July 2013

Regular Session Results

July 1, 2013 by Christi Stark

At the conclusion of the Regular Session of the 83rd Texas Legislature, 1,631 bills and resolutions were sent to Gov. Rick Perry for his approval or veto. Several hundred of these affect counties. The deadline for veto actions by the governor was June 16. Approved bills may have immediate effect if they received a two-thirds vote in each house. However, many bills will be effective on Sept. 1.

As usual, the success of the session was marked by the failure of many unneeded bills. No additional revenue caps, no additional appraisal caps, and the defeat of most unfunded mandates were important defensive accomplishments. Some significant bills that passed are listed below. More detailed discussions will be presented at our State Association Conference and in future articles.

• H.B. 4 Ritter, Allan (R), Fraser, Troy (R)
Relating to the creation and funding of the state water implementation fund for Texas to assist the Texas Water Development Board in the funding of certain water-related projects.
Last Action: 9- 1-13 Earliest effective date

• H.B. 7 Darby, Drew (R), Williams, Tommy (R)
Relating to the amounts, availability, and use of certain statutorily dedicated revenue and accounts.
Last Action: 6- 5-13 Sent to the Governor

• H.B. 259 Simmons, Ron (R), Paxton, Ken (R)
Relating to the regulation of electioneering at a polling location.
Last Action: 5-22-13 Sent to the Governor

• H.B. 278 Craddick, Tom (R), Seliger, Kel (R)
Relating to the liability of a municipality for certain space flight activities.
Last Action: 9- 1-13 Earliest effective date

• H.B. 584 Rodriguez, Eddie (D), Rodriguez, Jose (D)
Relating to the posting of a notice of foreclosure sale on a county’s Internet website.
Last Action: 9- 1-13 Earliest effective date

• H.B. 585 Villarreal, Mike (D), Eltife, Kevin (R)
Relating to procedural requirements under the Property Tax Code.
Last Action: 5-27-13 Sent to the Governor

• H.B. 714 Kuempel, John (R), Zaffirini, Judith (D)
Relating to an agreement between a county and the Department of Public Safety for the joint operation of certain fixed-site facilities.
Last Action: 5-27-13 Sent to the Governor

• H.B. 738 Crownover, Myra (R), Nelson, Jane (R)
Relating to the review of the creation of certain proposed municipal utility districts by county commissioners courts.
Last Action: 5-26-13 Sent to the Governor

• H.B. 1025 Pitts, Jim (R), Williams, Tommy (R)
Relating to making supplemental appropriations and reductions in appropriations and giving direction and adjustment authority regarding appropriations.
Last Action: 6- 5-13 Sent to the Governor

• H.B. 1164 Thompson, Ed (R), Huffman, Joan (R)
Relating to the territory that may be included in a single county election precinct.
Last Action: 5-24-13 Earliest effective date

• H.B. 1384 Bell, Cecil (R), Hegar, Glenn (R)
Relating to the authority of a county road department to accept donations.
Last Action: 5-26-13 Sent to the Governor

• H.B. 1513 Lewis, Tryon (R), West, Royce (D)
Relating to increases in the records archive fees and the records management and preservation fees charged by district and county clerks.
Last Action: 5-26-13 Sent to the Governor

• H.B. 1607 Farney, Marsha (R), Nichols, Robert (R)
Relating to the authority of the commissioners court of a county to alter speed limits on county roads.
Last Action: 5-23-13 Sent to the Governor

• H.B. 2300 Keffer, Jim (R), Uresti, Carlos (D)
Relating to the creation of County Energy Transportation Reinvestment zones.
Last Action: 5-20-13 Sent to the Governor

• H.B. 2302 Hunter, Todd (R), West, Royce (D)
Relating to the establishment of the statewide electronic filing system fund and to certain court fees and court costs to fund the account.
Last Action: 5-20-13 Sent to the Governor

• H.B. 2454 Frank, James (R), Estes, Craig (R)
Relating to reimbursement of health care services rendered by a health care provider for an inmate of a county jail or another county correctional facility.
Last Action: 5-23-13 Sent to the Governor

• H.B. 2612 Flynn, Dan (R), Deuell, Bob (R)
Relating to liability for damage to a county road.
Last Action: 5-27-13 Sent to the Governor

• H.B. 2741 Phillips, Larry (R), Nichols, Robert (R)
Relating to the regulation of motor vehicles by counties and the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.
Last Action: 5-27-13 Sent to the Governor

• H.B. 3793 Coleman, Garnet (D), Hinojosa, Chuy (D)
Relating to county powers, duties and services.
Last Action: 5-28-13 Sent to the Governor

• S.B 1 Williams, Tommy (R), Pitts, Jim (R)
General Appropriations Bill.
Last Action: 6-5-13 Sent to the Governor

• S.B. 265 Huffman, Joan (R), Thompson, Senfronia (D)
Relating to bond requirements for county officers and employees.
Last Action: 5-18-13 Earliest effective date

• S.B. 382 Carona, John (R), Carter, Stefani (R)
Relating to the disbursement of county funds to a person owing delinquent property taxes.
Last Action: 5-22-13 Sent to the Governor

• S.B. 471 Ellis, Rodney (D), Harper-Brown, Linda (R)
Relating to technological efficiencies in the recording of certain open meetings.
Last Action: 5-18-13 Earliest effective date

• S.B. 552 Uresti, Carlos (D), Nevarez, Poncho (D)
Relating to an application filed with a county commissioners court to revise a subdivision plat.
Last Action: 5-22-13 Sent to the Governor

• S.B. 578 Duncan, Robert (R), Sheffield, J.D. (R)
Relating to use of countywide polling places for certain elections.
Last Action: 5-28-13 Sent to the Governor

• S.B. 634 Davis, Wendy (D), Collier, Nicole (D)
Relating to regulating faulty on-site sewage disposal systems in the unincorporated areas of a county as a public nuisance.
Last Action: 5-16-13 Sent to the Governor

• S.B. 637 Paxton, Ken (R), Flynn, Dan (R)
Relating to notice and proposition language requirements for bond approval elections held by political subdivisions.
Last Action: 5-27-13 Sent to the Governor

• S.B. 656 Paxton, Ken (R), Button, Angie (R)
Relating to providing transparency in the taxing and budgeting process of certain local governments.
Last Action: 5-28-13 Sent to the Governor

• S.B. 872 Deuell, Bob (R), Coleman, Garnet (D)
Relating to county expenditures for certain health care services.
Last Action: 5-28-13 Sent to the Governor

• S.B. 1080 Lucio, Eddie (D), Thompson, Senfronia (D)
Relating to a study on the adequacy and appropriateness of additional compensation paid to certain county judges.
Last Action: 5-27-13 Sent to the Governor

• S.B. 1189 Huffman, Joan (R), Fletcher, Allen (R)
Relating to the disposition of certain firearms seized by a law enforcement agency.
Last Action: 5-25-13 Sent to the Governor

• S.B. 1400 Estes, Craig (R), Geren, Charlie (R)
Relating to the municipal and county regulation of air guns.
Last Action: 5-27-13 Sent to the Governor

• S.B. 1411 Deuell, Bob (R), Gooden, Lance (R)
Relating to regulation of traffic in a conservation and reclamation district by a commissioners court.
Last Action: 5-28-13 Sent to the Governor

• S.B. 1510 Hinojosa, Chuy (D), Hilderbran, Harvey (R)
Relating to the public notice required to be provided by certain taxing units before adopting an ad valorem tax rate.
Last Action: 5-25-13 Sent to the Governor

• S.B. 1729 Nichols, Robert (R), King, Ken (R)
Relating to an agreement between the Department of Public Safety and a county clerk or county assessor-collector for the provision of renewal and duplicate driver’s license and other identification certificate services.
Last Action: 5-28-13 Sent to the Governor

• S.B. 1747 Uresti, Carlos (D), Keffer, Jim (R)
Relating to a fund for certain county transportation infrastructure projects and the creation of County Energy Transportation Reinvestment Zones.
Last Action: 5-28-13 Sent to the Governor

• S.J.R. 1 Williams, Tommy (R), Pitts, Jim (R)
Proposing a constitutional amendment providing for the creation and use of funds in the state treasury to provide financial assistance for certain projects related to economic development and water infrastructure.
Last Action: 11- 5-13 Election date

For more information, please call me at 1-800-733-0699.

From the President – July 2013

July 1, 2013 by Christi Stark

Wow! What a busy year this has been as a county judge. I have been in this office for 19 years, and I believe this has been one of the most challenging years of all…and we still have four months left in this fiscal year. As one person said, “You did not have to run for the job,” and he was correct. It is our decision to run, and why do we do it? I would like to believe it has to be because we want to make a difference in county government. We want to serve the people of our counties.
What is the driving force that makes all of us want to be leaders? I believe it is called servant leadership. What is servant leadership? I would like to share some quotes from others that I believe in and have used during my life. The concept of servant leadership starts by being a servant, first. Good leaders must become good servants. Somehow or other we convinced our voters that we would be good leaders if they would elect us. John Quincy Adams said, “True leadership must be for the benefit of the followers, not to enrich the leader.”
Servant leadership is more than a concept; servant leadership is a fact. Any great leader will be an ethical leader, will see herself or himself as a servant of that group, and will act accordingly. I have seen many leaders come and go, and unfortunately some have not acted accordingly.
This next quote is one of my favorites, by Roy Lessin: “A Godly leader…finds strength by realizing his weakness, finds authority by being under authority, finds direction by laying down his own plans, finds vision by seeing the needs of others, finds credibility by being an example, finds loyalty by expressing compassion, finds honor by being faithful, finds greatness by being a servant.”
There are many other great quotes that will inspire inner strength. I hope those above will assist you in your leadership role.
Thank you for allowing me to be president of our Association.

– Roger Harmon, Association President

Regulating Traffic on County Roads

July 1, 2013 by Christi Stark

KEY QUESTION:

Can commissioners courts regulate traffic on county roads?

REFERENCE POINTS:

Texas Transportation Code, Chapter 541-Chapter 545, Title 7, Subtitle C, “Rules of the Road,” also known as the Uniform Act Regulating Traffic on Highways
Texas Transportation Code, Chapter 251, Subchapter E, part of the County Road and Bridge Act

TALKING POINTS:

Title 7, Subtitle C of the Transportation Code (Uniform Act) states that a county may regulate traffic only in a manner that does not conflict with the state regulations.
State law requires the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to adopt a manual for a uniform system of traffic-control devices. TxDOT has adopted the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). Under the Uniform Act, a local authority may place and maintain a traffic-control device on a highway under its jurisdiction to implement subtitle C or a local traffic ordinance. A traffic-control device must conform to TxDOT’s manual.
Section 542.203 of the Uniform Act states that an ordinance or rule of a local authority is not effective until signs giving notice are posted on or at the entrance to the highway or part of the highway, whichever is most appropriate. This subsection applies only to an ordinance or rule that alters a speed limit as authorized by Subtitle C, which means setting a speed limit that is slower than the maximum speed for traveling on a public highway, or which designates an intersection as a yield or stop intersection, or which designates a portion of a highway as one-way, or a thru highway. Such modification of state law requires the agreement of TxDOT.
Chapter 251, Subchapter E of the Transportation Code (part of the County Road and Bridge Act) also authorizes a commissioners court to regulate traffic on county roads. The commissioners court of a county may regulate traffic on a county road or on real property owned by the county that is under the jurisdiction of the commissioners court.
The county commissioners court, by order entered on the minutes of the court, may determine and set a maximum reasonable and prudent speed for a vehicle traveling on any segment of a county road, including a road or highway intersection, railroad grade crossing, curve or hill. A speed limit set by the commissioners court under this section is effective when appropriate signs giving notice of the speed limit are installed on the affected segment of the county road. This statute, however, only permits the lowering of a speed limit to 30 miles per hour. Any lower speed limit requires a traffic and engineering study (Section 545.355, Transportation Code).
Section 251.155 states that a commissioners court of a county may adopt regulations establishing a system of traffic control devices. The traffic control devices adopted under this section must conform to the manual and specifications of TxDOT.
Both the Uniform Act Regulating Traffic on Highways and the County Road and Bridge Act state that:

a local authority’s traffic ordinances are not effective until appropriate signs have been posted; and
traffic control devices must conform with TxDOT’s manual.

Traffic regulation requires a public hearing, and not less than 30 days notice in a newspaper of general circulation (Section 251.152, Transportation Code).

Off-System Rural Road Safety

July 1, 2013 by Christi Stark

The Problem of Roadway Departures

When drivers leave the roadway, people often die or suffer serious injuries. The problem is not limited only to the nation’s highways. It is a problem of particular concern for “off-system” roadways in rural areas. In Texas, “on-system” generally refers to roads administered by TxDOT (federal/state highways and FM highways), so “off-system” rural roads are almost exclusively county roads.

Curves on rural roadways present particular problems. TxDOT’s Crash Records Information System (CRIS) reported that in 2011 rural roads of all types showed a high share of fatalities, accounting for 57 percent of fatalities and 32 percent of serious injuries. Of all fatal crashes, 54 percent involved roadway departures; on average the crash rate for curves is about three times higher than on straight road segments. When vehicles leave the road on curves, it is serious; more than 70 percent of such crashes result in fatalities due to a vehicle hitting a fixed object or overturning. (1)

Traffic Safety Duties

Based on court interpretations of the 1970 Texas Tort Claims Act, roadway officials have some responsibility for roadway safety. Drivers share in that responsibility, meaning officials cannot be held responsible for absolute safety. Courts have generally held public officials responsible to provide “reasonably safe” roadways. (2)

A roadway can be considered “reasonably safe” when it is adequate for prudent drivers to use without undue risk of harm; that is, the driver is behaving as most drivers would behave under similar circumstances, in general compliance with roadway, traffic, and weather conditions. Basically, officials have a duty to make roadways safe, or to warn drivers to help them safely negotiate the roadway. (3)

Understanding Suitable Actions

To improve roadway safety, officials need to:

Understand the crash factors.
Know the characteristics of their roads.
Learn how these characteristics can hamper good driver performance.
Act to better help drivers adjust for difficult road conditions.

Several factors contribute to traffic crashes: drivers, vehicle(s), weather conditions, and roadway features.

All have potential effects, but all may not have affected a particular crash; vehicle malfunction is one example. Roadway officials only control physical roadway features, although they can influence driver actions through speed limits and advisory information.

Roadway features can be categorized as outlined in Table 1. Alignment, cross section, riding surface, the roadside, and driver information affect safety along the full length of any roadway. By contrast, drainage structures and intersections are point locations.

Working in concert, they all affect driver behavior to some extent, albeit different effects on different drivers. For example, a narrow road with a poor riding surface will cause all drivers to operate slower than they would on a better road, but all drivers will not slow to the same speed.

Off-System Road Characteristics

Texas county roads can “surprise” unfamiliar drivers by presenting unexpected conditions inconsistent with their usual experience on highways and city streets. Few county roads in Texas have been “engineered” (designed to satisfy specific speed characteristics). Most are little more than early wagon routes, explaining the narrow right of way (ROW) and the sharp crests at hills. Most follow early property lines, explaining why straight sections are coupled with tight bends around property corners. Also, rivers, creeks, and roadside stormflow often result in drainage features that can further complicate traffic safety.

How Roads Can Hamper Driver Performance

Roadway features can contribute to traffic safety difficulties, particularly when their position presents a combined effect. Table 2 lists two example pairs of features (feature-pairs) that are fairly common, along with a description of their potential effects. Many other pairs can also be of concern. Vegetation in or near the ROW can further aggravate the combined negative effects.

Acting To Meet Driver Information Needs

Drivers depend on a steady stream of information for making good second-by-second decisions. They react to both informal and formal input. Informal information is provided by the driving environment: tree lines, buildings, and the roadway itself, to list a few. Formal information is provided by design: signs, markers, pavement markings and signals. Due to limited budgets and the nature of their roads, most Texas counties must depend solely on signs and markers. Nevertheless, these can help offset the potential negative effects of difficult feature-pairs.

Properly deployed and maintained, signs and markers warn drivers in advance of a condition so they can adjust, usually with reduced speed and greater vigilance. Proper and consistent use of signs and markers on a system-wide basis can reduce system-wide crashes.

The experience of Mendocino County, Calif., offers one example. The county reduced county-wide crashes by 42 percent over a six-year period by systematically correcting or adding signs and markers by properly placing the right signs and markers at the right locations along all their roadways. (4)

Making a Difference

County officials can make a difference in traffic fatalities and injuries. They have responsibility for thousands of miles of roads, and they have a legal duty to do what they can to make them reasonably safe. While they cannot correct all of the feature-pairs that might contribute to traffic crashes, they can take steps to meet their minimum duty…warn drivers! Success depends on four actions:

1. Build the Right Attitudes.

A traffic safety improvement attitude should be part of the county road culture. From leadership through work crews, emphasis should be placed on the safety value of all maintenance and improvement actions including vegetation control, placement and maintenance of signs and markers, and travel way and drainage maintenance. For best results, attitudes need to reflect the idea that all actions are taken to improving road safety, at least in part.

2. Treat the Worst First.

No jurisdiction can address all potential roadway safety issues at once. One approach is to identify roadway feature-pairs presenting the poorest safety situations. Examples include:

curves/turns having unusually hazardous situations along their outside;

sharp turns approached by long, straight road segments;

curves/turns hidden from the driver’s view by the crest of a hill; and

curves/turns that hide drainage structures from adequate view by the driver.

After these are identified, it is important to correctly post the right warning signs. Officials should then deal with areas presenting lesser problems. Doing nothing is an option that may be difficult to defend.

3. Document Actions Taken.

Deliberate and systematic efforts to address traffic safety are important. This helps discharge the public duty, even if actions cannot be taken quickly. Efforts should be carefully documented. Documentation must include how hazardous areas are identified and prioritized, what actions were taken at specific locations, when they were done, and who did the work. It is important to document why a specific action was chosen from possible solutions and how resources were allocated among competing locations. Good practices can go far toward making roads safer and toward defending a county’s actions. Good documentation and a system for storing and retrieving are fundamental to wisely exercising the roadway safety duty.

4. Get Help.

Technical assistance, technical information, and training are available from the Texas LTAP Center at TEEX. Give us a call, or email your questions to Bill.Lowery@teex.tamu.edu. County officials may also be able to get help from the TxDOT office serving their area.

References:

(1) Crash Records Information System, www.dot.state.tx.us (Crash Records, 2011).

(2) Risk Management to Reduce Roadway Tort Liability, TEEX Course, 2002

(3) Transportation Safety and Tort Liability, TEEX Course, 2009.

(4) Road System Traffic Safety Review Showcase: Report by Mendocino County DOT, Stephen Ford, 2004

Originally published in Lone Star Roads Issue 3, 2012. Reprinted with permission.

Texas News Reviews: July 2013

July 1, 2013 by Christi Stark

North & East Texas

Anderson County Commissioners Court approved tax abatements for Sanderson Farms, which plans to operate a processing facility in Palestine that employs 900 people. Commissioners also approved an agreement with the city to extend roads and utilities to the facility.

Bell County Commissioners Court voted to extend a contract with the Managing to Excellence Corp. for mental health defense. Judge Jon Burrows told the Killeen Daily Herald that the program moves prisoners through pretrial stages more quickly, helps control jail population, and saves money.

Cooke County has 87 residences with new storm shelters or safe rooms thanks to a FEMA grant program that pays each resident half the cost up to $3,000 for an approved shelter.

Dallas County Commissioners Court approved a contract of up to $1.65 million with Dynamic Aviation Group for aerial spraying to combat West Nile Virus as needed in the coming months. Thirty-seven people died from West Nile infection last year in the four-county area. Commissioners also approved $41 million in tax notes to pay for energy improvements in county facilities and $1 million for a South Dallas housing project to build 50 cottages for the homeless.

Denton County received a grant of $35,000 from the Susan G. Komen Foundation to provide mammograms to women who qualify. “It’s for any Denton County woman if she is financially eligible and in the group that a mammogram is recommended for,” Bing Burton, health department director, told the Denton Record Chronicle.

Gregg County Commissioners Court approved assistance for Sabine ISD (expansion of parking lot for a high school softball field) and White Oak ISD (remove 9,000 square feet of asphalt at an elementary school).

Harrison County Commissioners Court approved an application from Bayou Aviation to become a fixed base operation at Harrison County Airport.

Johnson County Commissioners Court approved funds for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the courthouse in November.

Leon County Commissioners Court approved “active shooter” training for staff, elected and appointed officials, and supervisors as recommended by Sheriff Kevin Ellis.

Liberty County Commissioners Court approved a donation of $5,000 from a private citizen to purchase Taser CEWs (conducted electrical weapons) for the sheriff’s office.

McLennan County Commissioners Court voted to contract with LaSalle Corrections to operate the 816-bed Jack Harwell Detention Center, one of 11 facilities that LaSalle operates in Texas and Louisiana. Commissioners believe under LaSalle the center “can better generate revenue by attracting federal prisoners,” according to the Waco Tribune.

Montgomery County Commissioners Court approved the sale of the 1,287-bed Joe Corley Detention Center to the Florida-based GEO Group for $65 million. The center currently houses about 900 inmates of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A portion of the proceeds will be used to fund expansion of the county jail.

Trinity County Commissioners Court earmarked $570,000 of a $3.8 million federal grant for a new water tower near Trinity High School, one of the area’s designated emergency shelters. Most of the grant will be used for road repairs and upgrades.

South Texas

Atascosa County celebrated the 100th anniversary of its courthouse, which was accepted from the contractor May 13, 1913, as the third location of the county seat.

Calhoun County Commissioners Court approved a two-year contract of $5,000 with Emergency Communications Network of Florida for an emergency notification system.

Colorado County Commissioners Court honored Francis Truchard for his 50 years of service as justice of the peace. Judge Ty Prause said Truchard “has faithfully and diligently served the citizens of Colorado County as justice of the peace for the past 50 years since April 8, 1963, with effectiveness and devotion, with honor to himself and to his office.”

Comal County received a state grant of $200,000 for its indigent legal defense program and approved the online auction of 77 surplus weapons from the sheriff’s office.

DeWitt County Judge Daryl Fowler told the Yorktown News-View that taxable value in the county has increased from
$2 billion in 2012 to $3.5-to-$3.7 billion in 2013 primarily because of oil and gas exploration and production.

Fayette County Commissioners Court scheduled a party for Sept. 21 at the courthouse in LaGrange to celebrate the county’s 175th anniversary.

Fort Bend County Commissioners Court allocated $311,000 in water system improvements for the city of Arcola. Commissioners also approved on-board security cameras and mobile computers for transit buses in the county.

Gillespie County Commissioners Court authorized the issuance of up to $15 million in general obligation bonds for construction of a 96-bed jail. The project architect is Wiginton Hooker Jeffrey, and the construction manager is Vanir Construction.

Hays County Commissioners Court approved $1.8 million in an agreement with the city of Dripping Springs to fund the final construction of Dripping Springs Ranch Park.

Hidalgo County will conduct its annual public health emergency preparedness exercise, Operation Lone Star, July 29-Aug. 2. Residents receive free medical services, and state and local officials train to handle public emergencies.

Jim Wells County Commissioners Court selected South Texas AirMed as the county’s ambulance service for at least three years.

Lee County Commissioners Court approved a resolution of support for the management plan of the Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation District. According to the Giddings Times and News, commissioners “support protecting the aquifer so that groundwater will be available to serve current and future residents.”

Live Oak County Commissioners Court awarded a contract of $320,457 to Harold Brown and Sons for water line improvements for El Oso Water Supply Corp.

Matagorda County Commissioners Court approved a law enforcement agreement between the sheriff’s office and the police departments of the cities of Bay City and Palacios. Each will contribute $10,000 for a task force fund.

Medina County Commissioners Court approved the installation of a mass notification system for county residents to use in emergencies.

San Patricio Commissioner Jim Price received the 2013 Outstanding Conservation Rancher Award from the San Patricio Soil and Water Conservation District “for practices that best protect the natural environment.”

Travis County Commissioners Court approved a plan to build a $38.5 million office building in Austin for the district attorney and other court-related departments. Plans call for a seven-story building with 130,000 square feet.

Uvalde County held Water Day to promote conservation and rainwater harvesting. The Uvalde Leader News reported that “low-flow toilets and shower heads are being distributed at no cost to homes with a city water line.”

Victoria County Commissioners Court approved a software proposal from Tyler Technologies for electronic management of the judicial court docket, making the district clerk’s office paperless. “It will be less paperwork and less scanning,” District Clerk Cathy Stuart told the Victoria Advocate. “It will free us up to help the public.”

West Texas

Andrews County Commissioners Court approved a 10-year agreement with the city of Andrews that requires the county to maintain alleys and streets in the city and a construction debris pit at the city landfill, and provide septic tank inspections.

Brown County Commissioners Court created a child safety fund to benefit child advocacy agencies. Residents will pay an additional $1.50 to register vehicles for the fund.

Carson County Commissioners Court approved a contract with Allied Compliance Services, Inc., for drug and alcohol testing.

Dawson County Commissioners Court approved $2,500 for Victim Services of Big Spring, an advocacy program for victims of crime, including sexual assault.

Dickens County received an emergency grant of $69,000 for courthouse restoration.

Eastland County Precinct 3 Commissioner T.J. Cummings resigned in May after accepting employment and moving away from the county.

Jack County Commissioners Court approved a one-year contract with the Perrin Whitt CISD for a resource officer from the sheriff’s office with 50 percent of the salary and benefits paid by the school district.

Montague County conducted an open house for its new courthouse annex of 24,000 square feet with offices for Judge Tommie Sappington, attorney, clerk, tax assessor, treasurer and commissioners court. Commissioners also approved $300,000 in repairs for the courthouse, which this fall will mark its 100th birthday.

Moore County Commissioners Court allocated $35,453 for half of a landscape project by Amarillo Lawn and Sprinkler Co. at the county airport, including sod grass and a sprinkler system. A state grant will provide up to $50,000.

Parker County Commissioners Court approved a contract of $969,617 with SunGard for a computer-aided dispatch, mobile data computer, and law enforcement/fire records management system.

Presidio County Commissioners Court approved plans to revitalize the county’s two public airports, making them more attractive for emergency services and economic development.

Terry County Commissioners Court approved a contract with ImageTech for scanning records in the district clerk’s office.

Winkler County Commissioners Court approved the purchase and installation of COPsync, a real-time, information-sharing network, for sheriff’s office patrol cars for $81,809. Sheriff George Keely told the Winkler County News that COPsync “will make deputies safer and more productive and allow them to respond to emergencies much faster.”

– Compiled by Garner Roberts

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