREAS, conducting the business of county government has become so complicated, affecting multi-million-dollar budgets, that it has become imperative that we, as elected officials, have sound, knowledgeable advice and assistance to navigate through the complex maze of state and federal laws, rules and regulations; and,
WHEREAS, the members of the Panhandle County Judges and Commissioners Association wish to acknowledge the expertise of, and thank the staff of, the Texas Association of Counties and its Executive Director, Gene Terry; Mr. Jim Allison, of Allison, Bass & Magee, LLP; the V. G. Young Institute of County Government; the Texas Association of Extension Agents; and, our local Extension Agents who have all been most helpful to county government;
NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that the Panhandle County Judges and Commissioners Association thanks these individuals and their staffs for their past, present and future help on behalf of county government.
PASSED on September 6, 2018.
PANHANDLE COUNTY JUDGES AND
COMMISSIONERS ASSOCIATION
__________________________________________
Commissioner Floyd French, President
__________________________________________
Judge DJ Wagner, Vice-President
__________________________________________
Commissioner Leon Church, Secretary/Treasurer
Resolution
Securing Borders
WHEREAS, illegal immigration poses a threat to security,
NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that the Panhandle County Judges and Commissioners Association supports that the highest priority is to secure the borders from all foreign countries; and, urges the state and federal governments to make it a priority to secure the borders from all foreign countries.
PASSED on September 6, 2018.
PANHANDLE COUNTY JUDGES AND
COMMISSIONERS ASSOCIATION
__________________________________________
Commissioner Floyd French, President
__________________________________________
Judge DJ Wagner, Vice-President
__________________________________________
Commissioner Leon Church, Secretary/Treasurer
MEMORIAL TO DECEASED OFFICIALS AND FRIENDS
PANHANDLE COUNTY JUDGES AND COMMISSIONERS ASSOCIATION
Whereas, the following highly regarded members and friends of the Panhandle County Judges and Commissioners Association are deceased; and,
Whereas, the association desires to pay appropriate respect to these members and friends; and,
Whereas, since our last conference, Panhandle County Judges and Commissioners have mourned the passing of:
| NAME | OFFICE |
| Sandy Whittington | Wife of Eddie Whittington, Hutchinson County |
Now, Therefore, be it resolved that the Panhandle County Judges and Commissioners Association pause for a moment of silence and meditation to honor the memory of these respected individuals.
PASSED on September 6, 2018.
PANHANDLE COUNTY JUDGES AND
COMMISSIONERS ASSOCIATION
__________________________________________
Commissioner Floyd French, President
__________________________________________
Judge DJ Wagner, Vice-President
__________________________________________
Commissioner Leon Church, Secretary/Treasurer
RESOLUTION REGARDING MENTALLY ILL DEFENDANTS
WHEREAS, Texas county jails, and especially rural county jails, are not equipped or staffed to handle mentally ill defendants; and,
WHEREAS, the burden of housing mentally ill defendants has caused a hardship on county jail personnel and resulted in a budget strain on rural counties; and,
WHEREAS, the constitutional duty to house and provide services to mentally ill defendants is the responsibility of the State of Texas; and,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Panhandle County Judges and Commissioners Association requests that the State of Texas expeditiously handle cases where defendants have been deemed mentally ill to reduce the financial burden to the county and to provide needed services to mentally ill defendants; and, further requests that the State of Texas reimburse counties and their taxpayers for the costs incurred to provide services for mentally ill defendants.
PASSED on September 6, 2018.
PANHANDLE COUNTY JUDGES AND
COMMISSIONERS ASSOCIATION
__________________________________________
Commissioner Floyd French, President
__________________________________________
Judge DJ Wagner, Vice-President
__________________________________________
Commissioner Leon Church, Secretary/Treasurer
Resolution
Resolution Opposing Encroachment on Local Decision Making
WHEREAS, it is detrimental to local county governments when the state or federal government attempts to encroach on local decision making;
NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that the Panhandle County Judges and Commissioners Association opposes any attempt by the state or federal government to encroach on local decision making.
PASSED on September 6, 2018.
PANHANDLE COUNTY JUDGES AND
COMMISSIONERS ASSOCIATION
__________________________________________
Commissioner Floyd French, President
__________________________________________
Judge DJ Wagner, Vice-President
__________________________________________
Commissioner Leon Church, Secretary/Treasurer
Resolution
Resolution Opposing Unfunded and Under-Funded Mandates
WHEREAS, state mandates without funding either increase property taxes or require a county to decrease services;
NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that the Panhandle County Judges and Commissioners Association supports a state constitutional amendment allowing a state mandate imposed on a county to have effect only if the state provides for payment to the county for the cost of the mandate.
PASSED on September 6, 2018.
PANHANDLE COUNTY JUDGES AND
COMMISSIONERS ASSOCIATION
__________________________________________
Commissioner Floyd French, President
__________________________________________
Judge DJ Wagner, Vice-President
__________________________________________
Commissioner Leon Church, Secretary/Treasurer
Resolution
Opposition to Revenue Caps
WHEREAS, the Texas Legislature has previously considered and rejected proposals for additional revenue caps on counties; and
WHEREAS, 60 percent of the average taxpayer’s property tax burden is due to school taxes while only 14 percent is due to county taxes; and
WHEREAS, revenue caps would diminish local decision making and tie the hands of county officials and limit their ability to provide essential services to address the needs and emergencies of their citizens; and
WHEREAS, county government is already struggling to meet the demands of under-funded and unfunded state mandates such as indigent health care, indigent defense and federal mandates such as the Help America Vote Act and the Clean Air Act; and
WHEREAS, the demands on county budgets continue to increase including health care, motor fuel, road materials, and all other products and services purchased by counties; and
WHEREAS, artificial revenue caps will result in a shift of taxes from fluctuating properties, such as oil and gas, to those remaining relatively stable in value, such as residential properties; and
WHEREAS, revenue caps will not necessarily result in a reduction of property taxes but will result in a severe impact on county services; and
WHEREAS, proposed revenue cap legislation contains many provisions that will undermine a property tax system based upon fair market value and will result in a distorted, inequitable appraisal scheme under which higher value properties will avoid their fair share of the tax burden; and
WHEREAS, it would be inequitable for the Texas Legislature to impose additional revenue caps on local governments without funding, repealing and prohibiting state under-funded and unfunded mandates;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Panhandle County Judges and Commissioners Association does hereby express its opposition to revenue cap legislation and its efforts to limit local decision making and does hereby oppose any attempts to impose additional revenue caps upon Texas counties, and the Panhandle County Judges and Commissioners Association expresses its deep appreciation to all legislators who oppose these unsound measures.
PASSED on September 6, 2018.
PANHANDLE COUNTY JUDGES AND
COMMISSIONERS ASSOCIATION
__________________________________________
Commissioner Floyd French, President
__________________________________________
Judge DJ Wagner, Vice-President
__________________________________________
Commissioner Leon Church, Secretary/Treasurer
Resolution
Support of Increased Funding for Indigent Defense from the State
WHEREAS, the U.S. and Texas Constitution require that legal counsel be provided to indigent defendants; and,
WHEREAS, the state has failed to meet its obligation required by the U.S. and Texas Constitution and has mandated that county taxpayers absorb proportionately 88% of the state’s responsibility; and,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Panhandle County Judges and Commissioners Association supports the Texas Indigent Defense Commission’s efforts to increase the current funding levels by the State of Texas for indigent defense.
PASSED on September 6, 2018.
PANHANDLE COUNTY JUDGES AND
COMMISSIONERS ASSOCIATION
__________________________________________
Commissioner Floyd French, President
__________________________________________
Judge DJ Wagner, Vice-President
__________________________________________
Commissioner Leon Church, Secretary/Treasurer
Resolution
Support of Law Enforcement Officials
WHEREAS, our law enforcement community is under attack across the nation; and,
WHEREAS, the Panhandle County Judges and Commissioners Association wants to acknowledge our support for all law enforcement agencies (including Border Patrol and Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials); and,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Panhandle County Judges and Commissioners Association wants to pay our respect to these dedicated public servants, and to express our respect and support as they put their lives in danger to uphold the laws of The State of Texas and the United States Constitution.
PASSED on September 6, 2018.
PANHANDLE COUNTY JUDGES AND
COMMISSIONERS ASSOCIATION
__________________________________________
Commissioner Floyd French, President
__________________________________________
Judge DJ Wagner, Vice-President
__________________________________________
Commissioner Leon Church, Secretary/Treasurer
Resolution
Support of Military Troops
WHEREAS, our nation is presently embroiled in a war on terrorism and the security of our nation is a high priority; and,
WHEREAS, it appears that the Trump Administration is supportive of our military troops; and,
WHEREAS, the world is continuing to be a dangerous place; and,
NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that the Panhandle County Judges and Commissioners Association, supports our troops in all conflicts in the war on terrorism;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Panhandle County Judges and Commissioners Association supports the Trump Administration in its effort to strengthen our military efforts in defending our country and borders.
PASSED on September 6, 2018.
PANHANDLE COUNTY JUDGES AND
COMMISSIONERS ASSOCIATION
__________________________________________
Commissioner Floyd French, President
__________________________________________
Judge DJ Wagner, Vice-President
__________________________________________
Commissioner Leon Church, Secretary/Treasurer
Resolution
Supporting Rural Texas as a Valuable Part of the State’s Economy,
Production and Export of both Traditional and Renewable Energy
(Including Chapter 312 of the Texas Tax Code) and
Food and Fiber for our State and the World
WHEREAS, rural Texas population is greater than 20 of the United States, our 3,000,000 plus population is very important to Texas;
WHEREAS, rural Texas is where Texas Energy is produced, transported to market by trucks, railroads, pipelines and transmission lines, and infrastructure of all types are very important to our needs;
WHEREAS, the United States benefits from adding renewable resources such as wind energy to its portfolio of electric generation sources, as wind energy consumes no water, produces no emissions and can provide low-cost electricity at stable pricing, providing a hedge against volatile pricing of fossil fuel-fired generation including the costly regulations being enacted by the EPA;
WHEREAS, the Texas Legislature has also recognized the need for development of new sources of energy to meet Texas’ growing demand for electricity, by directing the Public Utility Commission to designate Competitive Renewable Energy Zones in areas throughout the State that had the potential for production of cost-effective renewable energy;
WHEREAS, the Texas Legislature directed the PUC to ensure that transmission infrastructure was built as needed to transmit electricity to market and they accomplished that goal by having private companies build the CREZ transmission lines that travel 3,600 miles across rural Texas with no cost to the State. These costs of approximately 7 billion dollars will be paid to the private builders over time by electricity users of the ERCOT grid and this initiative should be fully completed;
WHEREAS, rural communities across the State of Texas have seen their population get older and many of our young people are leaving to find jobs elsewhere, our greatest need is good jobs for our citizens;
WHEREAS, the Texas Economic Development Act, sometimes known as Chapter 312 and Chapter 313 of our tax code is the only effective tool we have to incent good jobs in rural Texas because small counties to not have the assets to hire professional economic development organizations;
WHEREAS, the Texas Panhandle, South Plains, West Texas and Rolling Plains and some South Texas counties need the energy activity, especially compared to the areas with higher population density, and are more attractive and suitable for it because this is where the energy is and we have less barriers and need for jobs;
THEREFORE, we pray that the current energy policies for wind, oil and gas and other commodities remain unchanged as well as renewal of Chapter 312 of the tax code, the Texas Economic Development Act;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Panhandle County Judges and Commissioners Association that our Legislature hear our plea.
PASSED on September 6, 2018.
PANHANDLE COUNTY JUDGES AND
COMMISSIONERS ASSOCIATION
__________________________________________
Commissioner Floyd French, President
__________________________________________
Judge DJ Wagner, Vice-President
__________________________________________
Commissioner Leon Church, Secretary/Treasurer