June 10, 2025 Hood County Commissioners' Court

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Hood County Commissioners' Court met on June 10, 2025, to address citizen comments, IT department operations and governance, and routine administrative matters. The court authorized an RFP for IT contract services, established a temporary IT oversight committee by a 3-to-2 vote, and posted the IT director position following the recent termination of the previous director. Additional agenda items included approval of a New World screwworm resolution, consideration of a homestead exemption increase, contract renewals with cybersecurity provisions, and routine financial and subdivision matters. The meeting reflected ongoing concerns about IT compliance and governance structures, which prompted extended discussion of committee composition and oversight frameworks.

• Call to order and meeting detailsThe meeting was called to order on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. in the central jury room of the Ralph H. Walton Jr. Justice Center.
• Agenda items and citizen comments overviewNo special presentations or service awards were scheduled; the court proceeded directly to citizens comment at large with four registered speakers.
• Kenneth Copeland: Fire department funding and sheriff overtime policyA retired National Highway Traffic Safety Administration grant administrator requested increased funding for fire departments and recommended changing the county's overtime compensation policy to enable grant programs.
• Richard Hes: Hood County Fire Academy achievement and community supportThe Granberry Volunteer Fire Department board member praised the county's support for the Hood County Fire Academy, which graduated a record 52 firefighters drawing students from across the region.
• Tina Brown: Recording and streaming absence; criticisms of IT director terminationA speaker raised concerns about the meeting not being recorded or live streamed due to staff changes and criticized the recent termination of IT director Drew Whitaker.
• Tim Bolton: Republican Party praise and IT department staffing comparisonA representative of the Republican Party praised the county's governance and low taxes, then contrasted the county's IT department staffing with a school district's more efficient IT support model.
• Salary grievance committee member selectionThe court drew names from a pool of prior grand jury citizens to form the salary grievance committee.
• Innovative Transportation Solutions contract authorizationThe court authorized the county judge to sign a professional services contract with Innovative Transportation Solutions, previously approved at the prior commissioner's court meeting.
• IT contract services RFP discussion and Commissioner Samuelson analysisCommissioner Samuelson presented comparative IT staffing data from 20 nearby counties and recommended issuing an RFP to evaluate insourced, outsourced, and hybrid IT solutions for Hood County.
• Sam Goldmith testimony: IT managed services company overview and vendor outreachSam Goldmith, representing a 21-year-old IT managed services company serving county government, introduced the firm's experience and outlined changing compliance requirements affecting county IT operations.
• Goldmith testimony: IT committee importance and prior client experienceGoldmith discussed the value of IT committees for oversight and described his firm's experience with county clients adopting insourced, outsourced, and hybrid IT models.
• Goldmith testimony: Vendor client base and IT committee adoptionGoldmith reported currently serving 12 counties with outsourced IT services, with 4 or 5 of those counties operating IT committees.
• Judge questioning Goldmith: IT committee composition and outsourced county size comparisonThe county judge questioned Goldmith about the structure of IT committees at his client counties and established that Hood County is significantly larger than Goldmith's largest outsourced client.
• Judge questioning Goldmith: Initial contact timeline and Commissioner Samuelson communicationsThe judge extensively questioned when Goldmith first contacted Hood County and the nature of his communications with Commissioner Samuelson.
• Judge comparing surrounding counties' IT models to establish contextThe judge systematically listed surrounding counties' IT approaches, establishing that Hood County is the only one outsourced among its neighbors and the only client of Goldmith's firm in that region.
• IT services and outsourcing comparisonDiscussion of Hood County IT department structure and comparison with surrounding counties' IT operations.
• Meeting context and prior researchCommissioner explained how the vendor (Mr. Goldmith) was identified and the purpose of reviewing IT service options.
• Parker County IT department operationsCommissioner detailed conversations with Parker County IT director about department structure and approaches.
• Third-party IT audit findingsCommissioner reported results from SLG Technologies audit of Hood County IT department.
• Hood County cybersecurity incident historyJudge described past security breach and effectiveness of IT department response.
• CJIS compliance and certification requirementsDiscussion of CJIS (Criminal Justice Information Services) certification and compliance for IT committee members.
• Motion to issue IT contract RFPCourt voted on motion to direct purchasing department to issue Request for Proposal for IT contract services.
• IT oversight committee proposalDiscussion of establishing IT oversight committee to provide leadership and prioritization to IT department.
• CJIS requirements for committee membersMr. Goldmith explained CJIS certification process and requirements for IT committee access.
• Committee composition and data access concernsDiscussion of whether IT committee needs access to sensitive IT data to prioritize effectively.
• IT committee governance and prioritization frameworkDiscussion of parameters needed for the IT committee to make prioritized decisions without clear metrics for what constitutes an emergency versus routine work.
• Establishing IT governance "guard rails" before forming committeeThe speaker explains that counties benefit from establishing prioritization matrices and oversight frameworks before creating the IT committee to guide decision-making.
• IT prioritization as normal business processSpeaker asserts that IT prioritization processes already exist and should be formalized through commissioner's court to protect IT staff from pressure.
• Break-glass emergency protocols under Texas lawDiscussion of formalized emergency procedures needed when county IT systems face ransomware or malicious attacks, given Texas Constitution structure with elected officials as independent department heads.
• Proposal for temporary IT oversight committeeCommissioner proposes creating a temporary committee modeled on Republican Party practices to develop recommendations before establishing a permanent IT committee.
• Public speaker Tina Brown questions committee purposeCommunity member asks for clarification on whether the committee is for planning meetings or whether citizens will contact committee members instead of the IT department.
• Committee role in project prioritizationSpeaker explains how a committee could resolve disputes over which projects are prioritized among a list of 21 ongoing items.
• Concern: Commissioner's court already serves this functionA commissioner questions why a separate committee is needed when commissioners court already provides IT direction.
• Committee size and composition discussionDebate over how many members should serve and whether the committee should include IT professionals.
• IT professional experience and MFA complianceDiscussion of speaker's 30-year IT career (retired 2018) and the recent Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) compliance issue as an example of IT oversight gaps.
• Judge's concerns about IT compliance and accountabilityThe judge expresses that MFA compliance gaps and earlier IT statement about 100% compliance raised accountability concerns requiring action before an IT committee is even established.
• Motion to establish temporary IT oversight committeeJudge formally moves to create a temporary committee to develop recommendations for a permanent IT oversight committee with specific named members.
• Committee composition clarification and amendmentDiscussion of whether additional members (tax assessor/collector, JP1) should be added to the temporary committee, with questions about vetting and size.
• Vote on temporary IT oversight committee motionThe motion to establish the temporary committee is voted on and passes with a 3-to-2 result.
• IT director job posting review and approvalAgenda item 5: Commissioners review and approve job posting for IT director position.
• Motion to post IT director positionCommissioner moves to direct HR to post the IT director position; motion passes unanimously.
• New World screwworm resolution and USDA threatAgenda item 6: Discussion of resolution supporting federal action against the parasitic screwworm fly spreading from Mexico, a significant livestock and wildlife threat.
• County Extension Agent education on screwworm threatExtension agent provides technical background on the parasitic screwworm fly, its historical eradication, and current re-emergence threat from Mexico.
• New World Screwworm fly threat and federal action resolutionHood County Commissioners' Court passed a resolution urgently calling for federal action to combat the New World screwworm fly threat to livestock, wildlife, and the rural economy.
• Commissioner discussion and concerns on ivermectin authorizationCommissioners raised concerns about the federal government's role in addressing the screwworm threat, noting the irony of now requesting ivermectin after COVID-related restrictions.
• Hood County 20% homestead exemption proposalCommissioner Samuelson presented a resolution to increase the Hood County homestead exemption from 10% to 20% of property taxes, the maximum allowed by state law.
• Technical discussion on homestead exemption mechanics and no-new-revenue rateCommissioners engaged in detailed discussion about how the additional 10% homestead exemption would interact with the no-new-revenue tax rate calculation.
• Lexus Nexis AI software subscription approval for District AttorneyDistrict Attorney requested approval for a three-year subscription to Lexus Nexus Plus AI legal research and drafting software to replace the current Westlaw subscription.
• Hood County Ambulance Lease Agreement approvalFire Marshal Jeff Young presented a lease agreement between Hood County and Texas EMS for maintenance and registration of a county ambulance.
• Title VI non-discrimination policy updateHR Director Melissa Welber provided an update on Title VI non-discrimination policy statement and assurances, noting implementation requirements and planned distribution.
• Boiler replacement funding at Ralph H. Walton Jr. Justice CenterCommissioners approved funding from Fund 55 to replace a failed boiler at the Ralph H. Walton Jr. Justice Center using a quote from Environic Services.
• Exxon Enterprises contract early renewal with cyber security addendumCommissioners considered and approved an early contract renewal with Exxon Enterprises, Inc. to include a cyber security addendum and avoid an upcoming price increase in July.
• Axon Enterprises contract renewal and cyber security addendumCommissioners approved early renewal of the Axon Enterprises contract to include a cyber security addendum and avoid a significant price increase.
• Hood County radio tower redundancy projectMargaret Campbell reported on options for implementing redundancy in Hood County's radio networks to address lack of backup capability.
• County court judge salary adjustment for longevity creditCourt approved back pay and prospective salary adjustment for the county court of law judge under House Bill 3474's cross-credit provision for prior prosecutorial service.
• Consent agenda approval with HCAD refund modificationCommissioners approved the consent agenda with one item pulled and modified regarding HCAD service fee funding source.
• Public hearing scheduling for subdivision platsCourt scheduled two public hearings for July 22, 2025, to consider final subdivision plats.
• Twin Canyons Estates final plat approvalCourt approved the revised final plat for Twin Canyons Estates after owner requested layout changes from April approval.
• Timber Preserve interlocal agreement with Parker CountyCourt approved interlocal agreement with Parker County to allow plat recording for subdivision spanning both counties.
• May–June 2025 expenditure approvalCommissioners approved payment of invoices totaling $1,278,381.27 from May 21 to June 3, 2025.
• Executive session on real estate and property appraisalCourt convened into executive session to discuss real estate matters; upon reconvening, authorized appraisal request.