Texas County Progress

The Official Publication of the County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas

County Budget Calendar Guides Complex Process 2019

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On March 13th, the Grimes County Commissioners Court voted to officially approve the Fiscal Year 2020 Grimes County Budget Calendar.

Acting on a suggestion made at training for new officials in January, County Judge Joe Fauth III brought the comprehensive, color-coded calendar to court.

“The budget process is extremely important because we are charged with spending the citizens’ tax dollars in the most effective and efficient way,” Fauth stated.

Officially adopting a budget calendar allows everyone involved to have formal notice of their expectations and deadlines, offered former Ector County Judge Susan Redford at the training seminar. Discussing the calendar in Commissioners Court also helps communicate the budget process to the public, continued Redford, executive director of the Texas Association of Counties.

“I think the value in having a calendar is setting expectations for everyone,” echoed Grimes County Commissioner Barbara Walker. “We all know the dates and can plan accordingly. We are then able to align schedules with our departments who may wish to visit with us on their strategic plan for their department and anticipated budget.

“The color coding makes it easier to find your particular dates in the timeline,” Walker continued.  It’s been a tremendous tool since we implemented it several years ago with then-Judge Ben Leman and his dedicated staff.”

Download the County Budget here.

Extra Funding Means New Equipment for State 9-1-1 System

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By Todd Wiseman and
Aman Batheja

The Texas Tribune | texastribune.org

Funding_FEATUREDFrom a small room in a police station halfway between Austin and College Station, Monica Baxter answers a phone with “9-1-1” written on the receiver. A nearby computer screen springs to life, displaying data based on the caller’s phone number. Another shows a map of the caller’s approximate location.

The information is critical for Baxter to determine who is responsible for addressing the situation. Though Baxter works for the Rockdale Police Department, she answers 9-1-1 calls for the entire southern half of sparsely populated Milam County.

“If it’s a police [call] that’s outside of our jurisdiction, we would transfer the call to Milam County, and they would dispatch their deputies,” Baxter said.

The largest cities in Texas handle their own 9-1-1 services. To bring that same service to hundreds of smaller rural communities, state funding is critical.

“We serve 224 of the 254 counties in Texas,” said Kelli Merriweather, executive director of the Commission on State Emergency Communications (CSEC). “Our 9-1-1 system covers one-third of the population and 80 percent of the land mass of Texas.”

CSEC oversees the state’s 9-1-1 system and its six poison control centers. In the 83rd Legislative Session, state lawmakers approved a
33 percent increase in the agency’s two-year budget, from $110 million to
$146 million. Most of the extra money will go toward upgrading 9-1-1 system equipment around the state, some of which will help dispatchers like Baxter pinpoint the position of someone calling from a cell phone more accurately. The agency did not receive any money to upgrade 9-1-1 equipment during the 2011 session, Merriweather said.

“It’s getting to the critical point where everybody across the state has fairly old and outdated equipment that needs replacing,” she said.

CSEC plans to use part of its extra funding to begin implementing “next generation 9-1-1” technology, which includes converting the current statewide analog 9-1-1 system to a digital one, a process that’s expected to take six to eight years. Among the advantages of a digital system is fully integrating text messages into the emergency communications that 9-1-1 dispatchers receive.

By next year, the four largest wireless companies are expected to provide text-to-9-1-1 service throughout the country, which will allow callers to send text messages to 9-1-1 wherever a local 9-1-1 call center is prepared to receive texts.

Texans pay separate fees of 50 cents and
6 cents on their monthly bills for wireless and landline phones to fund the agency. Users of prepaid cell phones also pay a 2 percent surcharge on the price of the phone. Over the years, lawmakers have stockpiled much of the money earmarked for CSEC and used it as part of an accounting trick to make state budgets appear balanced. This session, lawmakers agreed to direct more of the revenue to the agency, though the accounts will still hold more than
$150 million. Some lawmakers have called for reducing the fees or ending some of them all together.

In Rockdale, the police department received about $40,000 last year in state funding for its 9-1-1 system. Without that state support, Rockdale Police would likely only be able to offer an emergency phone number within its own city limits, leaving large, unincorporated portions of southern Milam County without a reliable 9-1-1 system, Lt. J.D. Newlin said.

“Small entities like us? We couldn’t afford it otherwise,” Newlin said.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune.

 

Homeland Security Funding

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Emergency Planning
Border Patrol Seeking Deeper Involvement in First Response

“Since 9/11, the emergency responder community has recognized (that) our citizens hold us to a higher standard than what we had in place,” said Charlie Montgomery, emergency manager for Hidalgo County.
Across the nation, multi-jurisdictional response – or at least preparedness – to emergencies is becoming the norm. Along the United States/Mexico border, a federal agency is working to become more closely connected with county, city and state governments to take on a greater role in emergency preparedness.
Several months ago, the McAllen Sector of the U.S. Border Patrol, which covers 19 Texas counties, began forming an Emergency Management Advisory Committee. During the summer, the group sent a letter to all county emergency planners in the sector to encourage joint participation in emergencies.
John D. Guinn, senior patrol agent for the border patrol’s McAllen Sector, said the agency is trying to improve liaisons with state and local groups.
“We want them to integrate the border patrol into their emergency management plans,” Guinn said.
The border patrol, the largest federal agency in the region, hopes to cross-train in emergency preparedness with other local groups and develop a database detailing who to contact in the region for what emergency.
Throughout its history, the U.S. Border Patrol primarily has been an agency that focused on immigration enforcement. With 9/11, that began to shift.
First, the agency was moved from Immigration and Naturalization Services to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Then, the agency’s mission statement was changed to reflect the changing face of America after 9/11.
Guinn said a directive to prevent the entry of terrorists and their weapons of terrorism was added to the agency’s mission.
Hector Escamilla, special operations supervisor for the McAllen Sector, said no concrete platform has been mandated, but the McAllen Sector has recognized the need for interagency collaboration and is “trying to get ahead of the game.”
Border patrol personnel routinely attend Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council meetings about homeland security and other emergency planning issues. Escamilla said the three councils of governments within the sector have been responsive to the border patrol’s involvement.
Richard Hinojosa, deputy executive director of the Lower Rio Grande Development Council, said the border patrol was involved in the homeland security strategic plan development.
“When we need their advice or input, they’re there,” Hinojosa said. The goal is to involve the border patrol with each county’s emergency planners once an emergency is declared, he added.
Tomas R. Sanchez Jr., emergency management coordinator for the city of Kingsville and Kleberg County, has had a working relationship with the border patrol for several years. Border patrol personnel are stationed at Naval Air Station Kingsville and have helped out during hurricanes and other weather emergencies.
After receiving the letter from the border patrol, Sanchez met with Guinn to open avenues for even more cooperation. They discussed sharing personnel and equipment, and shared information about hazardous materials awareness and other emergency response guidelines.
Earlier this year, city, county, state and federal employees participated in a bioterrorism tabletop exercise in Weslaco sponsored by the Texas Department of Health. Sanchez said each took an active role, and the exercise went well.
Sanchez said he is proud to see the McAllen Sector take an active, positive role in working with the locals. The McAllen Sector, he said, is taking the forefront nationwide in this interagency cooperation effort, and other border patrol sectors are beginning to follow.
“We like the idea of the feds and locals working together,” Sanchez said.
While they worked together before 9/11, Sanchez said that incident pulled them even closer together.
Montgomery began working with the border patrol after 9/11 to involve their personnel in the county’s training exercises and planning. She describes the border patrol as “very willing partners.”
The relationships among agencies are important, Montgomery said, for becoming aware of protocols and knowing who to contact at the various organizations.
“The importance of staffing interaction and interoperative training can’t be stressed too much,” Montgomery said. “Our department’s experience in standardizing training and response has taught us it’s a long-term project.”
The objective, she said, is to ensure unified response in an emergency so that none of the first responders are injured and so they can best serve the citizens.
Montgomery said she saw this in action at the building collapse in Nuevo Progresso, Mexico, in April. Responders from both sides of the border showed up to work the large-scale emergency.
After a couple of hours the workers went to unified command, Montgomery said, and the situation went very smoothly from there – better than hoped, in fact.
Tom Hushen, emergency management coordinator for Cameron County, said his county also has begun working with the border patrol for emergency response and has shared contact information.
Hushen said the county is hoping border patrol personnel can serve as first responders in emergencies prior to the state coming in.
“There’s a small window of emptiness, usually about 24 hours, before the state can arrive,” Hushen said. Border patrol personnel are already in the area and could help fill that gap.
The border patrol initiative should help keep that headed in the right direction.
“We want to be looked at as an agency that has a lot to offer,” Guinn said.

H – By Tammy Wishard

9bordercontrol-930Wishard, Tammy – Sept.04

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