Current Issue
Issue No. 67 March 2010
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Swisher County |
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The Swisher County Courthouse was built in 1907 and remodeled in 1962. The original structure was designed by Elmer George Withers in a Renaissance Revival style and included edifices fashioned of red brick along with sandstone columns and pediments. Rittenberry and Rittenberry completed the redesign in which the old courthouse was entombed in a modern brick veneer shell, eliminating the turret, dome, pediments and roof.
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Training Sessions Open to County Judges, Commissioners
A dozen Texas counties received approximately $2.27 million in state matching funds in 2009 to help offset the cost of indigent health care, according to the latest Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) County Indigent Health Care Program (CIHCP) spending data report.
The Indigent Health Care and Treatment Act of 1985 requires counties that are not completely covered by a hospital district or public hospital to provide basic health services to indigent residents through a county-run CIHCP; there are approximately 144 CIHCPs in the state. Each fiscal year, a county is liable for $30,000 or 30 days of hospitalization or nursing-home care per eligible resident, whichever comes first.... Read More HereFrom the President
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I hope everyone is in good health. The election is over unless we have a runoff or have a general election opponent in the fall. I look forward to hearing the results from across the state. I know I am getting anxious. I think I am going to start a bill that every Texan has to run for some office just to know what we all have to go through!
Spring is in the air, and it’s time to tackle those projects you have been thinking about or have in the hopper. McLennan County is currently working on the Scofflaw Program to help collect unpaid fines and fees. Currently there are only a handful of counties who are collecting these. This project will be handled through our tax assessor-collector in the automobile division. We are in the process of contacting all of the cities in our county. With an interlocal agreement and a fee, they can participate in this project, and their outstanding fines can be collected for them. You may want to investigate the law and see if it could be beneficial to your county and set up a collection pool for all of your cities. I will let you know how it is working here in McLennan County.
I recently attended a meeting with the Texas Association of Counties, Texas Municipal League, Conference of Urban Counties, and the Texas Association of Regional Councils. We as a group discussed various topics that affect us in general, and we set our top priorities for the upcoming session. The following topped our priority list: revenue and appraisal caps, unfunded mandates, rollback of mineral appraisals, transportation funding with the counties receiving 3 cents to 5 cents per gallon for county roads and bridges, and overturning Advisory Opinion 484 issued by the Texas Ethics Commission. These were the main topics of our discussion groups, and I am wondering how you may feel or fit within these topics.
We recently had a discussion on the word “transparency” and how it is used or overused. I looked it up in the dictionary and found it means clearness, lucidity, simplicity and precision. Look it up on Wikipedia, and the definition is about the size of a novel. I am still wondering if a screen door is transparent. The big catch phrase use to be, “No problem!” I can hear a waiter now if I ask for extra onions…he just may say, “It’s not transparent!”... Read More HereHealthy Employees, Healthier Budget
Counties Implement Wellness Programs, Realize Taxpayer Savings
Ector County Judge Susan Redford described it as “the most successful program we’ve implemented in years, by far.”
Midland County Commissioner Randy Prude touted the dual benefits of significant taxpayer savings and a healthier county staff.... Read More HereResidential Construction Inspection
Statute Grants Counties Authority, Options to Continue Program
Without the requirements for safe construction, there is a risk of “fly-by-night” builders, said Rep. Marisa Marquez, D-El Paso.
“I filed House Bill 2833 with the goal of achieving what had not been achieved in decades of attempts,” said Marquez in reference to the 81 st Legislative Session. “That is, to pass a law that allows border counties to help ensure the safety of homes in colonias.” Previously, the unincorporated areas of border counties were excluded from statewide regulations, which caused substandard housing conditions in these areas, Marquez continued.... Read More HereSenate Interim Studies on County Issues
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has assigned interim charges to the Senate Standing Committees. Several issues will directly concern county government and commissioners courts. Hearings will be conducted on these issues and recommendations made for the next legislative session. We will monitor these studies and will provide notice of scheduled hearings. Some important issues and the assigned committees include:
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