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KERR COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COURT
Budget Workshop
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
2:00 p.m.
Commissioners' Courtroom
Kerr County Courthouse
Kerrville, Texas
PRESENT: PAT TINLEY, Kerr County Judge
H.A."BUSTER" BALDWIN, Commissioner Pct. 1
WILLIAM "BILL" WILLIAMS, Commissioner Pct. 2
JONATHAN LETZ, Commissioner Pct. 3
BRUCE OEHLER, Commissioner Pct. 4

C~4
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I N D E X
August 11, 2009
PAGE
Review and discuss FY 2009-10 budgets and fiscal,
capital expenditure and personnel matters related
thereto for various county departments, including,
but not limited to, the following departments:
County Attorney ..................................... 3
198th District Attorney ............................. 5
216th District Attorney ............................ 33
City/County Joint Operations ....................... 42
Adult Probation .................................... 46
District Clerk ..................................... 53
Commissioners Court ................................ 62
County Judge ....................................... 68
County Court ....................................... 68
County Auditor ..................................... 71
County Treasurer ................................... 78
Nondepartmental ..................................... 81
Human Resources .................................... 98
Tax Assessor/Elections .............................101
Capital Outlay ..................................... 111
--- Adjourned ......................................... 145
25
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3
held in the Commissioners' Courtroom, Kerr County Courthouse,
Kerrville, Texas, and the following proceedings were had in
open court:
P R O C E E D I N G S
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay, let me call to order this
Commissioners Court workshop scheduled for this date,
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009, at 2 p.m. It is a bit past that
now. The purpose of the workshop is to review and discuss
Fiscal Year 09-10 budgets and fiscal capital expenditure and
personnel matters related thereto for various county
departments, including, but not limited to, various
departments that we'll go through one by one. County
Attorney's got some business down the hall that is pressing,
so I told him we'd go ahead and take him first. So, we'll
take the County Attorney's budget first off. Is that the one
', you got up there, Tess?
MS. MABRY: Yes, sir.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: What number is that?
MS. MABRY: It's 475.
JUDGE TINLEY: 475.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: There it is, County
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4
JUDGE TINLEY: I think we've pretty well thrashed
out all the issues, haven't we?
MR. EMERSON: I don't think we have any issues,
Judge.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: He seems like a nice young
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Smiling.
JUDGE TINLEY: Any member of the Court have any
questions about any of the items on the County Attorney's
budget? A lot of these -- a lot of these have been piled
through. Let me take this opportunity to let the Court know
that the Auditor and her staff have been extraordinarily
helpful in this entire process, particularly for me this
year. They have done a lot of work behind the scenes, and
we've discussed things and kicked them back and forth and
made adjustments, worked with various departments. I worked
~ with some; they probably worked with a whole lot more. And
so there may be a lot of these budgets that we pretty well
thrashed out and have resolved. Now, if we do, that's good
news, the way I see it. Anybody got any questions for the
County Attorney?
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: No, sir.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: I don't.
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JUDGE TINLEY: Do you got any issues with your
MR. EMERSON: No, sir.
JUDGE TINLEY: You're free to go down the hall and
go to work.
MR. EMERSON: Thank you.
JUDGE TINLEY: Thank you, sir. Let's go with 198th
D.A. And --
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Judge, I notice that -- I
see here that under his budget numbers, it still has the 355,
and I recall the D.A. came in and said I want to change it to
250 or something like that, I think.
JUDGE TINLEY: Well, we're going to be talking
about that. There are two or three different 198th D.A.
budgets floating around, I think. There's the original --
the original requested budget that had the real numbers in
it; the numbers that, without any supplement, forfeiture
', support and so forth, this is what it really costs to run
this office. If the Court recalls, subsequent to that, there
was a meeting of the county budget officers in the entire
198th district with Mr. Barton, and there was quite a bit
accomplished up there, a lot of activity that went on, and
there was a revised -- it wasn't the budget that you were
proposing; it was a budget that you said, you know, if push
comes to shove, that we could live with --
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MR. BARYON: It was a --
JUDGE TINLEY: -- if you had to.
MR. BARYON: It was a budget that reflected a
quarter of a million dollar cut. If -- if the county judges
at that time, and, you know, the respective courts wanted to
see what would the 198th D.A.'s budget look like with a
quarter million dollar cut, that's the revised budget there,
which Kerr County's number comes out to 245, approximately,
in that version.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Instead of 355, it comes to
245?
(Mr. Barton nodded.)
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Even 245? Or --
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: No, it's --
MR. BARYON: 245,526.91.
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: 526.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Judge, can I just take off
talking?
JUDGE TINLEY: You sure may.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Well, thank you so much.
245. First thing I want to say is, in this year's budget,
from last year to the budget we're under right now, you got a
41.99 percent increase, and now it appears to me that you're
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asking for another 45 percent increase.
MR. BARYON: Do you mind if I come over there and
see what you're -- you're going from what year to what year?
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Last year to your proposed
next year. This year that we're -- "last year" meaning the
year that we're under right now.
MR. BARYON: Okay. Going from 193 to 3 -- or to
245?
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: 245.
MR. BARYON: Okay.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: So, from -- from the 112 to
the 193 is a 41 percent.
MR. BARYON: Mm-hmm.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: And then 193 to 245 is
another 45 percent.
MR. BARYON: Is that right? That seems like --
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: These are --
MR. BARYON: Yeah, it would be -- I would -- I
would guess that would be somewhere under 20 percent. But
just --
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: 245 would be.
MS. MABRY: Buster, that's if that 355 was
25 ~ MR. BARYON: Buster, just -- I'm sorry.
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Commissioner, I would think that that would be somewhere
', around just 20 percent.
I, COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Yeah.
MR. BARYON: Trying to do that in my head.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Well, I guess -- and she's
right, 355, and I'm showing 355 on all the computers and
everything else. We may need to establish that. Are we
talking 355 or 245?
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: I'll tell you real quick.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: I think -- I mean, just -- I
think your budget almost has to go back to look at historical
data a little bit, because the whole way your budget has been
funded is -- I don't know, not normal. I mean, and I think
we need to look at -- you know, I don't know how you go back
and, you know, I don't -- I'm not real sure how your
predecessor was funding everything, really, 'cause it was
kind of done out in Junction. And I understand how you're
doing it; I appreciate you being -- bringing up the full
information. But it seems to me that there needs to be
parity between the D.A.'s offices. And I think you look at
kind of what -- historically, where y'all were and what Bruce
I~ is doing and caseloads, and you kind of come up with a number
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like that. Give you a number and let you develop your
budget.
25 ~ MR. BARYON: Well, that's certainly one way to do
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it. You know, I don't know that the D.A.'s would really care
to be bootstrapped to each other with regard to -- with
regard to the operations. And I don't think this Court wants
that either.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: No.
MR. BARYON: For example, if -- if our budget was
apportioned the same way that the 216th apportioned their
budget, by population, then in the 198th Judicial District,
that would have Kerr County responsible for 73 percent of the
budget, as opposed to 56 percent. So --
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Right.
MR. BARYON: The numbers that we've arrived at are
done in the fairest manner that -- that we can -- we can have
that happen. Now, the reality is, the 216th has three other
counties that are significantly greater contributors to their
budget than what we have. And I know that's not the fault of
Kerr County, that the 198th has much smaller western counties
than we see out east of us.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: But it -- I mean, from a basic
premise, shouldn't it -- forget about how it's divided. And,
I mean, I agree -- I mean, there's -- I like the way it's
being divided from the Kerr County taxpayers' standpoint, but
there ought to be some -- based on caseloads, and it
shouldn't cost one office, per case, per population,
whatever, to operate that much more or differently than the
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dealing with the same general type of cases. Not -- I don't
have a problem --
MR. BARYON: What is the disparity that you're
seeing now between the 216th Kerr budget and the 198th?
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Say again?
MR. BARYON: What is the disparity? What's the
delta between --
', COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: I'll tell you what it is.
On a two-year basis of cases filed between 198th and 216th --
MR. BARYON: I'm talking about the funds.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: I'm going to get there. If
we do it on the basis of cases filed, the cases filed total
are 988 over the last two years, two years that you had any
responsibility for. Of that 988, you're responsible for
38 percent and 216th is responsible for 62 percent. However,
216th budget increases over the same period of time is
19 percent, and yours was 64 percent. Explain it.
MR. BARYON: Sure.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Help us.
MR. BARYON: I'll be happy to. The -- the problem
with that calculation is it takes into -- into account an
anomaly year in 2008. If you look at, historically, the
apportionment of cases throughout the district, the 198th has
filed and resolved more cases every year except for 2008,
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going back as far as I could get data from the District
Clerk's Office. So, 2008 is an anomaly year.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Let me help you out. Over
a five-year basis, the 216th versus 198th, there were 3,754
cases filed. 59 percent of those were in the 216th.
40 percent were in the 198th.
MR. BARYON: Did you see the same numbers, though,
that I did? That every year, the -- the 198th filed more
cases and resolved more cases than the 216th except for 2008.
The one anomaly year is that what's skewing your -- the data.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: I'm looking at data that
talks to me about both district courts, the D.A.'s filing of
cases.
MR. BARYON: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Total cases filed. I don't
know about resolved. I don't care about resolved.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Now, let me step into this.
Going back to what I'm saying, your numbers aren't far off.
I mean, they're, I think, reasonable. Your 298 -- the second
number, the second set of numbers is basically in line with
the 216th costs. I mean, they're -- you know, not trying to
say you need to be the same. I don't want to say the
population can be this much, caseloads should be this much,
but they shouldn't be hundreds of thousands of dollars apart.
MR. BARYON: Sure.
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COMMISSIONER LETZ: And I think with that number,
it's within reason. Close enough.
MR. BARYON: And also, looking forward, one of the
things that I tried to do, Commissioner, since coming in is
to get that exact parity that you're talking about, to get an
equal distribution, or as equal a distribution of caseload as
we can, given that 2008 anomaly. There was -- it was skewed,
216th. Dramatically skewed. So, given some of the -- the
checks that we put into place, given the division of labor
that we put into place, that there should be every
expectation that, going forward from January 1st of 2009,
whenever I came on board, going forward, that you should
cease to see disparities like that. I can't control what
happened before I took the helm at the 198th D.A.'s office.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: I'm not going there.
MR. BARYON: No, but I'm being made answerable for
-- for those numbers in 2008.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Not really. What's
important to me is the last two years and the combination of
the increases in the budget for the prior -- past two years.
And what I see is 64 percent increase in your budget for two
years versus 19 percent increase in the budget for the 216th.
Now, if you take that alone, and then apply it to casework,
which I assume is what the District Attorney offices are all
about, I have a problem with that much increase in your
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budget versus the 216th, given that your caseload is the
lightest of the two.
MR. BARYON: Well, it's not the lightest of the two
going forward.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Well --
MR. BARYON: It -- if you take into account that
2008 anomaly year, that's not what we see. That's not
reality. Also, the 2008 budget was not reality. And I've
explained that to the Court, that the number that I've given
the Court is what it costs to operate this machine right now,
today, in its current circumstances, in its current fashion.
That's what was handed over to me in January of this year.
That -- those are the numbers, and so I wanted to apprize the
Court of those numbers. In recognition of, hey, that's
probably not going to happen, that's where this second
revised budget came from. You know, I'm not here to -- to
say that those -- those numbers in the past are not askew
like you talked about, but there's some things that are
different with us than the 216th that I'm proud of. I would
encourage you to look not just at the number of cases, but
look at the -- the amount of fines and fees that we've
assessed. You know, we're over 300,000. And I'm not sure
where the other district stands, but there are things that we
have put in place that are helping the county carry the load,
that are helping out. You know, we're not just sitting here
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with our hand out, Commissioner. We're doing everything that
we can to offset some of these increases that you're seeing.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Commissioner, are your numbers
based on the percentages on the proposed 355 budget?
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: I just -- yeah. Well,
originally it was.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Right.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: And that was 84 and a half
percent. I scaled it back with the new number to 64 percent.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Okay.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: For the two years. The
second year was 45 point something or other percent; now it's
', scaled back to 22 percent. The combination of the two was
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64 percent.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Question. Was that the -- just
so I understand what you're saying, the funded budget, that
is what we funded, or what was their real budget?
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: No, the Kerr County piece.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Okay.
MR. BARYON: That was what was -- what was funded.
And I will submit to the Court, those numbers are different
than the numbers that the District Clerk and I pulled back a
few months ago. Looking at -- I think we went back to 2003,
and the numbers that you're relaying to me don't sound right
25 I to me. But --
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COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: I didn't make them up.
MR. BARYON: I understand. But there is -- having
some -- I don't know who pulled them for you, but there is --
when you go pull those numbers, if you don't check the right
box, you're going to get the wrong number.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: I didn't do any box; I went
to somebody who had the boxes, though.
MR. BARYON: Okay.
JUDGE TINLEY: Mr. Barton, there's two ways to
allocate the division of this budget among the various
counties in the district, and I believe the 216th is doing it
by population.
MR. BARYON: Yes, sir.
JUDGE TINLEY: And you have elected to do it by --
by caseload. I assume you feel like that your -- your
methodology is more equitable?
MR. BARYON: I think that it's equitable, given the
circumstances of the district. I think if we had a more
evenly populated district, then we could look at doing some
kind of pro rata per capita. It just -- it doesn't work out
to be equitable in any way to the citizens of Kerr County
that, because there's sparsely populated areas westward, that
Kerr County should be responsible for 73 percent of the
budget. And I'll submit to the Court, this -- this revised
budget, I think, is reasonable. I think it's necessary to
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JUDGE TINLEY: That's the one that has Kerr County
paying 245?
MR. BARYON: That's correct.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay. You're aware that there's a
'~
proposal out with respect to your budget that it be allocated
on the basis of population?
MR. BARYON: No, I'm not -- I don't guess I'm
familiar with that. What is --
JUDGE TINLEY: Well, I think Judge Cordes has
MR. BARYON: Oh, right.
JUDGE TINLEY: That --
MR. BARYON: I thought you meant from this county.
Judge Cordes in Menard has -- hasn't made any formal request,
but he asked me, you know, holding me accountable to he and
his court, "Why aren't you allocating this based on
population?" 'Cause it would inure to a great benefit to
those counties out there. And the plain and simple fact is,
where you spend your time is where you need to spend your
money. You know, if we're spending 15 percent of our time in
Menard, then it makes sense that they would be paying
15 percent of the budget, as opposed to 3 percent.
JUDGE TINLEY: And that's basically your
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explanation as to the equities involved with how you've
allocated based on caseload, because notwithstanding the fact
that their population is a very small portion, you still got
to be up there a portion of -- one week a month.
MR. BARYON: For example, if -- hypothetical.
Where Mason had the interstate going through it, they may
have a much larger crime rate, given that they've got the
interstate going through it, but have a very small
population. It wouldn't make sense -- if I was spending
40 percent of my time in Mason fighting interstate crimes,
then I submit to you that the -- that the pro rata
distribution based on caseload is the most equitable way to
do it. It just doesn't work out any other way that I can
see.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: And the good judge from
Menard also indicated -- I don't know if it was in his letter
or a visit I had with him in here the other day -- indicated
that -- I mean, he was talking about he felt like that you
needed to move some personnel around, that he -- that you
needed the investigator back in and those kinds of things. I
hope whatever number we come up with here at this table, and
however we come up with it, that we come up with that number
and give it to you, and then you take care of moving those
people around. I don't want to get -- obviously, he had some
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interest in that, maybe some personal -- I don't know what
his interest was, but I don't want us to get into that. I
want to hand you some money and you take care of your budget
like you're supposed to. Now --
MR. BARYON: That's well received.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Sure. Well, that's the way
it's supposed to be. Okay, I'm going to continue here. I
think what I'm seeing here is in the last -- I'm going to go
back to Jon Letz' talk about history, and how do we arrive at
a number? Now, some of us talk, and some of the things
that -- some of the points that you were making, counselor,
was -- is things that we would -- we're going to see or
possibly see in the future. I am not a guy -- a commissioner
that -- I mean, I don't vote on things that may or may not
happen. I have to have -- I have to have firm numbers and
firm facts in front of me before I make commitments for the
taxpayers of Kerr County. So, I think the way I -- only way
I can think of to look at the numbers in a real way is to go
back and look at the history. So, we went back five years,
198th D.A.'s budget, and we see that an average increase
annually -- the average is about 9 percent. So, that says to
me every year, the average -- the budget went up 9 percent.
So if you have -- if we have a proposed budget of 245,000,
and we're at 193 right now, and we add on the 9 percent,
that's about -- that's a little over $211,000 budget for next
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year. So, that's what I propose, is that we stay with the
average increase over the last five years and just continue
that increase on.
MR. BARYON: Can I speak to that just for a second?
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Certainly can, but I want
you to know if I were king, I'd pass it right now. Go ahead.
MR. BARYON: I would just say, in doing that,
you're -- you're kind of saddling the D.A. -- not "kind of."
You are saddling the D.A.'s office with what -- the approach
that was taken five years in the past. I think if you -- if
you take a look at the numbers out of the District Clerk's
office, you're going to see that. Now, if you look just from
2008 to 2009, there's this equity of caseload. There's this
equity in division of labor. There's no more of this flux
that we -- that we used to see because of the whim of -- of
law enforcement or whatever the factors were that were
contributing to one D.A. getting this or one D.A. getting
that case. Those have -- have roughly been solved. So,
going forward today, we're looking at the budget into the
future, which contemplates an equitable division of cases,
and I think that it's important to consider that. So,
history is a good indicator of where we're going, assuming
that there's -- there's been some stability. I think we can
all agree that there has been some significant changes in the
very recent past.
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COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: We see -- we're seeing more
stability; that's one thing the Menard judge said. It's the
first time we've seen real stuff, ever, out of that -- out of
your office.
MR. BARYON: The -- the second point that I'd like
to make on that is, the budget historically has had an
element of fantasy to it. And the budget that you're
seeing --
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Okay.
MR. BARYON: -- now is the real McCoy. This is
what it takes to get it done. So, if you're looking at a
five-year average and basing what we do today on the fantasy
budget, then it -- we're still arriving at a function of a
fantasy number, 9 percent increase of a fantasy number. This
is -- this 245 number is what it's going to take to get it
done, so I would respectfully submit that adding 9 percent to
a fantasy number just isn't going to get us there.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Yeah.
MR. BARYON: And then I would ask the Court to
consider -- look at what I'm doing for you. Really, hold me
accountable. Take -- go pull 2009 numbers. Look at the
fines and fees that are being assessed out of my office, and
please take that into account. I would submit to you that
there are very few departments that you've got in your county
that, for your investment, is getting that return. So, I
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challenge you; whatever those numbers are, go, you know,
check the boxes and take a look, and take that into
consideration when you're -- when you're deciding whether to
-- 'cause at this point, we're kind of down to a
nickel-and-dime deal. We're somewhere between 190 and 245.
I've already made well over a $100,000 drop. Please don't
nickel-and-dime me out of essential personnel. Take a look
at what we've got.
JUDGE TINLEY: Let's talk about maybe
nickel-and-diming, okay?
MR. BARYON: Yes, sir.
JUDGE TINLEY: And what I'm looking at, Mr. Barton,
is the revised 7/22 that you were kind enough to furnish us
when you were here earlier, and that's the one that dropped
it down to a 245. At that time, my recollection, you
indicated that there might be some areas that you could make
some adjustments, although not big ones.
MR. BARYON: Yes, sir.
JUDGE TINLEY: I think you're the first to
acknowledge that there was a lot of sticker shock on your
budget any way you went about it, because of the -- the
fantasy element in the prior budgets. So --
MR. BARYON: One --
JUDGE TINLEY: -- we're wanting to minimize the
sticker shock as much as we can.
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MR. BARYON: One that I think we can move over or
eliminate is under payroll expenses, the line item for
contract labor apportioned to the budget. You see a number
there, 10,000.
JUDGE TINLEY: Mm-hmm.
MR. BARYON: That is money that I put in there
because we, in this past budget year, had a large expense
associated with appellate contract labor related to the
Mexican Mafia trial, which we want, but it was expensive.
So, looking forward -- now, we've got -- we've got some big
cases that are on appeal, you know, and I think I said this
to the Court; you know, we sentenced some guy to 390 years or
290 years or something like that. Those are cases that are
going to get appealed every time. And in swinging the bat
for the community, there's going to be those follow-up costs
as well. So, I put that in there. If y'all want to strike
that, I will -- I will find a way to cover that expense.
We've got to have it. There's -- there's -- we can't cut the
expense, but we can at least cut it from the budget, and I
will commit to finding a way to fund that.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: How much was that, Judge?
JUDGE TINLEY: 10,000 total.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Okay, you're heading in the
right direction.
25 I COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Don't stop now.
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JUDGE TINLEY: You're getting lots of encouragement
MR. BARYON: There is a $5,000 amount set in there
for meals associated with out-of-county travel and whatnot.
We have, on our own, moved that expense to the burden of the
employee, so the -- the -- unless it's a jury trial, there
will be no more supplement for employee meals, so if you want
to strike that 5,000, or significantly reduce it, I think
that's an area where the employees can --
JUDGE TINLEY: On jury cases, we have a separate
jury budget, and we allocate -- we have an item for meals for
jurors, if that's what you're talking about.
MR. BARYON: No, sir, I'm talking about the D.A.'s
staff.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay.
MR. BARYON: If we're trying a case out of our home
county, then we incur expenses related to that. So, that --
that had, in the past, covered if we were out of county for
pretrials and stayed through the lunch hour, it would cover
that expense too. But now the employees are absorbing that
cost and that -- that circumstance, so if you wanted to
reduce that down, maybe leave $1,000 in there to cover meal
expenses associated with an actual jury trial, or cut the
whole thing, you know, if you're looking to pick up 5,000.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Are you getting -- is this a
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1,200 -- you use that as a supplement that you're proposing?
MR. BARYON: That is -- the State mandates that
when the District Judge -- which the D.A.'s salary's a
function of the District Judge's salary, and maybe Bruce can
help me out with that. But when the District Judge receives
a supplement for service on a juvenile board, that that's the
offset.
JUDGE TINLEY: That's Juvenile Board.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Okay.
MR. BARYON: The --
JUDGE TINLEY: Do you see more items that you might
be of some help on --
MR. BARYON: Well, just one. The telephone and fax
expense is a big number in there, and most of that expense
has already been incurred in the past, in -- in this budget
year, with acquisition of --
JUDGE TINLEY: Equipment.
MR. BARYON: -- phones and equipment and things
like that. So, I would -- I would submit that we can
probably cut that telephone and fax expense as you see fit.
Now, we may still have necessary expenses that I would -- I
would ask that we be permitted to spend out of asset
forfeiture funds, but if you want to move some of that out of
-- out of the budget, I think it would be reasonable to cut
that number.
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JUDGE TINLEY: What do you think is a reasonable
figure to cover your '09-'10 telephone and fax expenses?
MR. BARYON: I think cutting that in half would be
reasonable.
JUDGE TINLEY: Cutting down to 10,5?
MR. BARYON: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: How much did you cut out?
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JUDGE TINLEY: 10,5.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Well, you do not have to
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay. You've been complaining you
haven't been hearing very well, Buster. I just want to help
you.
	COMMISSIONER	BALDWIN:	Selective hearing.
	JUDGE TINLEY:	I see.	Debbie told me about that.
	COMMISSIONER	BALDWIN:	I've been around these
lawyers t	oo much. Hey,	he's doin	g good. Another ten grand,
he's got	me happy.		
	MR. BARYON:	I was just	advised by Ms. Hargis that
the 1,200	in there that	-- that I	have accounted for in my
budget is	already alloc	ated under	the Juvenile Board budget.
That's --			
JUDGE TINLEY: That's right, it's under the
Juvenile Probation budget.
MR. BARYON: So you can scratch the 1,200.
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COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: 1,200 line to your name?
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah, mm-hmm.
MS. HARGIS: Actually, the Treasurer as well. It
was Mindy's call.
JUDGE TINLEY: Got 88 to go. Right, Buster?
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: 88 to go.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Are you finished, Judge?
JUDGE TINLEY: Let's see if he's finished. He's
moving the right direction.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: He's going in the right
direction.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Let's give him plenty of
time to figure.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Keep studying it, yeah.
MR. BARYON: I think we're hitting the -- the
I bottom of that.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Help me understand your
staffing. Now, I don't want to get into staffing, but I --
I'd like to have some job descriptions attached to names.
Help me understand your department a little bitter.
'~ MR. BARYON: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: I can either go down the
names or you can go down.
MR. BARYON: Sure. Garvene Adams is a -- she's
~ been with the office a decade or more. She is the secretary/
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legal assistant that was assigned to Kimble County -- not
assigned to Kimble County, but that office that was in Kimble
County, with responsibilities throughout the district. And
she still travels with us to court regularly. She is one of
the jobs that you can see, it -- with the quarter million
dollar cut that we initially made, we're trying to retain her
position. She would be given a little box to work out of in
the Kimble County Courthouse to facilitate drafting search
warrants and affidavits and things of that nature, so our law
enforcement out there could have someone that's immediately
responsive to them, as a concession to closure of that Kimble
County -- that Junction office.
JUDGE TINLEY: She also works the other northern
counties too?
MR. BARYON: She works the entire district.
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah.
MR. BARYON: She does. Okay. Todd Burdick, he's
our lead investigator. He's been with the office for -- I
think since 2000, or maybe '99. I'm not sure. And his
salary was once computed to coincide, I want to say, with the
chief deputy's salary. I don't -- I don't think that's the
case any more. Jeri Causey is a front office girl. She
handles reception, filing, just general secretarial work.
Mike Chapman is an unbudgeted employee. Kyle Dean is our
office director. Jack -- which we call him Brad --
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McCullouch, he is the assistant, and Theresa is the paralegal
here in the Kerrville office.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: You're the only attorney on
staff?
MR. BARYON: No, Jack McCullouch -- Brad is the
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Thank you.
JUDGE TINLEY: Any other questions for Mr. Barton?
Do you have any thoughts, comments, Ms. Hargis?
MS. HARGIS: No.
JUDGE TINLEY: We've been chewing on this pretty
good for the last few weeks.
MS. HARGIS: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: What's the total that he cut
out today?
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: 35,500.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: 35,500.
MS. HARGIS: Where'd you get 35? I only get 15.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: I think it's 25,000.
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: What? How much?
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: 25,5, I'm sorry.
JUDGE TINLEY: Well, and you add 1,200.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: I was just hoping for the
other 10.
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	MR. BARYON:	I come out with 26,700.
	JUDGE TINLEY:	Yeah, that's right, 26,7.
	COMMISSIONER	WILLIAMS: 26,7.
	JUDGE TINLEY:	When you add the 12.
	COMMISSIONER	WILLIAMS: Off of what? 154?
	JUDGE TINLEY:	No, it's off of the --
	COMMISSIONER	BALDWIN: 245.
	JUDGE TINLEY:	Down there. And then we -- our
savings	are 53 percent	of -- or 56 percent of that 26,7.
	MS. MABRY: I	t's down to 218,826.
	MS. HARGIS:	It was --
	JUDGE TINLEY:	218?
	COMMISSIONER	BALDWIN: 218.
	JUDGE TINLEY:	And what?
	MS. MABRY: 8	26.
	MR. BARYON:	Is that right? Jeannie, does that
figure	in the apportion	ment? Or is that just a --
	MS. HARGIS:	Yeah, hang on a second. It's 16,2
plus 10	,500 -- it's 26,	7 which is correct.
	MR. BARYON:	Times 56.
	MS. HARGIS:	Minus -- minus the entitlement.
	MR. BARYON:	I would say that's going to be a net
savings	to Kerr County	of about 14,000, just doing it in my
head.		
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah. I'm coming with 230.
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MS. HARGIS: 230,510.
JUDGE TINLEY: 230,511 -- rounded off, 511.
MS. HARGIS: That's what's I got.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Say those numbers again?
JUDGE TINLEY: 230,511.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: As opposed to 245,526.
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: What was the number last year?
MS. HARGIS: 193.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: 193.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: 193.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: 193. We're still -- that
still is up.
JUDGE TINLEY: Well, but there's a lot of fantasy
money that absorbed some of those extra, too. That's the big
-- the big kicker in this thing, is the fantasy money that
has been involved heretofore. I appreciate your helping us
lessen that sticker shock, and I know it's been difficult for
you. And I know that you're in a position of having to make
some decisions you'd prefer not to have to make.
MR. BARYON: We're all big boys, and we're going to
do a good job for you with what you can give us. I -- we're
going to make it work.
JUDGE TINLEY: I appreciate it. Any more questions
for Mr. Barton?
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COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Thank you for your time.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Fantasy money can also be
used to subsidize some salaries too, can't it?
JUDGE TINLEY: In fact, some of it is being used to
subsidize salaries in his current budget.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: I realize that. But, I mean,
that's just kind of a reminder of however you want to
allocate to that, if it's that important, makes it a little
more lucrative to go after the money now.
(Low-voice discussion off the record.)
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Looks like on this sheet
there, prior to all these adjustments we talked about, about
$154,000 of 479.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Right.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Is that right? Allocated
to the forfeiture fund.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Right.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Is that about correct?
MR. BARYON: I'm sorry, I missed the first part of
that.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: In response to Commissioner
Oehler, I said it looked like, based on this sheet I'm
seeing, revised, about $154,000 of your 479 is attributable
to be charged to forfeiture fund.
MR. BARYON: Yes, sir. The -- the forfeiture
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fund -- in this budget process, we have to be real careful in
discussion of the forfeiture fund, because we're prohibited
from discussing the availability of those asset forfeiture
funds as a necessary component of the D.A.'s budget. So,
what -- what we want to set up is a rock-solid D.A.'s office
that -- you know, I think we talked last time we were
together, if the ship runs aground, so to speak, with asset
forfeiture, our citizens are still protected. The key
functions of the D.A.'s office are still going to be
available to citizens without the supplement from the asset
forfeiture account. That being said, there are some
tremendous benefits to the county that can be had through the
asset forfeiture fund, through the programs that my office
has implemented. I think that the Sheriff is about to
fiscally realize some of those benefits, but those are things
that it takes a little while to -- to see the benefit,
because it's not a direct reduction in the D.A.'s budget.
That would be nice if I could say to our taxpayers,
"We're operating the D.A.'s office tax-free," which may be
doable if there were certain asset forfeiture funds
available. I see the security that the Legislature intends
by prohibiting us from considering the availability of those
funds. But to inure to the County's benefit, you're not --
may not have to buy as many patrol cars. You may not have to
fund certain improvements in -- in area law enforcement,
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because that can be funded in part through -- through these
funds. Again, I don't mention that so that y'all are maybe
not wanting to fund the Sheriff's budget as much because that
-- that possibility is out there. It's exactly that; it's a
possibility. With the asset forfeiture fund, there is just
no guarantee that those funds will be there, so we need to
have something that's secure for the citizens.
JUDGE TINLEY: Is that it? Thank you. Appreciate
it. Let's go to the 216th D.A.
MR. CURRY: Good afternoon.
JUDGE TINLEY: Question to you is, how much do you
want to voluntarily give up?
MR. CURRY: Oh, well --
(Laughter.)
JUDGE TINLEY: Did that get to the bottom line,
Buster?
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Thank you, sir.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Goes right to the heart of
the matter.
MR. CURRY: Well, I'll wait for a specific thing.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Do you need some guidance?
MR. CURRY: Yeah, I need some guidance.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Can we help you out?
JUDGE TINLEY: Ms. Hargis, do you have the cattle
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COMMISSIONER OEHLER: You're in the right position
to use it. (Laughter.)
MS. HARGIS: I am in that position.
MR. CURRY: I need Rex up here.
JUDGE TINLEY: Well, I don't see Clete coming up
here to help you, 'cause his budget's later on. I don't
think he wants to get in that trap.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: My hearing aid must have
gone out. I haven't heard anything, Bruce.
MR. CURRY: Well, I just prefer to respond.
JUDGE TINLEY: What about your personnel matters?
Are those on here? Except as may be required by -- by
personnel policies of Kerr County. Is that correct?
(Low-voice discussion off the record.)
JUDGE TINLEY: Ms. Hargis, I think you've been
through this budget and have looked at what the anticipated
year-to-date expenditures are going to be for this year, and
how that relates to his next-year requests?
MS. HARGIS: Yes.
JUDGE TINLEY: I note there --
MS. HARGIS: I think it -- really, the only new
thing is -- is the contract labor.
JUDGE TINLEY: I'm sorry?
MS. HARGIS: The part-time assistant that he
requested.
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COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Sounds like the Hot-Shot's
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah, powering up the Hot-Shot.
Don't be looking around.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Bruce, there's a note here
on yours that -- and I can't tell you who put it on there.
Somebody from around here.
MR. CURRY: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: The additional 50,000 is for
contract prosecutor at the jail, which is Kerr County only,
and then it goes on to say, "Moved the prosecutor to new
department, 437."
MS. HARGIS: Right. I did that because you wanted
the new department set up so that we could track the
prosecutor, the court reporter, and the judges.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: She did that because I
wanted her to do it, so we could track the -- thank you. And
you're aware of that?
MR. CURRY: No, but I'll -- that's fine.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: We created another
department to put all that jail stuff --
MR. CURRY: Yes.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: -- under one department, so
we can kind of really keep an eye on the jail issue.
MR. CURRY: That's fine, yes.
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JUDGE TINLEY: What's the capital outlay item on
here?
MR. CURRY: That is some -- giving in to my
assistants, who really want to get some stuff for the
courtroom. Overhead projector. We don't have any of that --
basically, any --
MS. HARGIS: I didn't take that out.
JUDGE TINLEY: Pardon?
MS. HARGIS: I didn't take this one out. I can.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay.
MS. HARGIS: But if we leave it in, the other
counties will share in the cost of it.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: You talk about that with the
~ Sheriff?
JUDGE TINLEY: This is going to be portable; it's
not going to be wired in here.
MR. CURRY: Correct.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: It's going to be a totally
separate deal from what Rusty's talking about?
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah, mm-hmm. It's going to be
portable so that they can pack it around the districts -- to
the districts.
MR. CURRY: It's a trial thing, to show stuff on
I the --
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah.
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COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Pack it everywhere but here?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Bruce, we --
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: 'Cause we'll have one.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: We're approving going with a
high-tech system up here for our courtrooms.
MR. CURRY: Oh.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Should be high-tech; it costs
SHERIFF HIERHOLZER: Yeah.
account.
JUDGE TINLEY: Good point.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Well --
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: You pack it around to the
other counties, well, they can pay for it.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Other counties have lots of
money. Let them pay for their own system over there.
MR. CURRY: That will be available soon? Or --
COMMISSIONER LETZ: We -- actually, we have a
grant, and it's supposed to be able to take the different
formats, DVD's, play it all.
MR. CURRY: Well, seriously, if we're doing that, I
mean, that -- that -- you know, we can maybe adjust that a
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I where that is.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: We should know --
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Couple weeks.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: -- before the budget --
MR. CURRY: Okay.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: -- whether we're going to get
JUDGE TINLEY: What about your 6,100 miscellaneous?
MR. CURRY: I think --
', JUDGE TINLEY: Seemed like a pretty big jump.
MR. CURRY: Yeah. That's -- we initiated that case
management system in our office, and I think that's what --
MS. HARGIS: That's software maintenance.
JUDGE TINLEY: Software?
MR. CURRY: Yeah, she moved it into --
MS. HARGIS: And his is separate from ours, so it's
not included in --
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay. So, that puts you just a
little bit under 200 for Kerr County's share, when you take
I the 50 out?
MS. HARGIS: Yeah, 198.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: 198,723.
MS. HARGIS: Uh-huh.
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COMMISSIONER LETZ: And the capital item may come
out, which will reduce it beyond that, right?
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah. That --
MS. HARGIS: We did reallocate the population based
on the 2006 census, so that helped us a little bit, because
the other counties have grown.
JUDGE TINLEY: So, the allocation that's shown on
the 7/29 sheet is the most recent?
MS. HARGIS: It's the most recent published numbers
that we have.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay.
MS. HARGIS: Which is 2006.
JUDGE TINLEY: Any other questions for Mr. Curry?
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: No, I'm good.
JUDGE TINLEY: Thank you. Appreciate it.
MR. CURRY: Thank you, sir.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Let's do talk just for a
second about this jail prosecutor guy that is now under a
whole new department.
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: All right. Who -- who is in
charge of that person? Can we ask Mr. Curry to continue
riding herd on that thing? Or --
JUDGE TINLEY: Well, it was originally set up under
his office.
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COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Right.
JUDGE TINLEY: But my understanding is, what
happens there is those cases get parceled right there at that
point between 198th and 216th, don't they?
MR. CURRY: Yes.
JUDGE TINLEY: And -- and that prosecutor will
handle them for both D.A.'s if -- for example, if they plead
out.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: So, he's there doing his
job. Nobody has to tell him to be there on Wednesday or
Friday or --
MR. CURRY: Is that a fair --
MR. BARYON: Yeah, he's working really well. I
don't have any statistics for the Court, but it seems to be
working real well.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Okay, thank you.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: 198th is participating in
I this?
MR. BARYON: That's correct.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: But some -- one of the two need
to be over that budget.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Doesn't somebody need to
sign off on -- or do we just pay the guy equal -- 12 equal
payments?
MR. CURRY: I think so.
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COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: I think is what we do. So,
what else do we need to do to him?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: What if we need a new one? Say
he decides he doesn't want to do it any more.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Just leave whatever money is
COMMISSIONER LETZ: But who's going to be
responsible for getting a new one, is my question.
JUDGE TINLEY: You guys want to flip a coin out
there?
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Well, if they just --
MR. BARYON: We've got a pretty good working
relationship, and just like with David, we both had input.
And when David has an issue -- Mr. Cavazos, who's out there
at the jail -- if it's an issue with a 216th case, he
consults with Bruce. If it's a 198th case, he consults with
my office.
JUDGE TINLEY: And if you -- one of you guys gets
unhappy with him, you're going to go to the other D.A. and
say, "Hey, I got some concerns; let's talk about it"?
MR. BARYON: Let's be positive, now. It's going to
work. (Laughter.)
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Okay, that's fine.
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah, I agree. Let's be positive.
But I'm looking for accountability, and I guess that means
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both of you guys, right?
MR. CURRY: I think so.
MR. BARYON: If it's one of my cases, he's
certainly accountable to me, and I expect the same is true
for Bruce's office.
JUDGE TINLEY: What about accountable to the
Commissioners Court, who's funding it? Both of you is what
I'm looking at.
MR. BARYON: I think if -- I think that's exactly
~ right.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay. That answer your question,
Buster?
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: It does. Thank you.
MR. CURRY: All right, thank you.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay. Let's go with City/County
~ j oint .
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Joint.
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah, joint.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: What's the number?
JUDGE TINLEY: Oh, boy, I don't know.
MS. MABRY: 595.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: What is it?
MS. MABRY: 595.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: 595.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: 595?
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(Low-voice discussion off the record.)
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: What is the salary line?
MS. HARGIS: Well, the -- the salary through
retirement, we have to put those line items in here to budget
them, but then we also put the revenue to offset them, 'cause
our cost is really the 350.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: I see.
MR. BARYON: So that's kind of an in and out, but
we have to show them to be able to hit those lines.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Yes, ma'am.
MS. HARGIS: I'm not --
COMMISSIONER LETZ: That person is the Airport
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Yeah, I see that now.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Right.
yet.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: No.
JUDGE TINLEY: No, that's not been decided yet.
The 8750 is probably good, but I don't know about the 300.
Would that be your call? Master plan?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Yeah, that's -- yeah, 8750,
that's probably -- but they -- at the Airport Board meeting
yesterday, they are going to -- are coming up with a capital
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item; they're relooking at the --
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: T-hangars.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: -- T-hangars and where they
want to put them, and actually came up with -- I think it's a
good idea. They're moving them across the airport from
Mooney, so you don't have to worry about the slope of that
land. It's going to be more comparable to build, and they're
actually using words like "return on investment" out there,
trying to make sure --
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Well, this is going to be the
COMMISSIONER LETZ: -- how small that is, but --
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: It's small, but it's a start.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: But, anyway, there's -- I would
suspect a couple weeks, probably. They know our deadline,
and they're working on a capital number.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: The -- the water line issue
came in at 795?
MS. HARGIS: Seven hundred -- 768, wasn't it?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: But it's --
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: 308,750.
MS. HARGIS: No, it's 700-something thousand.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Yeah.
25 ~ COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Well, I got 308,750.
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MS. HARGIS: That's --
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: That came from you.
MS. HARGIS: That was the old -- the old budget.
That's not -- after we went yesterday, I didn't change it,
because I didn't know what our share was going to be.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: It changes the bottom line
significantly.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: So -- anyway, but that project
has gone up. They're looking at a -- a Phase 1 and Phase 2
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Possibility, yes.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: But --
MS. HARGIS: I think that was originally 450,000.
Now it's gone to 768 or 798.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: 600 last --
JUDGE TINLEY: Six.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Wasn't it at 600?
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: 600 originally. Now it's
760 or something like that. We keep looking ahead; it'll get
to a million.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay, are we done with that one?
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: We pennied you to death. We
go to the airport, and it goes like that.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: That's the way airplanes
do; they fly away.
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COMMISSIONER OEHLER: The solution to the problem?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: We're the only solution.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Cheapest, best option.
JUDGE TINLEY: Any more questions on that
particular budget?
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Only option.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: We're just going to bring this
one back later. We need to keep this one...
JUDGE TINLEY: Adult Probation. That's 571.
MR. BUCKALEW: Afternoon, gentlemen. Y'all have
JUDGE TINLEY: Good afternoon, Captain. The rent,
that's in conformity with the new lease beginning October 1,
as though it were going to go for the whole year?
Ms. Hargis?
MS. HARGIS: I put the whole year in here.
JUDGE TINLEY: Good. That's what you needed to do.
MS. HARGIS: It's the 38,000, correct?
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah. Well, I took it off the
lease.
MS. HARGIS: Okay.
JUDGE TINLEY: If there's any question, we need to
definitely tie it to that lease. It's some odd-numbered
figure.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Do both Adult Probation
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departments have DOEP instructors? D-O-E-P instructors?
MR. BUCKALEW: Commissioner Baldwin, no, as far as
I know, that class, that drug -- it's a drug offender
education program, and the 216th is the only one with the
instructor here. But that certainly does not prevent the
198th from sending their folks over to -- to take that class.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: The same class under their
salary?
MR. BUCKALEW: Yes, sir, under that.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Super. Super.
JUDGE TINLEY: And I suspect you get some of those
folks anyway, don't you?
MR. BUCKALEW: Yes, sir. Yes, sir. My budget
is -- is -- and I don't know if anyone has ever explained to
the Court, but my budget is 41 percent state, derived from
the state, and the other percentage is made up from the
collection of the probation fees, which are part of the
judgments at the time of probation. So, my budget is -- a
big portion of it is a projection as to what we hope to
increase -- or hope to collect over the time frame.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: 41 percent of your budget
comes from the state?
MR. BUCKALEW: From the state, yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Which leaves 59 percent to
be allocated to the four counties in 216th; is that correct?
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MR. BUCKALEW: Well, it will come from the three
counties, in that Kendall County is no longer a part of the
216th Probation Department; just Kerr, Gillespie, and
Bandera.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Forgot about that.
MR. BUCKALEW: But in Kerr County -- Kerr County,
we're currently -- there are approximately 894 individuals
under adult supervision. 466 of those are felonies, and 432
approximately, in the last count, were misdemeanors. There's
ten officers that will supervise those 894 in Kerr County
alone. That doesn't -- those are Kerr County numbers. The
biggest part -- the biggest thing that I believe that the
probation department, as well as part of the -- that's our
responsibility, is to provide public safety through
supervision of these offenders here in Kerr County. The --
the real benefit as to -- I guess on an economic aside to the
County is that at the time that these individuals are
sentenced, they're sentenced to a term of community service,
so many hours of community service, depending on their time
they're placed on probation. In the last fiscal year, which
was the 2008-2009, there was approximately 85,000 hours of
community service provided to public entities, which there
are about 35 here in Kerr County. So, 85,000 hours of
community service by these probationers from the 216th
provided service to these nongovernmental entities.
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I
', COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: In Kerr County only?
MR. BUCKALEW: Yes, sir, this is Kerr County only.
I At a savings of about $441,000 to the citizens. Now, there
was approximately 19,000 hours in community service provided
to Kerr County entities alone, or to Kerr County alone.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: The government of Kerr
County?
MR. BUCKALEW: The government of Kerr County, yes,
sir.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: What is the percentage of
your -- of your budget that's funded by your -- by the
probation fees?
MR. BUCKALEW: About 59 -- 59 percent,
Commissioner. And, actually, I have -- I've cut the budget
for the 216th Probation Department probably about 22 percent,
just to be, you know, conservative. I've cut some -- cut
back on some longevity, cut back on my salary, just in an
effort that we can make sure that we stay fully operational
for the -- for the citizens of this county. And, you know,
that's -- the probation officers, they're all, at a minimum,
college -- with a college degree. My minimum time with the
Probation Department is -- probably averages probably about
ten years, so they're long-term officers. And, again, the
biggest part of that is to monitor these offenders and
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provide public safety to the citizens.
I know since I've come -- when I came on into the
Probation Department, we had probably a little over 100
fugitives from the Probation Department, absconders
throughout the state. And, as you well know, my 30 years
with law enforcement allowed me to collaborate and network
with these -- with the U.S. Marshal's Service and the Ranger
service, and along with Sheriff Hierholzer, we've had over --
in the last two years, two different roundups that
actually -- working with U.S. Marshal's Service, we had Bexar
County Sheriff's Department up here, San Antonio Police
Officers, Texas Rangers, Deputy U.S. Marshal Service that
came into Kerr County and -- and helped Sheriff Hierholzer
and our Probation Department, because they're -- his
fugitives are my fugitives in most cases, too. And the first
year, we had over 35 arrested, and this year we had -- I'm
sure there were over -- over 20.
So, what does that do as far as the public safety
for the citizens of Kerr County? If you abscond from
probation, doesn't matter where -- I mean during that
roundup, we got an individual out of Michigan that the
Marshals -- if we find a lead here, the Marshals will follow
that lead up out of state. It's the same thing right now
today. I probably -- I have Rangers that are looking for
absconders from 216th and the 198th Probation Department.
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So, doesn't matter for me and for my department whether it's
the 198th or the 216th, and just like Mr. Barton said, it's
all about getting the bad guy off the street, or in their
case, prosecuting.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: What's your total budget?
MR. BUCKALEW: This year, Commissioner, it's 1.3 --
$1,326,030. Approximately 1.1 million of that will be
salaries. The State has cut me 5 percent in my -- in that
budget itself, as well as my cuts. My community service
program has been cut another 5 percent. My insurance went
up, so I took a -- took a pretty good lick overall. Again,
25 percent just in-house, and then the cuts that the state
gave me. But -- so, our -- the probationers who are put on
probation that we supervise, obviously, again, the fees are a
big part of what -- what we do. And we also collect
restitution. In the last -- as of -- I believe in -- in the
last numbers I had, which was in January, when Judge Williams
came on, we had about $160,000 collected in restitution that
was sentenced -- that these individuals were sentenced to.
Obviously, that's more now.
And that -- a part of that DOEP program, about
$6,800 of that, as of, I guess, January -- I haven't caught
up with it lately -- goes back to the county. Because a
portion of that, that -- on that DOEP program, that money
that we charge -- the moneys that we charge for that goes
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back to the county
into that program, when I got here, it was -- we were
charging $85. That was pretty much consistent with what was
being charged throughout the county for the other programs,
but these people need that program. They're drug offenders;
they need to get into that program. And so I reduced that,
just in an effort that these people could get to that program
and have access to it and be successful on their probation.
JUDGE TINLEY: Any other questions of Mr. Buckalew?
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Is it a pastime of yours to
remember all those numbers? Is that fun for you?
MR. BUCKALEW: Oh, no.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Let me ask you a question,
though. I'm curious about people having workloads. How many
probation officer do you have?
MR. BUCKALEW: Ten in Kerr County.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: And how many offenders right
now?
MR. BUCKALEW: 894.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: God almighty. Excuse me --
my English. That's a pretty good workload.
MR. BUCKALEW: And 894, I might say, those are
direct -- Commissioner Baldwin, they are directly being
supervised here by these probation officers. Now, indirect
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are individuals who are sentenced in Kerr County, but live in
another county and are supervised, and so these probation
I officers are still responsible for all the -- the monitoring
of these through their judgments. If they come back to the
court because they're revoked or whatever, they're required
to follow up with that. So, there's probably about another
-- there's another 350 to 360 probation -- probationers that
are there indirect. So, totally, there's -- there's 1,100 in
Kerr County that have been sentenced in Kerr County and on
~ probation.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: That's a case load.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Yes.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: That's a load right there.
I Wow .
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Appreciate the information.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Yeah.
JUDGE TINLEY: Thank you, sir. District Clerk.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Where might that person be?
MS. UECKER: Okay. As do I every year, I have some
statistics that I pass around.
JUDGE TINLEY: Do you think we're going to go --
start going north instead of south on your budget? You know
better than that, don't you?
MS. UECKER: I'm not asking that. You know better
than to think that I might. The only changes that we've
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made, that	you	probably	already have	on	yours, is	reduce --
we reduced	the	bonds and	insurance.	We	reduced -	- increased
the employee training by 500, is what I'm requesting, and
reduced postage. And let's see. Then the only question I
have, that I had originally requested on computer software,
was an additional license on our PaperVision, where we and
the public and other county offices can log onto PaperVision
and view the images, you know, the documents that we send to
CASO, the older documents. Those are viewable on
PaperVision. And we only have two licenses, which means if
there's two people on, somebody has to wait till the other
one gets off.
JUDGE TINLEY: How much activity do you really have
MS. UECKER: Quite a bit. A lot.
JUDGE TINLEY: Do you frequently have people
standing in line between the two stations?
MS. UECKER: Mm-hmm, yes.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: PaperVision?
MS. UECKER: Paper. PaperVision, yeah. It's a
little program. It's going to cost about another $3,200,
which could actually come from Records Preservation if we
want it to.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Sounds like a good place to
take it.
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COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Yeah.
MS. UECKER: So --
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: If it's necessary. You're
talking about another station --
MS. UECKER: No.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: -- where it could be three
people? I missed it then, I'm sorry.
MS. UECKER: Okay. CASO Document Management is
where we send all of our documents.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: San Antonio?
MS. UECKER: To San Antonio, and they image them.
That includes all of the old stuff that they've already done.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Uh-huh.
MS. UECKER: And they're the ones that preserve on
microfilm, for archival purposes, old records. Well, they
have a little program, and we started out with one and then
we went to two, and this year I'm asking for the third.
Their program is you can log on, and that's mainly what the
public uses, especially if they're doing older stuff, which
most of them do. To pull up any document from 1836, you can
pull it up on PaperVision and look at it and print it right
there. It's saved us beaucoups of time, and -- and it's just
a license.
25 I COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: I see.
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MS. UECKER: It's like we have two licenses. That
means if I'm on, looking something up for -- in preparation
of filing a case or issuing something, and there's somebody
else at the counter looking it up, then another clerk, I
mean, would have to wait for either me to log off or the
person at the counter to log off. Abstractors use it all the
time.
JUDGE TINLEY: Let me ask you this question. When
a citizen wants a copy, how is -- how is that arrangement
worked through CASO, where -- there's some portion of a fee
that comes to you?
MS. UECKER: No, you're talking about e-filing.
You're talking about e-filing. CASO, all of that comes to
us. All of the revenue from those copies --
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay.
MS. UECKER: -- comes to us.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Because we actually own
everything?
MS. UECKER: Exactly, we own that program.
JUDGE TINLEY: They don't take a portion of it?
MS. UECKER: No, sir. The only thing they charge
us is for the --
JUDGE TINLEY: The license.
MS. UECKER: -- little program, the license itself.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay.
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MS. UECKER: They install it.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Take it out of Records
MS. UECKER: Yeah, and it can come from Records
Preservation.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Yeah.
MS. UECKER: So, we can move it over there if you
want to.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Okay.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay. Anything else?
MS. UECKER: I think that's it on my budget. The
-- we did increase -- in working with the Auditor's office,
we increased operating supplies and jury meals in the jury
budget, because we're already pretty far extended over the
jury meals and supplies.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Jury?
MS. UECKER: So, on those, I requested an increase,
which I think she's already put on there, on yours as well.
The other thing is, I don't have the Law Library -- and I can
print out the current, but I never was able to get onto the
Law Library budget.
(Low-voice discussion off the record.)
MS. UECKER: Okay. All right. Yeah, we've already
put the 50,000 in there, because we're already over on the
~~ book expenses for this year by about 6,000 or 7,000, if you
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count what I'm working on right now submitting. So, I see
she's already got the 50 in there, so that's good. That's
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: General fund, jury, is that
-- what jury is that? Is that district level? Is that --
MS. UECKER: That's all of them.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: All juries are together?
And y'all carve out the little meals, or --
MS. UECKER: Most of the time, the J.P. jurors last
maybe, you know, an hour at the most. Very, very, very
seldom does --
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: So, the district level is
really the only one that stands out?
MS. UECKER: And that includes if a Grand Jury is
working late or they're working through lunch or they want to
get through, or something like that happens, we have to order
in. And, of course, we do it as economically as possible.
We joke sometimes, they want steak, so they get sandwiches.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Steak sandwiches.
JUDGE TINLEY: Tube steak.
MS. UECKER: Tube steak, exactly. Tube steak.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Linda, are the passport
fees, are they in your total receipts? Are the fees included
in the total receipts?
MS. UECKER: On the -- the new civil stuff that
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we're getting now, yes. On the cases that we're transferred
up from County Court at Law.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: I think you misunderstood
my question. The passport fees?
MS. UECKER: Oh, passport.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Yeah. Are the passport
fees, totals of each year included in your total receipts, or
are they separate?
MS. UECKER: I think they're included.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: I see.
MS. UECKER: 'Cause you can see passport fees are
down just a hair. But they're -- just in the last couple of
weeks, it's shot back up again. I don't know why it
fluctuates like that.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Spike and then level. It
should go back down because the Mexico-Canada rush is over.
MS. UECKER: Right.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: A lot of people that --
MS. UECKER: That's where the problem was. I also
understand now that the Post Office is also accepting
passport applications, but I think you probably have to make
an appointment, so I don't know how that's going to work.
Folks don't want to do that. We're still having people
coming from San Antonio because they have to wait in line in
San Antonio, so they'd rather come over here and get it done
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and move on down the road.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: They just want to come see you,
Linda.
MS. UECKER: That's it. That's it. They go,
"Where is that famous District Clerk?"
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: State champion.
MS. UECKER: State champion.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Still in office.
MS. UECKER: The only other thing that I increased
was the part-time. I asked for an increase of $5,000 there,
from five to ten, and the reason for that was to accommodate
the direct file load. I did not want to add another person
just for that. I want to try it and see. I think we can
make it work. I've got a part-time person right now; this is
her last week, but she has been really helping a lot and
going out to the jail and going to do the pretrials. Because
of the way the pretrials are working now, especially in the
216th, it takes three clerks, the way they've got them set
up. And sometimes they split that, bring another judge in,
and -- so I think that I can make that work, 'cause I really
did not want to take on another employee.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: And that's directly related
to the "something" file?
MS. UECKER: Direct file.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Direct file out at the jail.
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MS. DECKER: Which, so far -- you know, knock on
wood -- I think has been a tremendous success.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: But it may be a -- may be
some cost to us a little later on?
MS. DECKER: I don't know. I hope not. But --
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Yeah, me too.
MS. DECKER: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: I sure would like to know
about it if it does, though.
MS. DECKER: I'm sure you will.
JUDGE TINLEY: Do you think we should transfer a
part of that part-time money over to that special budget that
we're doing on that rapid file and disposal system?
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: You mean from her budget
over to --
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah. Yeah.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: I don't.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: I don't either.
MS. HARGIS: Let's don't do that. That gets a
little complicated. That'll get a little complicated.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay.
MS. DECKER: Yeah, 'cause --
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Still her office.
MS. DECKER: -- I don't have any of Amos' fantasy
money, so -- (Laughter.)
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COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: We've done enough
fantasizing for one day.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: That was funny.
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah, we're going to see how much
fantasy money the Sheriff has here.
MS. UECKER: Okay?
JUDGE TINLEY: Thank you.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Thank you.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay. Let's go with Commissioners
Court. We made a few adjustments on that, didn't we,
Ms. Hargis?
MS. HARGIS: Yes.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Like what?
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Getting ready to tell us.
JUDGE TINLEY: You don't want to know. You don't
need to know.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: More of this fantasy stuff.
MS. HARGIS: We reduced the professional services
~ by 10,000.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: And what did we use that
for? That's engineers and architects and stuff like that?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: At some point, we're probably
going to -- related to that whole Center Point project,
probably need to hire a water guru a little bit -- water
attorney.
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COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: We are. We're going to
COMMISSIONER LETZ: That's in there.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: And what -- what about,
like, Peter Lewis' work? Does that come out of here?
JUDGE TINLEY: Either there or -- or
nondepartmental, either one. But --
COMMISSIONER LETZ: One of the two, yeah.
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: What --
JUDGE TINLEY: We're okay. We're okay. Hopefully,
most all of that's going to be in this year's budget.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: What did we have in
professional services last year? See, we got in there now
that Alamo Insurance brokerage --
MS. HARGIS: Okay, that Alamo Insurance, and then
the Sheriff said we --
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: What is that?
MS. HARGIS: -- we pay --
SHERIFF HIERHOLZER: Frigerio normally comes out of
that with that attorney stuff for any lawsuits.
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah, the --
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SHERIFF HIERHOLZER: And that deductible is 10,000.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: So, that only gives us
6,000 for any -- any other contingency?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: What's in nondepartmental? You
almost have to look at those two together.
MS. HARGIS: Yeah, nondepartmental. I think we put
50 in that contingency. I can't remember. I don't think
it's here today -- yeah, it is.
JUDGE TINLEY: Fifty.
MS. HARGIS: Well, actually, we -- hang on a
second. Professional services, we got 30. We reduced it to
30, 'cause we've only spent --
COMMISSIONER LETZ: I think that those -- that
combination looks sufficient to me.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: I would hope so.
MS. HARGIS: We haven't even spent any of this out
of this line item, but we'll probably end up spending it this
year on that C.P.S. case. No?
JUDGE TINLEY: We may have to make a budget
amendment to transfer some from there over.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: We won't have any redistricting
in next year's budget? That will be the following budget?
That one will be a big hit, whenever --
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: That will be a big hit on --
MS. HARGIS: I thought you told us it wouldn't come
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out till 2010.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: I think we start doing some
work next year.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Very little next year. The
big bulk of the work is 2011.
JUDGE TINLEY: For redistricting.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: And if we do this --
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Probably the next budget
year. Probably most of it will happen after October.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Right, after October.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: This budget year will be
ending -- well, the one we're going into for 09-10 will be
ending, and we'll be going into 10-11.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: That's the one we need to
plug in the redistricting.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: I think that's right, if I
I remember.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: What about the --
JUDGE TINLEY: Road program.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: -- road program?
JUDGE TINLEY: That's going to be eight for next
year.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: 8,000.
JUDGE TINLEY: If we get into that one.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: We talked about it yesterday.
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What about --
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: If we do that.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: The -- and this may come out of
Flood Control, but the dam engineering work that we -- if we
go anywhere with it.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Well, I think we can -- can
we not wrap up anything associated -- software, every cost
associated with the dam repairs, we can wrap it up under the
capital.
MS. HARGIS: I think -- yes, I would say let's do
engineering.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Soft costs as well as hard
I costs.
MS. HARGIS: Yes.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Okay.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: I think --
JUDGE TINLEY: We got a total of 60 under both
~ budgets.
MS. HARGIS: Sixty for professional?
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah, 30 and 30.
MS. HARGIS: Thirty and 30. Sixty all together,
I Yes.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: What's the audit run? Does the
audit come out of that?
MS. HARGIS: No, the audit is a separate line item.
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COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Separate line item.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Okay.
MS. HARGIS: And it came in at 35, so I changed
that. We had 50 last year, and he -- in his new engagement
letter, he put 35 in, so we locked that down. The other two
audits are paid by the -- those departments. Juvenile pays
theirs, and Adult pays theirs.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Where's the floodplain come
out of -- administration come out of? Road and Bridge
budget?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Yes.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Okay.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Out of floodplain. It's a
separate budget, I think.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Correct.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Okay.
MR. ODOM: How much did you say?
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Just asked where it was,
not the amount.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: We didn't touch any of your
~ money.
MR. ODOM: I only have 5,000, so that's all that's
I there.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Okay.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: My only -- my only question
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is if we -- if we do hire an attorney to help us with water
and wastewater issues, which we're going to have to do, we
only have 6,000 out of that 30 that's unallocated. There's
already 24,000 allocated.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: But there's the
nondepartmental.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Okay.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: And it's --
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: So we have a second line to
turn to if we need to.
JUDGE TINLEY: Why don't we take about a 10-minute
I break.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Good idea.
(Recess taken from 3:32 p.m. to 3:47 p.m.)
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay, let's come back to order, if
we might. The next one is County Judge. Well, we did cut
some. We did cut some.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Will you take these
handcuffs on me -- the D.A. put on me?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Y'all weren't very nice down
I there.
JUDGE TINLEY: Why don't we do the County Court
while we're there also? Those two are together. The bad
news on that one is that we had to increase the attorney's
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fees, and that was the only item we increased, wasn't it,
Ms. Hargis?
MS. HARGIS: Yes, we did have to increase the
attorney fees on all the line items.
JUDGE TINLEY: Buster would say these lawyers are
just getting too fat off the county, right?
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Too fat off the county.
County Court, that's this 426?
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah. Mm-hmm, yeah.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Your court?
JUDGE TINLEY: Mm-hmm.
MS. HARGIS: The mental health hearings are also in
here, aren't they? And the J.P. stuff.
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah. Any time we have someone
committed outside, we -- the court costs, at about $425 a
pop, come out of that account too. So --
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Are we on County Judge or
I County Court?
JUDGE TINLEY: Either one. Both.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Okay.
MS. HARGIS: 426 is County Judge. That's what's
we're on right now.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Judge, in your notes here,
you're -- let's see. Hold on. Hold on just a minute; I
can't read this thing. 32,000. Court-appointed attorneys.
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JUDGE TINLEY: Mm-hmm.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Increased to 32 from 3,000
per P.T.?
	JUDGE TINLEY:	Mm-hmm.
	COMMISSIONER	BALDWIN: "P.T." meaning what?
	JUDGE TINLEY:	Me.
	COMMISSIONER	BALDWIN: You're P.T.?
	JUDGE TINLEY:	Yeah.
	COMMISSIONER	BALDWIN: Okay. Of course.
	JUDGE TINLEY:	That's what my mama named me.
	COMMISSIONER	WILLIAMS: He just left the middle
initial	out.	
	COMMISSIONER	BALDWIN: So, that's Pat Tinley, isn't
it? Or	is it Tinsley?	
	JUDGE TINLEY:	Could be.
	COMMISSIONER	LETZ: Better get the spelling right
before w	e get --	
	COMMISSIONER	BALDWIN: Yeah.
	COMMISSIONER	LETZ: Get this straight, because I've
seen it	"Tinsley" befor	e.
	JUDGE TINLEY:	Well, you told me that was your
favorite	fried chicken.	Or was it chewing tobacco?
	MS. WILLIAMS:	Uh-oh.
	COMMISSIONER	BALDWIN: I'm sorry I asked the
~ question.
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COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Mm-hmm.
JUDGE TINLEY: I was hoping you'd finally admit
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Yeah. Wore me down, didn't
he?
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Mm-hmm.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay. Anything else there? Okay.
We'll go to County Auditor.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: All right.
JUDGE TINLEY: That one better be in good shape.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: What number is that?
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: What is y'all's number?
MS. MABRY: 495.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: 495-102.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Got it.
MS. HARGIS: My training had to increase, because I
have three new people, and three new people need to go to
school, and the auditors conferences in Galveston. We're
also noticing -- I don't know if you guys are noticing on
yours, but in all of our hotels now, the ones that we had for
$95 have gone up to $120.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: How much?
MS. HARGIS: 120. The Omni has always had a
contract for 95. Jannett ran into the same problem. It was
Jannett or Diane, one of them, ran into that. They changed
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the rate on us, which really makes a huge difference when
they have these three- and four-day conferences.
JUDGE TINLEY: Has the State -- has the State
changed their so-called state rate? I know it used to be 85.
MS. HARGIS: I don't think so. The hotels give
you -- now, I know the Texas Association had an agreement
with the Omni since '92 for $95 -- $90 or $95. And when I
called to get my rate back in May, they raised it, and every
Omni's gone up to 120. And that's a -- a big convention
hotel, because they would allow people to come in for
conferences that don't have a big room over -- you know, big
room load, and also they don't like government rate any more.
The rate that we had at the Hilton for the TAC conference was
149. And that's --
JUDGE TINLEY: 149?
MS. HARGIS: 149. And then the rate at the
auditors conference in Galveston is 149. I'm getting Tracy
certified to be a financial officer as well as Mindy; they're
going to school together. And that's a week-long school,
even on Saturday; they take the test on Saturday. And then
there's a second phase to that, so that will be a kind of a
dual control.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: In Austin?
JUDGE TINLEY: Back to school.
MS. WILLIAMS: Back to school we go.
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MS. HARGIS: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Is that in Austin?
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: On your assistant salary,
those are -- that is three people?
MS. HARGIS: It's three people, yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: And then you have part-time
in there.
MS. HARGIS: I do have part-time in there.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Why is that?
MS. HARGIS: We have had to use part-time for
people being out, and for -- last year we didn't have very
many people, and for different times of the year when I'm
doing the auditing and stuff, it gets a little tough. I can
cut that back if you like, but I'd like to have a little bit
in there.
5, 000.
work.
JUDGE TINLEY: What do you think you can get by
MS. HARGIS: I'd like to at least have, you know,
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay. Why don't we see if that'll
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Just an observation. You
know that I -- I've been kind of critical of your office
throughout the whole year. I don't think it's any secret.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: I didn't realize that.
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COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Let me point it out to you.
MS. HARGIS: That's fine.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: I noticed on Monday, when we
had Commissioners Court, three, including you, were in here
in court all morning, and I don't necessarily understand why
we need to have three people out of your office of four --
how, if you're so busy, they could take a whole morning off.
MS. HARGIS: We didn't have all three of them in
here the whole time.
MS. HARGIS: Tracy left and went back to the
office. Tess went back when Tracy was here. They
alternated.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: They were both in here
several times at the same time.
MS. HARGIS: Tracy is working on the fixed assets,
which is a huge project, and I am letting her make those
presentations. Tracy -- and Tess is in here with me for the
budgeting, and she will continue to be in here with me so
that she can learn, and so that if I'm not here, she can be
present, and then you won't be without someone. But Tracy is
working on the fixed assets. We're -- we are trying to
reduce your insurance that 224,000. I think that's the first
time you've had write-offs actually brought to you so you
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really know what your -- Tommy wrote off, when I got here,
two and a half million dollars. I know you never saw that.
I don't want to do that. I want you to know what I write
off. And she has found equipment that we no longer have,
equipment that we've been paying for on our insurance,
equipment that's overvalued. So, we are trying to get our
insurance rates down, as well as get our fixed assets to what
they truly are on our balance sheet, and that's what she's
doing. Go ahead.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: The -- what I'm hearing -- and
I would agree that having a lot of staff in here is not
always necessary, but if they're here for training purposes,
i
so this is a -- at a point, they'll not all be here.
MS. HARGIS: Well, she won't be here unless she's
presenting a fixed asset situation.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Okay.
MS. HARGIS: And she had a 10:30 item that she came
in a little before 10:30 and she left. Tess has been --
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: That was more an
informational item than it was anything. That was kind of --
not a great presentation value to it, in my opinion. It was
just basically a -- a list of stuff, and that's just -- you
know, I don't know that the person has to be present to
'~ present that. You could have presented it.
MS. HARGIS: Well, if you want me to present it, I
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will present it. I just gave her an opportunity, because
she's been working very hard on it. It gives her an
MS. HARGIS: I marked it on mine.
MS. MABRY: Yes.
JUDGE TINLEY: You got that plugged in, Tess?
MS. MABRY: I made it.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Another thing is, I guess you
know -- I feel pretty confident that I know this, and that is
that the Judge has placed quite a bit of responsibility
dealing with position schedules and things like that with
H.R. And so, you know, I don't see that you're understaffed
by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, I think you're
overstaffed, because a lot of that stuff that's being done
that used to be done in there, you're not doing any more.
MS. HARGIS: I've never done the position schedule
I since I've been here.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Well, it used to be done in
that office, and --
MS. HARGIS: It was done by -- it was done by Eva
when I got here, and I believe that it was -- who did it?
Did Tommy do it before then?
25 ~ MS. WILLIAMS: I think the previous County
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Treasurer and the Auditor kind of worked together on it.
MS. HARGIS: So --
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Okay. Well, I just -- you
know, I think that you're -- you're heavy on staff, is what I
think. That's my opinion, and mine only. And --
MS. HARGIS: Well, I'm having --
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: -- I know that you're
catching up, doing some things that have not been done
before, but once that's done, what's going to happen then?
MS. HARGIS: The auditing needs to be done on an
annual basis of every single department. And the scope of
that audit has -- it will be either increased or decreased
depending on the department. Because -- and the more cash
that we have in this building, the more audits we're going to
have to have. We're just bringing in an ATM machine now with
more cash. The audits are not a one-time thing. If you read
what we're supposed to be doing, we're supposed to be
auditing people on a quarterly basis. There's no way we can
do that. And if we get people done once a year, we're really
hustling to get that done. We still haven't completed all
the audits of departments we didn't get done last year. The
J.P.'s are supposed to be audited. I'm supposed to do the
commissary on an annual basis. The Sheriff knows that.
There's all kinds of other forms and surveys and things that
we don't -- we just do them, and this juvenile and the adult
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probation is a large part of what we do. We do a lot of work
for them. We do quarterly reports for them. So, you know,
I'm here every day.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Well, I'm just here as one --
one voice on the Court, and I think that -- my opinion is
that there's a lot of smoke goes up in the air, and not a lot
settles out of it, seems like.
JUDGE TINLEY: On part-time, are you at 5,000?
MS. MABRY: Yes.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay.
MS. MABRY: I will have to reduce the FICA and --
JUDGE TINLEY: Pardon?
MS. MABRY: I'll have to reduce the FICA
accordingly also.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay. Okay.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: God, you don't have that
done yet?
MS. MABRY: No, 'fraid not.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Other than that, I don't have
any comment about it.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay. Any more questions with
regard to the Auditor? Okay. Let's move on to the
Treasurer.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: What is your number?
MS. WILLIAMS: 497, Fund 10.
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COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: That's the next one.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Mm-hmm.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Mindy, your conference seems
awfully high. $5,000 in conferences?
MS. WILLIAMS: Well, if I'm going to C.I.O.
training, there will be extra hours, extra training that I'll
have to have next year in order to keep that certification.
JUDGE TINLEY: You're promising to pass the test,
now, aren't you?
MS. WILLIAMS: I'm going to do my darndest.
JUDGE TINLEY: That's not what I'm asking. I want
you to promise me you'll pass the test.
MS. WILLIAMS: I'm going to pass that test.
JUDGE TINLEY: There you go.
MS. WILLIAMS: Please, Lord. (Laughter.)
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: You were talking about the
-- that conference line. The note says that it increased
from two to four.
MS. WILLIAMS: That was for the current year that
we're in right now.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: So, now we're going to
I five?
MS. WILLIAMS: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Okay.
MS. WILLIAMS: And I'll try to make it on four if
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you think that will work. It'll be tight.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Motel 6. Keep the light on
for you. (Laughter.)
MS. WILLIAMS: That'll work, too.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: I've stayed in some worse
I than that.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: So have I.
MS. WILLIAMS: Just so you gentlemen know, the few
conferences that I have gone to this budget year, I have
gotten my travel in advance. I have turned some of that
money back in. I only pay for my actual gas, so I have
turned some of my travel money back in so far.
MS. UECKER: I learned a little trick, y'all, with
the room. The -- if the contract rate for a conference is
149, if you just go online and get a flat government rate, a
lot of times you get that same room for 98.
MS. HYDE: Right.
MS. UECKER: That's how I get them.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Good trick.
JUDGE TINLEY: Any other questions about
Ms. William's budget?
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: No.
~! JUDGE TINLEY: Thank you, ma'am.
MS. WILLIAMS: Thank you.
JUDGE TINLEY: Appreciate it.
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MS. WILLIAMS: You're welcome.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: You're a nice person.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Nondepartmental?
JUDGE TINLEY: We already did nondepartmental,
I remember?
MS. HARGIS: No we didn't.
MS. WILLIAMS: No.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: We talked about it.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: We did City/County.
MS. HARGIS: We haven't done nondepartmental.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: We only did the professional
services item on nondepartmental.
JUDGE TINLEY: Oh, okay.
MS. HARGIS: We looked at --
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: What number is
nondepartmental?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: 409.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: 409.
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah. Whole bunch of insurance in
I there.
MS. HARGIS: Yeah. Our workmen's comp is
definitely up. We probably will get a check back, but that's
what the premiums are reflecting right now.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: What is photocopy expense in
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this item? Why is it such a big number?
MS. HYDE: Did you say "Ms. Hyde"?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Photocopy expense is 5,000?
MS. WILLIAMS: That's where I think the -- don't
y'all order the copy paper?
MS. HARGIS: That's for the whole --
building.
70 boxes.
MS. WILLIAMS: We order bulk copy paper.
MS. HARGIS: That's the paper for the whole
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: We order what, Mindy?
MS. WILLIAMS: Bulk copy paper, 40, 60, sometimes
MS. HARGIS: Yeah, we buy in bulk, and we bid it
every time we buy it, and then the different departments call
and get it from us.
JUDGE TINLEY: And it's charged out to each
department depending on how much they get, yeah. Okay.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Autopsies and inquest is
down.
up?
MS. HARGIS: The autopsies are up -- cost is up.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Has the cost of them gone
MS. HARGIS: Yes.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Or the travel over there?
MS. HARGIS: Both.
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COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Or we have people --
JUDGE TINLEY: Both.
MS. HARGIS: Both. The autopsy itself has gone to
350 from 250, and it's costing us 300 -- I believe 300 to 325
to transport them.
JUDGE TINLEY: 350 to transport.
MS. HARGIS: 350 for the --
JUDGE TINLEY: And it's 2,300 now per autopsy.
MS. HARGIS: Oh, that's right. Oh, no -- no, it's
more than that.
MS. MABRY: 2,650.
MS. HARGIS: 2,650.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: 26 -- yeah.
JUDGE TINLEY: 2,650.
MS. HARGIS: The pauper burials we left the same.
Those the Judge is keeping in hand.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: On the immunizations --
MS. HARGIS: That I'm going to refer -- oh, Judge,
you reduced that. Oh.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: I think that's for --
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: That's for the deputies, the
Sheriff's Department.
MS. HYDE: What?
JUDGE TINLEY: Immunization.
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COMMISSIONER LETZ: Immunizations. Is it going to
always be that big?
MS. HYDE: No, sir. No, sir. The last year,
remember, y'all -- I had asked for 20,000 for the hep, and
y'all said no, I could have half of it, so that's why. Half
of the people got it this past year. Half of it needed to
get it next year, and then they're good for ten years.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Right.
MS. HYDE: But, you know, flu shots, that's at -- I
hope that's every year, you're going to let us have them.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Right.
MS. HYDE: Because it's a lot cheaper on us.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: That's the 3,000 for the flu
shots out of that 20, okay.
MS. HARGIS: But --
MS. HYDE: And then the tetanus shots is 14,000,
but that's going to be for everybody, unless y'all tell me to
cut it again, because I got a lot of grief about cutting it
in half this year.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Are we -- well, if I add this
I
up, it should be 37,000, and I see 20,000.
MS. HYDE: Oh, you kept 17,000 out of it?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: The Judge did.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Somebody did.
MS. HYDE: Oh, dear.
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MS. HARGIS: Yeah, that's what I just said.
MS. HYDE: Okay. The 20,000 for hep is for 150.
I've got to have 20,000 for the hep to get the rest of the
folks. 14,000 is for tetanus for 300 folks. And then -- I
mean, that is what it is. So, y'all tell me what you want me
to do.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: We got a tet and a hep and
a -- something.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Mix the two together and we
get a tet-hep?
MS. HYDE: A tet-hep? A hep-tet. Oh, that didn't
sound good.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: That's for all employees, or
the -- or the tetanus and hepatitis?
MS. HYDE: The tetanus would be for all 300
employees. Now, the hepatitis -- the 20,000 is for the 150
that didn't get it this year.
JUDGE TINLEY: I think we need to do the hepatitis
for the at-risk employees.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Right.
MS. HYDE: And that'll be the rest of them.
JUDGE TINLEY: I got no problem with it, but this
business about becoming a health care center, generally, I
don't know why we need tetanus. I mean, we're not working in
a hazardous environment around here for a lot of us.
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MS. HYDE: Well, we sort of are. One of the things
that we looked at this year on medical costs, this is saving
us money on our medical costs, because if we go and have
these shots, which we did this year; we had 26 tetanus shots
this year that people had to go get. Those shots, you got to
pay for the doctor and then you have to pay for the shot.
The shots themselves was 175 bucks a pop.
JUDGE TINLEY: For a tetanus shot?
MS. HYDE: For a damn -- darned tetanus shot.
(Laughter.)
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: You had it right to start
with.
MS. HYDE: Just like the flu shots, if you go to
the doctor for your flu shot, you're going to pay 40 or 50
bucks. You can get them at 10 bucks when you go out to the
Ag Barn when they do the special, but we're getting it for 5
bucks, and we're getting it for free, 'cause we're giving
them ourselves. And that's the other part of it; we're
giving these ourselves, so we don't have to pay for it.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Well we had 26 we gave last
year. We can take 26 off.
!~ MS. HYDE: Sure, if you want to.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: I had no idea tetanus shots
cost that much.
JUDGE TINLEY: I didn't either.
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COMMISSIONER LETZ: But, you know --
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: They do if you go to the
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Seriously, though, is there
a need for tetanus shots beyond Maintenance, Road and Bridge,
Environmental Health?
SHERIFF HIERHOLZER: Yes.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Sheriff's Department?
SHERIFF HIERHOLZER: Yeah, Sheriff's Department.
MS. HYDE: Sheriff's Department, your J.P.O.'s,
your J.D.C.
MS. WHITT: Animal Control.
MS. HYDE: Animal Control.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Yeah, okay.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Environmental Health. By the
time you add up those who need it --
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Once you get there, you
might as well go all the way.
MS. HYDE: Pretty much. We get a better rate.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Now, is there a problem with
deferring the tetanus to next year, when we are spreading
these out over a three-year period? 'Cause were doing the
i
hep again this year, so the hep last year, hep this year,
then tet next year.
MS. HYDE: I mean --
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SHERIFF HIERHOLZER: There's not a problem with me,
Jonathan. It's just normally we end up probably with,
realistically, three to five employees a month that end up --
you know, either they've had theirs and they're okay, or
they've gotten cut at a wreck scene or cut at barbed wire,
you know, where whatever animal -- all these livestock calls.
JUDGE TINLEY: And you're saying by the time we run
them through there and get them a hep, a tetanus shot --
MS. HYDE: Half of them don't even know if they've
had them or not. That means they got to go to the E.R. or
they have to go to their doctor, and so it's costing us on
our med side -- our medical side, prescription and claims.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Twenty-six times.
MS. HYDE: So, I know of 26. We can document 26.
JUDGE TINLEY: At 300 a pop?
MS. HYDE: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: 175 and the office visit.
MS. HYDE: Yeah.
JUDGE TINLEY: Well --
MS. HYDE: And if it's under --
JUDGE TINLEY: 7,500 bucks.
MS. HYDE: The good news is, if it's under worker's
comp, I can do it under worker's comp. But I got to be
careful, because it raises our worker's comp, because it's in
one section of our population.
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SHERIFF HIERHOLZER: The other thing is, there
may not be that many left that really have to have the
tetanus, since -- what is it, once every seven years?
MS. HYDE: Once every ten for tetanus.
SHERIFF HIERHOLZER: Ten years. Road and Bridge,
most of theirs have had it. I know a lot of my guys had to
have it. Did it the more expensive way, but they had to have
it, so they've already got --
MS. HYDE: We could take a -- we could do half of
it, if you want to try to do half of it, or put it off for
one year, but it's pay me now or pay me later.
JUDGE TINLEY: Let's get the at-risk people this
year, and then we'll load the rest of them next year.
Because the ones that are most likely to need it will be cut
off that expense.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Do half this year, half next
year.
MS. HYDE: Okay. So --
MS. HARGIS: What about the flu shots?
JUDGE TINLEY: Keep flu shots in.
MS. HYDE: And we're going to keep the hep shots?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Yeah.
JUDGE TINLEY: Oh, yeah, we're committed to that.
MS. HYDE: Okay. And then -- so, you're going to
cut 7,000 -- to 7,000 on the tetanus? Is that what we're
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doing?
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: I'm just curious as to why
immunizations is in nondepartmental and not in H.R. line
item.
MS. HYDE: I paid for them this year.
SHERIFF HIERHOLZER: I don't want her with a
needle.
MS. HYDE: You got them today,
rate. Smooth and easy.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Okay.
MS. HYDE: I mean, do you want
COMMISSIONER LETZ: No, that's
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: I just
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: This yea
and I got a good
to put it in mine?
fine.
asked the question.
r -- this year, Bill,
I'll do them.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Why?
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: I'll go out to the feed store
and get some 16-gauge needles.
MS. HYDE: Oh, those are bad. Those are deadly.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Use them on the Sheriff's
Department.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: On the Sheriff.
SHERIFF HIERHOLZER: Got to catch me first.
MS. HYDE: What we can do to help look at -- I
can't promise, but what we can do is get people to sign --
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the other 150, I can get people to sign up, and if they sign
up, then they're committed before we buy. And that might
save us a little bit on the hep.
JUDGE TINLEY: Is this a second series hep?
MS. HYDE: This is the other 150 employees that
didn't get the opportunity this year.
JUDGE TINLEY: We're not just doing at-risk
employees on the hep? We're doing everybody?
MS. HYDE: This is the rest of them.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: I think they need to sign up.
I'm not going to get one.
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: I don't see any reason.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: How many -- how many
employees are you talking about? Are you talking about
county employees only, or are we doing it for these other
agencies?
MS. HYDE: We've already done the other at-risk
agencies. They paid for it.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: They paid for it, okay.
MS. HYDE: Mm-hmm.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: I would --
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Why are we doing it, then?
If they're paying for it, why don't they just do it?
MS. HYDE: 'Cause we get a better rate the more we
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COMMISSIONER LETZ: On the hep?
MS. HYDE: That's how we were able to buy the rest
COMMISSIONER LETZ: I think we need to have people
sign up. We need to make sure all the at-risk people are
done.
MS. HYDE: Anybody --
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Sign up or not give it to them.
MS. HYDE: Anybody else that is a new hire -- for
example, we got seven new hires that are at risk.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Right.
MS. HYDE: That we need to get going, and we're
going to continue to do those folks.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Right, we need to keep them.
But, I mean, you know, I bet none of the five of us up here
are going to get the hep shot, 'cause we don't need it. So,
I mean, I don't think you should order it for everybody, or
plan on it. I think we should figure out who wants it.
MS. HYDE: Cut it back to 100?
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Does an employee have the
option to take it or not? You make them do it?
MS. HYDE: No. The at-risk folks kind of sort of
had to, but the not-at-risk folks kind of sort of don't.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Oh, gosh.
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JUDGE TINLEY: It's a new policy, "kind of, sort
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: So, that's the kind-of
sort-of number, right?
SHERIFF HIERHOLZER: The at-risk folks, Buster,
were -- were pretty well told that if you didn't take it and
you came down with it, your worker's comp may or may not
cover it.
MS. HYDE: Right.
SHERIFF HIERHOLZER: So they were pretty much --
MS. HYDE: Pretty much kind of did it.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: So, that's a strong
suggestion.
SHERIFF HIERHOLZER: You got it.
MS. HYDE: Yes, sir. We did that for all of them,
and we don't want to do that to the folks here, but at the
same time, there are some high-risk areas, even here in the
courthouse.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: No, I agree. They should do
it. I just don't want to hold a gun to their head and make
them do that.
MS. HYDE: Right.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: I would let people -- let
them -- maybe make them sign up.
MS. HYDE: I got to get 100 or I don't get the
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rate, and then the rates change, and that's another 50 bucks
a pop.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Well, I'd go down to 100, then,
on the hepatitis.
MS. HYDE: Okay.
JUDGE TINLEY: So, we got to put that at 30 instead
of 20; is that correct?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Yes.
JUDGE TINLEY: For half of the tetanus?
MS. HARGIS: No, sir, not half -- oh, half the
tetanus is seven.
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah, and three.
MS. HARGIS: Seven and three is ten, but then --
(Low-voice discussion off the record.)
COMMISSIONER LETZ: 30,000 should more than cover
I it.
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: May be able to squeeze some
more tetanus in under that 30,000.
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah.
MS. HARGIS: It's about 13 -- 13,5. 13,5 and then
7 -- 7 and then 3.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: 24,000. So, 30,000. And you
can probably get almost all the tetanus done for that.
MS. HARGIS: 23,5, so that would just bring it up
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3,500, instead of all the way to 30.
MS. HYDE: Okay.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: The Judge said go all the way
to 30.
MS. HARGIS: Did you want to go to 30?
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah. In case -- in case we -- I
don't know what we're going to do on this hepatitis. I don't
know what kind of sign-up we're going to have, and that's the
big number.
MS. HYDE: Yes, sir.
JUDGE TINLEY: That's per capita cost.
MS. HYDE: I know that when -- when y'all said we
could only do half of them last year, I got a lot of
blow-back, because how was I going to choose who is at risk
and who wasn't? I had the Sheriff with his big gun help me
with the at risk.
JUDGE TINLEY: The other issue is, when you figure
at-risk people on the tetanus, it may be more than half, so
let's put it to 30. Let's put it at 30, and if there's
enough -- I'd do the hepatitis first, get that out of the
way, then use the rest of the money on the flu.
MS. HYDE: And then the tetanus, what's left.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Get as many tetanus as we can
MS. HYDE: The new pneumonia, I'm being asked
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about, and so I'll just tell you. The new H1N1 virus
vaccine, really and truly, if you go to even the Texas State
Department of Health and Human Services website, they're
saying right now that we will be the guinea pigs on this as
it comes out, on the vaccine. So --
COMMISSIONER LETZ: "We" being Texas?
MS. HYDE: "We" being whoever gets it first.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: I was -- I heard that on the
news, you know, whatever that means.
MS. HYDE: Right.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: That Texas --
MS. HYDE: Texas is --
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Texas is the first state that
comes out with the vaccine.
MS. HYDE: So, I didn't put anything in there for
H1N1, and here's why. Because, talking to the doctors and
state agencies, right now they're still using Tamiflu.
They're using everything that they still use for the old flu.
All we're trying to do is make sure, if you think that you've
got it, you go to your doctor. If it's on the weekend, you
go to the E.R. Get the swabs, get the test; 72 hours, they
should be able to tell you. But it's the respiratory part
that gets you.
MS. HARGIS: It's the pneumonia part.
MS. HYDE: So, you know, I'm not a doctor. I'm
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just listening to what they're telling me. They're still
using Tamiflu.
SHERIFF HIERHOLZER: One big difference is, the 72
hours, they'll tell you you have the flu. They don't tell
you you have the H1N1; that takes all kinds of special tests
they just normally don't even give.
MS. HYDE: Right.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Well, 30,000, I think it ought
to cover --
MS. HYDE: Okay.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: -- immunizations.
MS. HYDE: Thank you, gentlemen.
JUDGE TINLEY: What else we got on that one,
MS. HARGIS: We removed contingencies down to
50,000, guys. So, that 50 plus the 60 is 110.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Yeah.
JUDGE TINLEY: Let's get back to professional
services. Bill, if you get into significant water issues, I
think we need to increase that by 15 to make allowance for
that.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Okay.
JUDGE TINLEY: 'Cause I hope you get into
significant water issues.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: So do I.
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JUDGE TINLEY: And you're about to that juncture in
your East Kerr program, that you're going to need that.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: We'll know pretty quickly.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: And that will also -- at the
same time, those discussions can go on with our M.O.U. with
G.B.R.A. They -- they're going to go right at the same time.
We're going to need some legal counsel on -- to wade through
that.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: So, we add 15?
JUDGE TINLEY: Go to 45, Tess.
MS. MABRY: Yes.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: That'll work. That's good.
MS. HARGIS: Anything else?
JUDGE TINLEY: I think that pretty well got it.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: H.R.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: 493.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: 493.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: What's the health consultant?
MS. HYDE: I don't know. I was going to ask that
question. I didn't know what it was. I didn't know his
name. I thought --
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah. That's got to be Looney.
25 ~ MS. HYDE: Oh, it's Gary.
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JUDGE TINLEY: Gary, yeah.
MS. HYDE: Oh, so y'all just put it in my budget?
JUDGE TINLEY: Huh?
MS. HARGIS: Yeah, we put it in her budget. So,
really, you've got the full -- that note from last year, so
you have the -- you have more than 6,000 there. So, I
forgot; I put it in her budget because she approves it, and
she wanted to be able to put it in when she gets the bill.
So, on the other one, you have the full 30,000, so do you
want to take the 15 back?
JUDGE TINLEY: I don't think so.
MS. HARGIS: Okay.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Why is it a health consultant,
not an insurance consultant?
MS. HYDE: I didn't put it in there, sir.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: I just asked the question.
MS. HYDE: I guess 'cause he's the health insurance
expert.
MS. THOMPSON: Jeannie, up there.
MS. HARGIS: I put --
COMMISSIONER LETZ: I would rather that term be
changed, because health consultant, to me, is health, whereas
a health insurance --
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay. Just show it as insurance
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consultant.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Yeah. That would make more
sense to me.
JUDGE TINLEY: Health benefits and insurance
consultant. Make it this long.
MS. HARGIS: I don't have room to put insurance
consultant.
JUDGE TINLEY: I know you don't.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Just put I-N-S.
MS. HYDE: Oh.
MS. WILLIAMS: No, no, you don't want to --
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Put it in your budget.
MS. HYDE: Yeah. Help me.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Lawyer just came into the
~ room.
MS. HYDE: Oh, no. Wait a minute, I'm doing my
budget. Stay back there.
MS. HARGIS: We have to go to the --
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay. Everything else okay in that
one?
MS. HARGIS: You can't do it from here.
MS. MABRY: Okay, I'll fix it when I get back in.
MS. HYDE: Anything else changed, y'all?
JUDGE TINLEY: If you can't find it, we're not
going to tell you what we did to you.
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COMMISSIONER LETZ: Question I have on employee
MS. HYDE: Mm-hmm.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: That's just your department?
MS. HYDE: It's our training, but it's also when we
put together all the training packs and we go out and train
here in the county.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Okay. That number just looks
small to me, but I'm glad.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Don't look a gift horse in
the mouth.
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah. Shhh.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: All right.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay. Let's move on to Tax Assessor
and Elections.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Tax Assessor, 499.
MS. BOLIN: I have a question before we actually
get started here. On the group insurance and retirement, the
requested budget was the same as last year, but they've
changed. The group insurance went down, and the retirement
went up, and I don't know -- I didn't do that.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: There's a reason for that.
JUDGE TINLEY: You don't need to worry about that
part of it. It'll be calculated in there automatically once
we calculate the total costs of the program and -- and the
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retirement rate that we end up paying.
MS. BOLIN: Okay.
JUDGE TINLEY: Because the retirement rate has
changed; it's gone up because of the -- the actuarial
crunching of the numbers and the market going into the tubes
this past year.
MS. BOLIN: Okay. I was just curious, 'cause
those --
JUDGE TINLEY: That will be taken care of.
MS. BOLIN: -- don't ever change.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Be nice if they'd give us a
revised number based on the improvement in the market.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: We're sure going to be paying
a lot more for training and conferences than we've ever paid
before, seems to me like.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: That's what I'm just looking
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: That's a big number.
JUDGE TINLEY: Mm-hmm.
MS. BOLIN: The biggest part of the training and
conferences is because we went from one person to three, and
sometimes five, depending on -- and we do share rooms, and we
pay as much as we can from other sources.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Is that mandatory?
25 ~ MS. BOLIN: Yes.
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103
JUDGE TINLEY: Talking about for R.T.A.?
MS. BOLIN: For elections. Pardon me?
JUDGE TINLEY: In the Tax Assessor, that's for
R.T.A.?
MS. BOLIN: The Tax Assessor is for the R.T.C., in
my other budget, yes. And this will be the last year. But
this one, this is only the second year for this budget with
Voter Registration and Elections together, so there are some
changes. And Nadene and I have gone forward and backwards on
this trying to figure out what's what and what we need to do
and not do, because she's familiar with the elections and I'm
familiar with the voter registration part of it. This year
is our mass mailout for the whole county. That is why my
office supplies went from the 4,000 to the 9,000. Because --
JUDGE TINLEY: That's your elections budget,
though.
MS. BOLIN: That's the elections.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay.
MS. BOLIN: Isn't that the one we're on?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: No, we're on tax.
JUDGE TINLEY: We're on Tax Assessor.
MS. BOLIN: We did that last time.
JUDGE TINLEY: Oh, we did?
MS. BOLIN: Yeah.
25 I COMMISSIONER LETZ: Go straight to elections, then.
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MS. BOLIN: I'm going, okay, so I don't understand
this. I'm sorry. No, it's the election budget.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: What number is elections?
MS. BOLIN: 402.
MS. HARGIS: 402.
MS. BOLIN: Sorry.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: 402.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: There it is.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Whatever happened to the
H.A.V.A. deal?
MS. BOLIN: To the H.A.V.A. deal?
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: The H.A.V.A. deal.
MS. BOLIN: It expires.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: It die on the vine?
MS. BOLIN: It expires the end of this year.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Thank God. We've -- we've
used about everything we can use.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: There's a check.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: 294, babe. Oh, you got the
-- you got the autograph.
MS. BOLIN: There you go.
JUDGE TINLEY: Anything else, Commissioner?
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: No, that'll be all, thank
I You.
MS. BOLIN: Okay.
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COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Cheapskate.
MS. BOLIN: We did go down. The Judge and I talked
about several of these that had dropped. The ballots, Nadene
said 25,000 ought to work, so that's 5,000 less than I
requested. And I was kind of basing it on what we had spent
for the last November election, because we did go over
budget. The -- my elections -- not elections. My office
supplies, it only shows 5,000 here, and it should be nine.
And that's because we had 4,000 for this year, and we've
really scraped it together and we still have several things
that we haven't put into the P.O. system yet.
MS. MABRY: I'm sorry for that, Diane. That was my
mistake. I added the note, but I forgot to add the amount,
so I'll change it right now.
MS. BOLIN: Okay. But that went up. It will
fluctuate year to year because of the mass mailout. We
dropped our books, publications, and dues; 500 will work. I
didn't know that I had the Law Library accessible -- that
fund accessible to pay for my Election Code books.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: What did you say about
mileage reimbursement?
MS. BOLIN: I didn't say anything about mileage
reimbursement.
I COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Don't you think you should
about this time? (Laughter.) Do we not reimburse our
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106
employees for driving to Comfort at all?
MS. BOLIN: I tried that last year, and y'all took
it out because we have the county vehicle. But when we're
having an election, I've had Michelle and Nadene both at
opposite ends of the county at the same time, and they prefer
to use their own vehicle.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: But if that's your
choice, --
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Thank you very much.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: -- we appreciate that very
JUDGE TINLEY: If they decide they want other
transportation, they can use yours.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Yeah.
MS. BOLIN: Do you have a motorcycle handy?
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: I think Bill does.
MS. BOLIN: Okay.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: It's in Del Rio getting
fixed, though.
MS. BOLIN: Oh.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: You're going to check on
that, aren't you?
MS. BOLIN: Okay. The elections supplies went from
8,600 to 4,500. And when you and I talked this morning, I
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couldn't remember why it had gone up. It's because we have
the November election; we have to pay for the early voting
for the primary and a possible runoff, so we're looking at
three instead of one, and that's why it had jumped up so
substantially. So, I really need -- Nadene said 8,100 would
work. Nadene said --
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Anything you're going to
incur in the general election won't be till November.
That'll be in next year's --
MS. BOLIN: That's what this budget is, but we have
the constitutional election.
JUDGE TINLEY: This November. Legislature's got --
MS. BOLIN: Yeah, we have the constitutional.
JUDGE TINLEY: -- 18 Constitutional amendments, so
a whole bunch of those things.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Oh, that's right.
MS. BOLIN: So, we have that, and then we have the
primary in March, and we have to pay for the early voting on
that. And then if there's a runoff, we have to pay for that.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay. What number are you showing
there now, Tess?
MS. MABRY: For -- for elections supplies?
JUDGE TINLEY: Yes.
MS. MABRY: 6, 000.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay.
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MS. BOLIN: Can we go 8,100, please?
JUDGE TINLEY: Hmm?
MS. BOLIN: Nadene said 8,100 was kind of scraping
it, so --
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Say that again?
MS. BOLIN: 8,100. I started with 86, and what
this sheet shows is 45.
MS. MABRY: It was increased to 6,000 this morning.
It was increased to 6,000.
JUDGE TINLEY: Earlier today, as a result of the
discussion you and I had, we went back to six.
MS. BOLIN: Okay. I couldn't remember why we had
gone up so much, and then Nadene was like, "Well, we got
these and these and these," and that's why. Now, we can try
it at six, but --
JUDGE TINLEY: So, when you told me you could live
with six, there was something you'd left out of your
thinking?
MS. BOLIN: This was out of my thinking, yeah.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay. Well, is it going to take
more than six?
MS. BOLIN: Well --
JUDGE TINLEY: Nadene, I'm looking at you.
MS. ALFORD: I -- we can live with six. We can try
to live with six, and --
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MS. BOLIN: Even if we have to pull from someplace
JUDGE TINLEY: If we got to pull, we got to pull,
but I'd like to set these numbers realistically if we can.
We're hopefully just a tad afloat.
MS. BOLIN: Yeah. But the 8,100 is what Nadene and
I had talked about what we thought it would cost us if we
have a runoff. If we don't, of course, we're going to have
that extra, but we never know until that time.
JUDGE TINLEY: That's the primary runoff, in which
case you'll have the early voting for it.
MS. BOLIN: Well, we have the early voting for the
primary, and then we would have to fund the -- the whole
runoff. Correct?
MS. ALFORD: Just the -- just early voting.
MS. BOLIN: Just early voting.
JUDGE TINLEY: On each, yeah. The parties pay for
the actual election, but the big expense is on the early.
MS. BOLIN: Right.
MS. ALFORD: And the new ballots, depending on how
many mail ballots we have.
MS. BOLIN: Right.
JUDGE TINLEY: But if -- boy, there's a good chance
we're going to have a runoff in something in the primaries.
Let's go ahead and stick that back to 81, if that's a more
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realistic number.
MS. ALFORD: I think so.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Would that be in the County
Judge's slot? Or --
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: -- what is your prediction?
JUDGE TINLEY: You told me you're going to run,
Buster.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: I'm thinking about it.
JUDGE TINLEY: I know you are.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Took me 17 years to learn
how to spell "commissioner." It's time to move on.
MS. BOLIN: Okay.
JUDGE TINLEY: I'm thinking about the Senate race
and some of those others there. There's going to be a crowd
in the coming governor's race.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: The governor's race.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: A lot of things.
MS. BOLIN: On the maintenance expense, the
decrease will work, depending on how capital outlay comes
out. If we get the new eSlate machines, then that will cut
it down to a thousand. If not, I'll need to have the two.
JUDGE TINLEY: Our -- we're anticipating getting
some new eSlates.
MS. BOLIN: Okay.
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JUDGE TINLEY: Slowly replacing those as they...
MS. BOLIN: Okay.
JUDGE TINLEY: Is that it?
MS. BOLIN: Yes, I believe that covers everything.
JUDGE TINLEY: Any questions?
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: No, I'm good.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay. Thank you, ma'am.
MS. BOLIN: You're very welcome.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay. That brings us to Capital
Outlay. Everybody got the latest sheets? As of 8/10?
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: What does it look like,
it?
JUDGE TINLEY: Looks just like this.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Did we get that today?
JUDGE TINLEY: Would have gotten that yesterday.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: I think that's mine, isn't
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: No, it's mine. It was
e-mailed to you.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: I got one e-mailed to me.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: It was e-mailed to you, an
attachment.
MS. HARGIS: Everybody got one.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: No, hold on.
MS. MABRY: Do you want me to go make copies?
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COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Capital requests?
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Yes.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Do you have one?
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: No, but I've got the
computer.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: I got that one.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Where is it?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: E-mail.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Oh.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Yeah, I got it. Yeah, I got
it. I've seen this, too.
(Low-voice discussion off the record.)
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Thank you, Jody. You're
such a nice person. This -- the constable things, the radios
could be reimbursed from the grant.
MS. HARGIS: Okay, the radios.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Oh, forgive me for talking.
MS. HARGIS: Okay. The 141,000, of that 141,
50,000 cannot be reimbursed. The other is the Homeland
Security grant that we -- that Rusty asked for that we're
applying for again, which is around 90,000 -- 90,000, 91,000.
And the other radios that you see up here, the ones that are
-- the 4,000 ones, those also would be in that $90,000 grant.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Are we going to get the
grant?
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MS. HARGIS: We don't know that.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: How do we -- well, from my
end of the table -- I can only speak for me -- that we're
putting together the budget here, and I think we would need
to know, do we need to put 4,000 in or 4,000 out?
MS. HARGIS: We need to put it in until we get the
grant. We didn't get approval on the grant last year until
November or December, so we might not get them.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Thank you very much.
MS. HARGIS: I would rather have it in on the
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: I would too.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: What are these radios for? Did
I miss something?
SHERIFF HIERHOLZER: This is changing out the old
analog radios out of the cars into the digital so that we can
keep talking with the City.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Sit down, sit down, sit down.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: It's A.M., so everybody can
start listening to Rush.
(Discussion off the record.)
SHERIFF HIERHOLZER: The 50,000 in there is to do
the narrow banding at the power site, which requires the --
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Rusty?
25 ~ MS. HARGIS: I was just reminded, the safety
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committee met, and I don't think y'all gave me a hard number
I when I left, 'cause I left early. So, is 25,000 what you
MS. HYDE: Yeah, we -- we guessed.
MS. HARGIS: The safety committee probably want to
add an additional 25,000.
MS. HYDE: Right?
MR. BOLLIER: Yeah, we need that money.
MS. HOFFER: We started going through all the
things we need to do.
MR. BOLLIER: We can't have a safety committee
without some money -- without some funds.
JUDGE TINLEY: Buster, I'm offering my suit back.
I'm going to have to put it on if they keep up like that.
MS. HARGIS: I'm going to step out of school, but I
think that one of the things is we may need signage and
lights to -- for the evacuation plans.
MS. HYDE: Hazwop -- Hazwoper.
MS. HARGIS: Do you want to explain what that is?
MS. HYDE: Y'all know what Hazwoper is, right?
JUDGE TINLEY: What?
MR. McHAZLETT: Hazwop. Hazcom.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Hazmat?
MS. HYDE: Hazmat, there you go. Buster knows, so
11 know. Right now we don't have M.S.D.S. going on
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in the courthouse. We need to have M.S.D.S., so that if
you've got chemicals or supplies, they need to be listed.
JUDGE TINLEY: And marked. And marked.
MS. HYDE: Yes, sir, and marked. We need to have
safety areas so that if law enforcement have to come in or if
E.M.S. or firemen or whoever -- if we've got something that's
going to blow up or going to be hazardous with water, they
kind of know about it before they come in, or they don't come
in.
MS. HARGIS: We need more fire extinguishers.
MS. HYDE: We need more fire extinguishers.
Anytime you want to jump in there. And quit rolling your
damn eyes, 'cause this is where I got it from.
MR. BOLLIER: The fire extinguishers, when Bruce
first put these out -- Bruce is the guy that works for the
Hill Country Fire -- Fire Extinguisher. When he first put
these out, he said they need to go every -- they have to be
within 75 feet from an office. I mean, you know, like if
you're there, and they need to be 75 feet from you to where
you can go get it. What we end up with, we have one fire
extinguisher that operates for three offices down in the
lower level, H.R., Environmental Health, and Juvenile
Detention, and the fire extinguisher is out there. So, what
we need to do is probably add a couple of fire extinguishers
to Juvenile and to Eva's office. And then there's some other
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places in the courthouse that I believe that we need to add
some fire extinguishers to, like -- she's not in here --
Diane's office. You know, the Tax Office, the Clerk's
Office. And, you know, we don't even have a fire
extinguisher here.
MS. HYDE: For y'all.
MS. WHITT: Didn't y'all also talk about the
~ evacuation signs?
MS. HYDE: Evacuation signage.
MS. WHITT: Because it has to be in Braille also.
MS. HYDE: It doesn't have to be in Braille; I went
ahead and checked on that. It doesn't have to be in Braille.
I know it was talked about, but it doesn't have to be in
Braille.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: This is a fire --
JUDGE TINLEY: I got to go get my suit on.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: You need to.
MS. HYDE: Go get the suit on? Is that what you
said?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Where's the evacuation stuff on
I here?
MS. HARGIS: It's not on here, because they just
had that meeting, and I didn't add it.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: How much did this --
MS. HYDE: Lights.
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COMMISSIONER LETZ: No, evacuation. We're talking
about 5,000 for all that stuff?
MS. HYDE: You're talking about lights. You're
talking --
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Lights?
MR. BOLLIER: I'm just listening to what you're
saying.
MS. HYDE: You're talking fire extinguishers. The
signage, I think we could probably -- kind of probably get
our Road and Bridge Department to help us with for a less
expensive rate, because the signage is huge.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: I think --
MR. HAYES: Hazcom, Hazwoper, Hazmat is expensive.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Why do we need Hazmat?
MS. HYDE: That's kind of federal law. We have to
do Hazwoper training.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: We do the training. We don't
have to buy stuff for it.
MS. HYDE: Yeah, we kind of have to abide by the --
the law on that. That's one. Federal laws, we have to.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Do we have a number for what
I all this --
MS. HYDE: We were asked to kind of come up with
one, so --
25 ~ COMMISSIONER LETZ: Well, I don't see it.
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MS. HYDE: It's not in there.
MS. HARGIS: It's 25,000.
MR. BOLLIER: And, see, down in the --
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: 25,000?
MR. BOLLIER: We don't have -- we have an M.S.D.S.
book downstairs, but it hasn't been updated in I don't know
how long, and it needs to be put out, an M.S.D.S -- what's it
called?
MS. HYDE: It's a book that tells you what the heck
we got here.
MR. BOLLIER: Yeah, what each chemical is, how to
take care of it. Say Buster goes down there and gets a --
some mop stuff and gets it in his eye. We tell him that we
need to flush it for ten minutes, we need to go do whatever
that's -- what it tells you.
MS. HYDE: Make the person throw up, don't make the
person throw up. We need an eyewash station.
MR. BOLLIER: And that is something that we do
need.
MS. HYDE: For his little area, he needs an eyewash
I station.
MR. BOLLIER: We need an eyewash station. I
don't --
MS. HARGIS: Okay. I think -- anyway, they need
25.
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COMMISSIONER LETZ: Okay. And I don't --
MS. HARGIS: That's a possible number. We can
MS. HYDE: A lot.
JUDGE TINLEY: Why don't we buy the book this year
to figure out what we're going to need next year?
(Laughter.) How much is the book?
MS. HYDE: 5,000 bucks.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Scratch that idea.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: I mean, the down side -- I
mean, some of this stuff we do need to have, because if there
is a fire and we don't have an evacuation plan and we don't
have the signage, we don't have the lights, we're in big
trouble. The 25,000 will look real cheap.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: That's true. And -- and --
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Fire extinguishers and all that
stuff.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: I hope we get advice from
the city fire marshal as well as this salesman.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Do we have to?
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Yeah. Yeah, you need -- we
need to know what they expect and what their rules are.
JUDGE TINLEY: We are bringing the TAC safety guide
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MS. HARGIS: First.
JUDGE TINLEY: -- as a precursor of that.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Of the fire marshal?
JUDGE TINLEY: That's why we're not inviting the
fire marshal first. No.
capital?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Okay.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Second.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Fox in the hen house, Buster.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: All right.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay. What else we got on the
MS. HARGIS: Okay. We've got -- we've got the
eScans. And these poll books are -- Diane left? There she
is.
I books are?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Start at the top.
MS. HARGIS: Do you want to explain what those are?
MS. BOLIN: I think Nadene talked to several --
MS. HARGIS: Do y'all understand what the poll
MS. ALFORD: Electronic -- instead of paper books
for the people to sign into the -- sign in when they come in
to the election, they'll look them up on this. They can
swipe their driver's license; it will pull immediately all
their information -- their voter information up. They can
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print a label. They'll put that on a sheet of paper, sign
that and get their ballot and go on, instead of having to
look them up in the voter registration rolls and that.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: And if they don't have a
driver's license?
MS. ALFORD: If they have their voter registration
card, there's a bar code scanner; you can scan the card.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: If they don't have that?
MS. ALFORD: Then they'll have to type them in and
look them up.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: What I'm -- I guess my question
is, are we trying to tighten up on voter fraud?
MS. ALFORD: Mm-hmm.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Or eliminate it, which I don't
i see we have much of a problem in this county, but okay. And
that's --
MS. HARGIS: That's what that is. That's the whole
thing.
MR. TROLINGER: Nadene, doesn't it also
automatically upload --
MS. ALFORD: It can upload automatically, put it on
a jump drive; you can take that. It will automatically
upload in the state system that that person voted.
MS. HARGIS: Want to pass those out?
MS. BOLIN: And normally what happens with that is,
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when someone comes in and they actually sign the signature
rosters, then we get the signature roster that evening after
voting is over, and the next day, we spend sometimes two days
inputting the voter history. So, this will -- jump drive
does it and saves five of us working on it.
MR. TROLINGER: It's a huge savings in time. That
alone justifies the system.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Nadene, the new voter
registration cards will have a bar code on them?
MS. ALFORD: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Okay.
MS. HARGIS: Okay. The next item, then, is I.T.
And this is -- is a combination of all the I.T. items that we
needed in the entire building, okay? New software,
~! additional computers, another -- I can't even think --
network?
MR. TROLINGER: It's all county facilities, not
just the courthouse. Instead of being spread out through the
various budgets, it's now consolidated. Starting this year,
it's completely consolidated, so there are no capital outlays
in any of the budgets for computer equipment.
MS. HARGIS: And this -- it's about -- I think he
had originally budgeted 250 to 300 a year, and that's -- we
didn't do it last year because we had the -- the note, and we
did -- remember, we budgeted for two years in that note, and
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so we got by without having to do it in our general budget
for two years. So, this is the normal replacement, every
three years type situation.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: What number do you have in
yours?
MS. HARGIS: 307,484.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Have you notified the 198th
D.A. that we kind of took some from him and threw it in
there?
MS. LAVENDER: He's here.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Oh, he's here. That was a
joke. Sit down. (Laughter.)
MR. BARYON: I brought some numbers to address some
of the things that -- that came up on that point, though, if
you -- if you want.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Oh.
MS. HARGIS: J.P. 2, I think that she's been
requesting this same furniture for several years.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Yeah.
MS. HARGIS: J.P. 4, their printer-copier basically
is about to go out. It did go out; we repaired it last year
under somebody else's budget. I think in Court Compliance, I
think this is already included in the 7,000. But it was
added at the last minute, so I went ahead and put it in.
This may come out.
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COMMISSIONER OEHLER: I don't think -- doesn't that
system we have?
MS. HARGIS: This -- this is --
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: This is something I don't
believe that's going to be compatible and useful.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Well, that's your opinion.
Isn't -- isn't --
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: It is my opinion.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Yeah, it is. Isn't that --
I thought that was already in the 307.
	MS. HARGIS: We weren'	t sure, so I added it,
because	I couldn't get ahold of	John.
	COMMISSIONER BALDWIN:	Okay.
	MR. TROLINGER: It is	in the I.T. capital outlay.
	COMMISSIONER LETZ: Okay, so that line comes out.
	COMMISSIONER BALDWIN:	It is already in.
	MR. TROLINGER: It is	in there, but there's a $600
increase	for the annual cost of	that subscription to add one
feature	to that software, and th	at's the auto -- automated
calling	system. So, it's $600 m	ore to the I.T. budget.
	COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS:	Automated calling system?
	MR. TROLINGER: We're	talking about Court
Compliance.
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COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Yeah.
MR. TROLINGER: Yes. There's one additional
feature that just became available, and that is -- say, for
instance, John Trolinger owes money. A tag or a flag can be
added to my case to say we'll call him up every day at 6 p.m.
during dinner and tell him you owe money.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: That's the way to do it,
right as you're sitting down to dinner.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: That's what they do to me.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Still?
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Yeah.
MS. HARGIS: Okay. Again, this item -- this list
can be, you know, refined more. The Treasurer's office, as
you recall, when we came -- when we started using the folding
checks, we bought a folding machine, and we have just about
worked it to death, and it's -- it's -- we've been putting it
together with screws. Just -- and there's not anybody that
can really repair them. This is more of a heavy-duty. We're
going to keep the other one, but we need two. We do run a
lot of checks through there.
MS. WILLIAMS: We average between 600 and 700 A.P.
checks a month, and 300-plus direct deposit and payroll
checks each pay period.
MS. HARGIS: Keep in mind, we're not buying
25 ~ envelopes any more.
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MS.	WILLIAMS:	Right.	Well,	we are a few.
MS.	HARGIS: A	few, but	not	as many.
MS. WILLIAMS: Not as many.
MS. HARGIS: The second one is a new shampooer,
and -- and I think there's more than one shampooer and some
vacuum cleaners here. Jail maintenance, this is the 50,000
that we're continuing to replace those air-conditioners on
the top of the jail. Then the operating equipment, the -- we
need some scanners. Sheriff needs leg shackles, food cart,
and camera for the jail. Some of the cameras have gone out,
I believe, or need replacement, or you need more cameras.
SHERIFF HIERHOLZER: I don't know which ones you're
at.
MS. HARGIS: The scanners, the leg shackle ones.
It's operating equipment. The next item is a van for the
jail, and it's not -- we're not going to lease it; we're
going to purchase it and the necessary equipment for that
van.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Is this replacing?
SHERIFF HIERHOLZER: That's replacing the current
van. That's one of those that's been around for years and
years, and started out, I think, as a juvenile van. It was
purple and white, as you remember, and it got painted.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Is there a way to get it -- I
mean, that van is used for prisoners back and forth, right?
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That's pretty much the sole purpose?
SHERIFF HIERHOLZER: Yeah, except we will also be
hauling prisoners to San Antonio, catching the chain bus down
there. We'll be hauling some to --
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Chain bus?
I SHERIFF HIERHOLZER: Yeah.
I
JUDGE TINLEY: Penitentiary.
SHERIFF HIERHOLZER: T.D.C.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: To go to the big house. Taxi
service to the big house.
SHERIFF HIERHOLZER: And that's that ones totally
equipped with the bars and window already, everything in it.
It's a high-security van for the inmates.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: I guess a used van wouldn't
15 work.
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SHERIFF HIERHOLZER: Not to get the equipment in
MS. HARGIS: The next one is the Sheriff, the rape
prevention loss.
SHERIFF HIERHOLZER: Judge Tinley may have heard
about this. This was the act that was created in '90 -- or
2003 by the federal government. They passed it, the Prison
Rape Prevention Act, which all the funding went to the state
pens. Well, last year, the federal government decided, okay,
now it's time to enact it upon all the state and county jails
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and any lockups and prisons, and what that will cost, we did
it with the Sheriff's Association and Jail Association. It
requires me to be able to monitor anyplace inside the jail
that an inmate could be assaulted or sexually abused by
another inmate. Our jail was not built with any cameras
inside cells. We have zero cameras inside cell blocks. We
would have to put at least two to three cameras in each
cellblock to comply with this new law. The date they make
the law actually pertain to county jails, they -- the
guidelines so far is the feds have to come out with the plan
of the implementation of making it by this September, and so
I'm trying to get just kind of a head start on it, 'cause the
overall cost in our jail would be horrendous. We're talking
about adding probably 100-some-odd cameras to that jail,
along with all the monitoring stations and recording devices
to go with it, and it's going to be unreal. So, if we're
going to do the capital deal, I would recommend we put at
least the 150 in it to get us started in compliance with
that.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Rusty, you say it's a --
you're talking federal government and new laws and all that,
but you also -- or somebody out here says the word
"optional." New item, optional.
SHERIFF HIERHOLZER: What I'm saying is, it is
required. They haven't set the deadline date on when the
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County's got to have it and all that kind of stuff, so that's
why I'm saying it's kind of optional. I think we need to get
started. I think getting a head start on this, if we're
going to do this as a capital deal, would be wise. But it is
optional, if it comes down to it. It's optional as far as
this county doing it this year.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: What's the timetable by
law?
SHERIFF HIERHOLZER: They're coming out in
September and telling us, but I won't know. That's why I'm
suggesting we put something in there. They allocated -- when
it first came out, they allocated, like, $2 million in Texas
to do it, so we called up to the governor's office and said,
"Okay, how do we apply for this?" They said, "Forget it.
It's going to the state prison system," period.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: All right.
MS. HARGIS: Okay. There's another truck for the
Maintenance Department, and then again, these are the radios
we talked about earlier that can be included. Those are for
the constables' cars. Those are included in the -- in the
grant. And then we -- the Sheriff's Department didn't -- has
five cars, plus equipment. This is actual purchase of these
cars. We've also put in there to pay off the existing lease
on the Tahoes and the two Crown Vics that we bought. And
then we actually put in, if you want to do it for two years,
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the purchase of five additional patrol cars, so we put it in
for two, for 2011, if we wanted to do the two-year -- cover a
two-year program instead of a one-year program. So, that's
up to y'all.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Okay.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Sheriff, what kind of cars
does this contemplate?
SHERIFF HIERHOLZER: This is the Crown Vics.
That's what it is, ten Crown Vics on that. Now, the deal
behind this is, right now on patrol, I have over ten active
patrol cars with over 100,000 miles on them. We got a little
bit behind on replacing cars. I have 26 cars in the
department with well over 100,000 miles on them, some with
198,000 miles on them. We've got to start getting on a
decent schedule. We have gotten, just to let you know,
approval. I haven't got the final-final word. We are told
it was approved through the grant that we asked for with --
with AACOG of five new patrol cars. That's not any of these
five. And then I'm -- I've asked for five in the budget.
And then, if we do this two-year deal, you get five more.
That will replace 15 of my -- my 26 that have over 100,000
miles right now.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Did we build anything for
cars into this current budget?
MS. HARGIS: No.
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COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Or we skipped this year?
SHERIFF HIERHOLZER: We got --
MS. HARGIS: You got two.
SHERIFF HIERHOLZER: -- two this year.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: We bought two, okay.
SHERIFF HIERHOLZER: I think is all we did. And
that's -- we've just gotten behind. And then, if you'll
remember two years ago, because we did a lot of -- some of
what Amos I guess is calling fantasy money, but we were
fortunate; we had some that year that we actually bought four
patrol cars out of that, that the County didn't have to fund.
But I think we're at the point we need to replace these.
MS. HARGIS: Then the next item, the 60,000, is the
grant that Rusty talked about yesterday for the video
teleconferencing equipment for the courtrooms. That's our
one-third share. The Juvenile Probation had $1,000 worth of
equipment and supplies for the new -- the Juvenile Probation
Offices. Environmental Health, they also have the radio.
That radio is also included in the -- the grant that we're
asking for. All the radios are included in the grant. And
then in the Youth Exhibit, we're asking for an FM-150 and
Bobcat attachments for 15,000.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: What's an FM-150?
MS. HARGIS: It's a --
25 ~ MS. HYDE: He left.
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MS. HARGIS: Tim left.
MR. TROLINGER: He's across the hall.
MS. HARGIS: I think it's another truck.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Does this contemplate a new
one or a used one?
MS. HARGIS: I think we put a new one in here, but
the Bobcat attachments are pretty expensive, I think, that he
had in here. That is -- I think that's a little Bobcat with
attachments.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Depends what you want. They
average, like, five -- 5,000 a piece. 5,000, 6,000. I'd
like to see what -- what he's thinking about there.
MS. HARGIS: Okay. Then over to the radio
equipment. The airport number we know is no good any more.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Oh, the airport number.
MS. HARGIS: So that brings us in the general fund,
separate Fund 29, which is where the cameras will --
equipment at a million, seven. And then Road and Bridge has
asked for -- Leonard is here -- for various heavy equipment.
And do you want to address y'all's capital items?
MR. ODOM: I'm sorry?
MS. HARGIS: Do you want to address what you wanted
in capital items?
MR. ODOM: Sure. I had an F-750 cab and chassis.
A pneumatic roller, steel wheel roller, used water truck,
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another broom to replace the old one sometime in the '80's.
Utility trailer. We have one that's broken; hasn't been --
it's not fixed. It's cracked in the frame, so we want to
replace that. And I had three side loaders that we use off
the old 6-yards. We want to go ahead and replace them now,
and particularly, we think it's a good time to buy compared
to the future. A lot of these -- today, I had a young man in
talking about the broom and some of the other things and the
number that we put in. These new engines, Tier 1 through
Tier 4, off-road versus on-road, the price is double on some
of this stuff. It's even since I put it together. A broom
', today -- in '05 -- the '04-'05 budget, I bought one for
25-some-odd thousand dollars. He quoted me 70-some-odd
thousand. I fell out. It's because of the new engines.
They're having to -- you've got to get bigger engines because
of compression and the sulfur and every -- the way they're
doing it now with this clean air.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: You talking about EPA?
MR. ODOM: The EPA regulations. The engines are
doubling and tripling. They have to redesign everything just
to fit the engines in there. It's -- now is the time to --
to buy this equipment.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Trying to get the old stuff?
MR. ODOM: Well --
COMMISSIONER LETZ: As much as you can?
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MR. ODOM: There's going to be a point that there
will be a federal law. What I read over the deal, they're
going to mandate it. It's coming, I'm telling you.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: And a pole barn? Pole barn?
MS. HARGIS: Yeah. You had equipment.
MR. ODOM: I'm sorry, I didn't have that down, a
pole barn. But that pole barn should probably go under
maintenance budget for 10,000, is what I was looking at, next
-- this budget.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Maintenance Department? Or
your --
MR. ODOM: Under my -- there's a line item there --
I'm sorry. I didn't --
MS. HARGIS: You don't have your budget?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: All right, that's fine. Is
that at your current yard, or is this --
MR. ODOM: At the current yard, what I'm thinking.
Let's see if I can find it.
MS. HARGIS: We just tried to pull out anything
that was --
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Right.
MS. HARGIS: -- remotely capital, so we could get
MR. ODOM: Maintenance facility, I have 10,000, is
what I had in the other one to buy that trailer and all.
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Probably for a fence, too. But build some pole barns so I
can put a $182,000 chip spreader up underneath, and my
distributor. I want to try to protect it, save it a couple
years.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Okay.
MR. ODOM: And, you know, what's amazing is we
talked about the price of a chip spreader, 'cause he was
saying, "What do y'all have?" And I told him, and he said,
"What do you think it's going for?" I said, "Around
$180,000." And that's the new price now, and that's because
that is an item that they can't sell a lot. But the smaller
equipment, and with these new federal regulations and all,
they're going out of sight with the prices.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: All right.
MS. HARGIS: Is that enough on his? Thank you.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: I marked it all up. Jody has
one.
MS. HARGIS: Here, here's one.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: I put marks all over it.
MS. HARGIS: Any other questions? Any other
questions on Leonard's for right now?
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: No.
MS. HARGIS: Okay, thank you. Let's go back to
Tim, since you're here. Tim, you wanted an FM-150 Bobcat and
attachments out at the Youth Exhibit Center.
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MR. BOLLIER: An F -- well, that should be an
F-150. That's the Ford pickup. I don't know where the "M"
came from, but it should just be an F-150.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: That's --
MS. HARGIS: It's in two places, so we need to
remove it.
MR. BOLLIER: We should remove from it one place.
MS. HARGIS: Let's remove the one that's 19.
MR. BOLLIER: And then I don't know what the F --
FM-150, and then the Bobcat attachments, I haven't -- I don't
know what I put in there for that.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: That's not --
MR. BOLLIER: There was only a couple of
attachments I had. That's what I was telling you earlier
over there. I only need, like, 30,000 for the truck, and
probably another $5,000 to $10,000 for attachments. It just
depends on what I get. If I buy the attachments outright,
it's going to be anywhere from 2,000 -- it's $2,500 for the
six-way -- it's $2,500 for the six-way bulldozer blade that
goes on the front of the Bobcats, you know, where I can move
it. That's $2,500. And then there's only -- then I needed
an auger. I already have the attachment for the auger; I
just need to replace the auger that I have with a rock auger.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Are you looking for one new
truck or two?
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MS. HARGIS: One.
MR. BOLLIER: Just one, sir.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Okay. So, you're -- instead of
69, we can reduce yours to 25.
MS. HARGIS: He said 30 for the truck.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Nice truck.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: No, 25 ought to cover the
truck.
MR. BOLLIER: 25 would cover the truck.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Thirty. 30,000.
MR. BOLLIER: Okay.
MS. HARGIS: Okay.
MR. BOLLIER: Done deal.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: You can buy a used one a lot
MS. HARGIS: The next line item is the permanent
improvement funds. I put 25,000. We don't have to do this,
but we've been putting 25,000 a year for the Exhibit Center.
Then Juvenile Detention Facility asked for some minor items,
dining room tables and projectors, and then this -- this is
the $5,000 projector that Bruce was asking for earlier. So,
we need to remove it in both places, I guess.
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah.
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you prefer it be on this list, or in under Parks?
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: We could use new tables for
the Ag Barn, too.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Yeah. Yeah, he's right
I about that.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Those things are falling
apart, a lot of them. They've been redone.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: They have been for a long
time.
MS. HARGIS:	Okay. I'	ll have	to	get	an estimate.
COMMISSIONER	WILLIAMS:	5,000	on	the	-- for tables,
park benches and tables.
MS. HARGIS: Okay. What about at the Ag Barn? We
have any idea how many of those chairs and tables --
COMMISSIONER LETZ: I don't know what those tables
cost. Get with Tim.
MS. HARGIS: Tables and chairs.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Or the Juvenile Detention
people are buying some. I wonder if they'd be -- is that the
same kind?
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: No.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Or do they --
MS. HARGIS: I don't think so; these are dining
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we can pull out that -- that could be put in here.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: What's the permanent
improvement for the Exhibit Center? What's that?
MS. HARGIS: We've just been putting that 25,000
away every year.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: We could do tables under
that, couldn't we?
I MS. HARGIS: Huh?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Yeah, tables can probably come
out of that, actually.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Do the tables under that.
Did we put money in this current budget to move the outdoor
I arena?
MS. HARGIS: No.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: We did, didn't we?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: It's in the --
MS. HARGIS: It's in that money that we had. We
had 350. We spent a little bit of it for Peter Lewis to look
at a couple things, but we haven't spent any of that money,
because I thought the --
COMMISSIONER LETZ: I thought it was 3,500.
MS. HARGIS: No.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Is that all?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: 350.
MS. HARGIS: 350. Yeah, I went back to the
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original notes and checked that. It was only 350. And this
does not include -- this does not include the building.
So --
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Okay.
JUDGE TINLEY: Looks like the Sheriff's ready to
I leave.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: So am I.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay.
MS. HARGIS: Anybody else?
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Well, does the D.A. have
something back there?
MR. BARYON: If I could just -- this is just a
short, short deal.
JUDGE TINLEY: He came in to give us another $5,000
I reduction.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Yeah.
MR. BARYON: Well, maybe. You know --
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: I still have my list out.
MR. BARYON: Part of the reason I do what I do is
'cause I think things need to be right, and I don't want
there to be any false impressions. The -- I went upstairs
and pulled the numbers and had Robbin pull them up for me.
And year-to-date, okay, since -- since taking office, the
numbers for the projected year, or actuals -- I don't know
which one y'all want, but --
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JUDGE TINLEY: Give us the actual to-date.
MR. BARYON: Actual year-to-date number of cases in
the 198th is 209. Actual year-to-date cases in the 216th is
201. So, you can see that the systems we put in place are
roughly equating -- the 198th is a little higher, but roughly
equating to --
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Are you talking about '09,
the first seven months?
MR. BARYON: That's correct.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: What numbers did you have?
MR. BARYON: 201 -- 201 for the 216th, and 209 for
198th.
MS. HARGIS: Since January, right?
MR. BARYON: That's -- yeah, since I took office.
JUDGE TINLEY: Cases filed.
MR. BARYON: Cases filed. And here's where --
here's where it's important, I think. Looking at the
financials for the two districts -- and I want to preface
this by saying I think Bruce does a good job over there. I
think we do a good job, too. So, when I'm giving you these
numbers, because that was brought up by the Court, comparing
the two, I just want to be clear that I'm -- I'm not running
down anything Bruce has going. We assessed -- in the 216th,
they assessed fines year-to-date, $64,000. Year-to-date in
my court, 141,000, more than double. Restitution collected
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-- or restitution assessed for the citizens of Kerr County in
the 216th, 62,000. In the 198th, 108,000. Now, here's the
big kicker. Attorney's fees assessed year-to-date in the
216th, 134,000. In the 198th, 63,000. So, we're getting
double the performance for half the cost of those attorney's
fees. You see? 134,000 in attorney's fees in 216th, 63,000
in attorney's fees in the 198th. Those are the year-to-date
numbers since I took office. And I want you guys to know
that I am scrapping for you. I'm doing a lot with not a lot.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Let me ask you a question.
It's something I thought I understood, and has become cloudy.
When we're talking about -- we're equalizing the districts
now, and so Joe Blow goes to you, and Sammie John goes to the
other district, and that's what y'all are doing. So, you
know, who are those people? Is that people that are in the
jail?
MR. BARYON: That are doing that apportionment?
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Yeah. I mean --
MR. BARYON: That's part of what -- what you're
paying for with your jail prosecutor. That's happening on
the front end.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: So, that's just jail,
though? That conversation of -- when we talked about you get
-- you get the first guy and Bruce gets the second guy,
that's just jail people that you're getting? Right or wrong?
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MR. BARYON: The numbers that I quoted to you are
all cases that come to the 216th, all the cases that come to
the 198th that result in a prosecution being initiated.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Okay.
MR. BARYON: So that's not just -- that's just not
what's happening out at the jail; that's the whole --
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Okay, that's what I'm
looking for. So, how do you -- so who says, "okay, you get
this one and you get this one"?
MR. BARYON: It's a formula that -- that Bruce and
I have set out that is -- the actual who's running the
cutting chute is happening at the District Clerk's office.
They know that if it's -- if it happens on an even date, it
gets cut into the 216th.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Okay.
MR. BARYON: If it happens on an odd date, it gets
cut to the 198th. If I've already got the guy on probation
on a case from last year, then he -- even if it happens on an
even date, it comes to me, because that's the efficient way
to do it.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Mm-hmm, I agree. That's
interesting. I never did -- I wasn't clear about that, how
that worked. Good.
MR. BARYON: But it's neat to see the numbers, that
~ even though there is some even and odd, that's not going to
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result in an exactly equitable -- you know, the numbers kind
of speak for themselves. It's working out that year-to-date
projections are within 10 or 15 cases of each other.
JUDGE TINLEY: Over the long term, it will pretty
well even itself out, even with these qualifiers with
conflicts or with other cases, same defendant, additional
cases, or -- or probation existence or that sort of stuff.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Well, the thing is, now with
the new e-file deal, it's going to even out more than
probably it ever has.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: That's good.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: I mean, that's, I think, what
we want to happen.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: That's exactly -- good.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: But without that, there
~ wasn't any mechanism to make it even.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Well, they had the old deal of
the drug cases went here and the other cases went here, and
that got everything all messed up.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: I think they should be. I
really thank you for the information.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Thank you.
JUDGE TINLEY: Anything else?
MR. BARYON: Would y'all like me to put that in a
25 ~ memo and submit it to you, or not? You've got it?
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JUDGE TINLEY: I would like to have some --
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Yeah, I'd like to see it.
JUDGE TINLEY: -- some official documentation of
that. I really would.
MR. BARYON: Okay, I'll have it -- I kind of drew
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MR. BARYON: Thank you.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay. Are we through for the day?
We'll be adjourned.
(Budget workshop was adjourned at 5:12 p.m.)
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JANNETT PIEPER, Kerr County Clerk
BY: _____ _
Kathy nik, Deputy County Clerk
Certified Shorthand Reporter
STATE OF TEXAS ~
COUNTY OF KERR ~
The above and foregoing is a true and complete
transcription of my stenotype notes taken in my capacity as
County Clerk of the Commissioners Court of Kerr County,
Texas, at the time and place heretofore set forth.
DATED at Kerrville, Texas, this 2nd day of September,
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