Commissioner's Court Aug 25, 2026

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Hood County Commissioner's Court met on August 25, 2026, to conduct regular business including adoption of development permit regulation changes, consideration of a proposed 0.325 tax rate with associated budget deliberations, and approval of various operational and service agreements. The court heard extensive public comment on topics including concerns about the Pagan Plantation Fire Department's management, Apache Hill energy storage facility safety, the Flock surveillance camera system, and infrastructure protection related to data center facilities. Commissioners approved funding for the Hood County Clean Air Coalition, directed the county attorney to draft a letter requiring data center developers to document compliance with Governor Abbott's audit directive, and enacted a 90-day burn ban due to extreme fire danger. Additional routine items approved included HVAC equipment funding, ambulance services and insurance agreements, and grant applications for rural ambulance and criminal justice initiatives.

• Call to order and opening remarksThe Commissioner's Court of Hood County convened on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. in the central jury room of the Ralph Lake Walter Jr. Justice Center.
• Proclamation for September 11 Patriot Day and National Day of Service and RemembranceHood County Commissioner's Court proclaimed September 11, 2026, as Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance, marking 25 years since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and United Flight 93.
• County service awards for five years of serviceCounty employees recognized for five years of service were unable to attend the meeting but were to receive commendation pins.
• Citizen comments at largeSix citizens provided public comment on various county matters during the open comment period, each allotted five minutes.
• First citizen speaker: criticism of Commissioner Andrews' decision-makingA citizen expressed concern about Commissioner Andrews being manipulated or "groomed" by outside influences and warned of appearing to engage in improper decision-making.
• Second citizen speaker: Republican Party of Texas convention and lawfare concernsA citizen spoke about a June 2026 Republican Party of Texas convention and raised concerns about "lawfare" as a political issue affecting Hood County.
• Third citizen speaker: concerns about Apache Hill facility and Pagan Plantation volunteer fire responseA citizen raised safety and readiness concerns regarding Apache Hill's energy storage facility and adjacent Rainbow Promise Daycare, and questioned Pagan Plantation volunteer fire department's ability to respond to emergencies.
• Fourth citizen speaker: Pagan Plantation Fire Department management and budget control disputesA citizen raised concerns about the Pagan Plantation Fire Department board's management of ARPA funds and county subsidies contrary to a prior court order requiring fire chief approval of checks.
• Fifth citizen speaker: data center research resourcesA citizen provided publicly available research resources regarding data center developments for commissioners and interested citizens to review.
• Sixth citizen speaker: Flock surveillance camera concerns and contract performance issuesA citizen raised concerns about Hood County's Flock surveillance camera system, alleging performance failures, contract breaches, and potential misuse of data.
• Agenda items pulled and reschedulingThe court clerk and county judge announced that agenda items 12, 13, 25, and 31 were being removed from the regular agenda and would not be discussed at this time.
• Item 16: Cyber security clinic agreement with University of TexasThe court moved Item 16 out of order to accommodate visiting representatives from Texas Association of Counties who needed to return to Austin.
• Item 2: Public hearing on development permit regulations changesThe court convened into a public hearing to review and adopt changes to the development permit regulations.
• Item 3: Adoption of development permit regulations changesThe court adopted the proposed changes to the development permit regulations.
• Item 4: Public participation form changes for Commissioner CourtThe court considered and approved modifications to the public participation form used for citizens to sign up for comment during meetings.
• Item 1: Approval of tax-foreclosed property resaleThe court approved authorization for the county judge to sign approval of completed resale of two tax-foreclosed properties.
• Public participation form changesThe court approved updates to the public participation form for speaker registration and tracking.
• Elected officials salary adjustmentThe court debated and voted on salary increases for elected officials, ultimately approving a 3% raise.
• Public hearing on proposed budgetThe court opened a public hearing on the judge's proposed budget and heard departmental presentations.
• Employee salary increase advocacyMultiple elected officials and speakers advocated for increased employee compensation beyond the 3% elected official raise.
• Elected officials forgoing raises for employee increasesElected officials volunteered to decline their 3% raises if funds could be redirected to employee compensation.
• Elected officials salary tracking and budget complexityCommissioners expressed concerns about tracking multiple salary increase scenarios across different elected officials and budget versions.
• Tax rate calculation scenariosStaff presented tax rate calculations for various salary increase combinations to help commissioners evaluate budget options.
• Proposed tax rate process and constraintsCommissioners and staff clarified the mechanics of proposing and adopting tax rates under state law.
• Judge's proposed budget and tax rate presentationThe county judge presented the proposed budget details and corresponding 0.325 tax rate per $100 valuation.
• Budget impact analysis and homeowner tax implicationsStaff provided financial details on the proposed budget's overall cost and per-household tax impact.
• Budget consolidation and talking points approachStaff and commissioners discussed condensing five budget versions into key talking points for majority decision-making.
• Vote on proposed tax rate of 0.325 per $100The court voted on and approved a proposed tax rate of 0.325 per $100 valuation.
• Motion to table items seven, eight, and nineCommissioners tabled three budget-related agenda items tied to the proposed tax rate pending further discussion.
• Citizen speaker comment on budget and county spendingA citizen speaker addressed the court regarding budget priorities, employee morale, and fiscal responsibility.
• Motion to table item seven deferred votingFollowing citizen comment, commissioners tabled the formal vote on the tax rate increase per state law requirements.
• Hood County Clean Air Coalition funding requestThe court approved a $35,000 funding request from the Hood County Clean Air Coalition for fiscal year 2026–27.
• Citizen speaker supporting air quality monitoringA citizen speaker advocated for the funding to support expanded air quality monitoring in the county.
• Library closure dates approvalThe court approved requested closure dates for the Hood County Library to align with county holidays and staff needs.
• P25 radio system study status updateFederal Engineering provided a status update on the independent P25 radio network analysis for Hood County public safety communications.
• Letters of concern regarding data center facilities and infrastructure protectionCommissioners prepared to consider and sign letters of concern addressing data center compliance with state infrastructure protection laws.
• Alert to entities regarding Chinese infrastructure componentsCounty commissioners seek to notify relevant agencies of potential Chinese components in critical infrastructure per the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act.
• Public speakers on Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act and battery energy storage concernsFour citizens spoke on the item, expressing support for the letter and concerns about foreign access to infrastructure and component sourcing.
• Commissioner response and counterarguments on business, regulation, and Reagan principlesCommissioner Andrews expressed concerns about government overreach, capitalism, and property rights, citing Ronald Reagan principles and economic considerations.
• Judge response clarifying agenda item scope and Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act authorityJudge corrected Commissioner Andrews' scope expansion and reframed discussion within the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act and entities with regulatory authority.
• Motion and passage of letter of concernCounty commissioners approved sending letters of concern to state entities regarding battery energy storage facilities and Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act compliance.
• Governor Abbott's August 3rd directive on data center auditsCommissioner Sanderson raised Governor Abbott's August 3, 2026 directive requiring comprehensive data center audits before projects move forward and sought clarification on effects to county's proposed facilities.
• Public speakers on Governor Abbott directive and data center verification requirementsTwo citizens spoke supporting the governor's directive and urging county to enforce audit requirements and verify project status in interconnection queue.
• Commissioner response and discussion on audit directive enforcementJudge and Commissioner Sanderson discussed potential county action to request data center developers provide documentation of compliance with Governor Abbott's audit directive.
• Data center audit directiveThe court moved to direct the county attorney to draft a letter to all data center developers requiring compliance documentation with Governor Abbott's August 3rd audit directive.
• HVAC equipment fundingThe court approved $75,000 in additional funding for repair or replacement of failing air conditioning units in county buildings.
• Animal control workstation modificationThe court approved converting part of the conference room at the animal control center into designated employee workstation space, requiring no additional funding.
• Ninety-day burn ban for Hood CountyThe court enacted a 90-day burn ban for Hood County effective immediately due to extreme fire danger conditions.
• Sales tax revenue analysis serviceThe court approved annual purchase of detailed monthly sales tax reports from Civic Solutions at $3,600 annually to provide deeper analytics on county revenue.
• Attorney invoices approvalThe court approved payment of legal invoices from counsel for $9,549.97, $19,652.29, and $2,406 drawn from the designated attorney fees account.
• Ambulance services agreement with Texas EMSThe court authorized the county judge to sign the renewed ambulance services agreement with Texas EMS with contract modifications.
• AHCCCS plan renewal authorizationThe court authorized the county judge to sign the 2026–27 plan renewal contract already previously approved by the court.
• Insurance broker services agreementThe court authorized the county judge to sign the 2026–27 broker services agreement with Canco Insurance, a Hub International company providing insurance services.
• Tax assessor training travel accommodationThe court approved by 3–2 vote an additional hotel night for the tax collector's chief deputy and office manager to attend 8:00 a.m. mandatory training in Galveston.
• Granberry dispatch services contract discussionThe court discussed dispatch services contract renewal with City of Granberry with no action taken; commissioners deferred decision pending completion of analysis studies.
• Rural ambulance grant 2027The court approved allowing the grant coordinator to apply for the 2027 rural ambulance grant opening October 1st on first-come, first-served basis.
• SB22 grant applications for criminal justiceThe court approved allowing the grant coordinator to apply for 2027 SB22 grants for additional staffing and minimum salary support in sheriff, district attorney, and county attorney offices.
• Consent agenda approvalThe court approved the consent agenda without modification or removal of items.
• Invoice payment certification and approvalThe court certified and approved payment of county invoices for the period July 31 through August 13, 2026, totaling $1,716,551.11.
• Hood County Library 2025 audit acceptanceThe court accepted the 2025 internal audit review of the Hood County Library with no findings noted.