August 10, 2021 Hood County Commissioners' Court

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The Hood County Commissioners' Court met on August 10, 2021, to address citizen concerns regarding water quality and development, election system integrity, ADA compliance, and infrastructure challenges, while also conducting budget discussions and approving routine administrative matters. The court approved consent agenda items with modifications, certified county road maintenance at 99.96 percent paved, and approved placement of a temporary radar speed feedback sign in Port Ridgely West. During the fiscal year 2022 budget hearing, commissioners addressed employee compensation equity concerns across constable precincts and approved various salary adjustments and budget amendments following executive session discussion. The court voted against proposed salary increases for elected officials while ultimately approving an administrative assistant salary increase, and discussed the timeline for submitting American Rescue Plan Fund allocation plans.

• Call to order and invocationThe meeting was called to order at 9 a.m. in the Century Jury Room at the Justice Center in Granbury, with an invocation offered by a pastor from Long Creek Baptist Church.
• Citizens at large commentsTwo speakers signed up to address the court, with a five-minute limit per speaker and 30-minute maximum total.
• Dr. Victoria Calder—water quality and development coordinationA citizen called for coordinated city-county efforts to protect Lake Granbury and the Brazos River from pollution caused by uncontrolled development and two proposed sewer plants.
• Mark Lowry—election system integrity and ballot numberingA citizen raised concerns about ballot numbering compliance, election administration preparedness, and ballot machine vulnerabilities in Hood County elections.
• Sharon Sealander—ADA compliance at Justice CenterA citizen reported the Justice Center is out of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act due to lack of automatic door opening mechanisms.
• Chris Kaufman (City Council Representative)—ballot numbering request and election servicesThe City of Granbury requested the county amend the election services contract to include sequentially numbered and randomized ballots for future elections.
• Mayor Jim Jarrett—COVID-19 data clarity and base metricsA citizen speaking in his personal capacity requested state health data be reported with numerators and denominators rather than percentages alone.
• Consent agenda motion and approvalThe court approved the consent agenda with removal of two items (A1 and A2) for separate discussion.
• Donald Lenny—County road maintenance certificationThe county certified maintained road mileage and reported 99.96 percent of roadways in the county system are paved.
• Port Ridgely West HOA—temporary radar speed feedback signThe court approved placement of a temporary battery-powered radar speed feedback sign on county road signposts within Port Ridgely West subdivision.
• Public hearing—stop sign at G Road and Rainy CourtThe court convened a public hearing to consider establishing a three-way stop sign at the intersection of G Road and Rainy Court.
• Stop sign effectiveness and necessity at Rainey Court and G RoadA citizen raised concerns about a newly installed stop sign at the Rainey Court and G Road intersection, questioning its effectiveness and necessity given minimal traffic.
• Public hearing reopened and additional citizen testimonyThe public hearing was reopened to allow more community members to speak on the proposed three-way stop sign, and a resident spoke against the proposal.
• County staff clarification on traffic light proposalCounty staff clarified that Fall Creek Highway is a state highway, requiring coordination outside county authority for traffic signal installation.
• Motion to pull three-way stop sign item from agendaCommissioner Wilson made a motion to withdraw the three-way stop sign proposal from the current voting agenda.
• Bentwater replat on Lake Granbury public hearing scheduledThe court scheduled a public hearing for a replat application at Bentwater on Lake Granbury.
• Budget transfer requests for temporary mail clerk positionTwo budget transfer requests were approved to extend funding for a temporary mail clerk position running longer than expected.
• Constable Precinct 1 time stamp machine requestA budget adjustment was approved for Constable Precinct 1 to purchase a new time stamp machine.
• Financial payments approval for period ending August 3, 2021The court approved payment of invoices totaling $498,917.62 for the period July 21 through August 3, 2021.
• Hood County holiday schedule approval for fiscal year 2021–2022The court approved the proposed 14-day holiday schedule for Hood County covering October 11, 2021 through September 5, 2022.
• Interlocal cooperation contract with Pecan Valley mental health servicesThe court authorized the County Judge to sign an interlocal cooperation contract with Pecan Valley Mental Health and Mental Retardation Region for mental health crisis transportation services.
• Temporary mail clerk pay increase to $12 per hourThe court approved a pay increase for the temporary mail clerk from the current rate to $12 per hour, effective August 2, 2021.
• New law enforcement vehicle for Constable Precinct 3The court approved purchase of a new law enforcement vehicle for Constable Precinct 3, not to exceed $58,035.28, to be kept unmarked.
• Health reimbursement guidelines and reimbursement request forms approvalThe court approved health reimbursement guidelines and forms for the 2021–2022 fiscal plan year to help employees with deductible costs.
• Public hearing for fiscal year 2022 Hood County budgetThe court convened a public hearing on the proposed 2022 fiscal year Hood County budget.
• Constable workload and pay equity concernsA commissioner raised concerns about unequal pay and workload distribution among constables' staff, citing Constable Precinct 4's secretary as working significantly more than peers due to tax sale responsibilities.
• County employee compensation and evaluation practicesA constable spoke to the commissioners about the county's greatest asset being its employees and expressed concerns about inconsistent pay raise practices and the discontinuation of yearly evaluations.
• Jail captain salary increaseThe auditor presented the first budget amendment to increase the jail captain's salary by $1,607 including benefits, which commissioners approved without discussion of the justification.
• Sheriff administration certification pay increaseThe auditor requested a $10,000 increase for sheriff administration certification pay, including benefits and retirement, to prevent a budget shortfall later in the year.
• Dispatch overtime budget restorationThe auditor had reduced the dispatch overtime budget but the sheriff requested it be restored with an additional $5,000, which the auditor agreed to bring back up.
• Commissioner's administrative assistant salary increaseThe auditor proposed a $4,688 increase for the commissioner's administrative assistant position, which sparked commissioner objection and discussion about whether job duties had changed.
• Justice of the peace precinct two part-time staff increaseJustice of the Peace Precinct 2 requested a $5,000 increase for part-time staff to retain employees rather than hire an additional full-time person.
• Non-salary budget amendmentsThe auditor presented four budget items not related to salary increases, including sheriff travel, K-9 care, constable ammunition, and corrections to the personnel director budget.
• Budget amendment motion and commission discussion on fire departmentsCommissioners voted to approve most budget amendments except the administrative assistant increase, and discussed a plan to provide fire departments with baseline funding.
• Public hearing on elected official salary increasesCitizens spoke against proposed salary increases for elected officials citing pandemic hardships, and commissioners ultimately voted to maintain prior-year salaries with no increase.
• American Rescue Plan Fund discussion and community infrastructure concernsMultiple citizens spoke about using American Rescue Plan funds to address infrastructure crises, specifically sewage treatment plant proposals that would discharge into small creeks in flood plains.
• American Rescue Plan Fund timelineThe judge and auditor discussed when the county must submit binding plans for American Rescue Plan funding allocation.
• Executive session on administrative assistant compensationCommissioners adjourned into executive session to discuss the administrative assistant position compensation matter.
• Administrative assistant salary resolution in executive sessionFollowing executive session discussion, commissioners voted on the administrative assistant salary, with the motion to increase the position to $37,510 passing 3-2.
• Administrative assistant duties and compensation discussionCommissioners discussed the administrative assistant's expanded job duties and compensation within budget constraints.
• Proposed salary step increase and calculationCommissioners debated moving the administrative assistant up one step in the salary grade, with discussion of the percentage increase and resulting salary amount.
• Motion and vote on salary increaseThe court voted to approve the administrative assistant's salary increase.