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KERR COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COURT
Special Session
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
1:30 p.m.
Commissioners' Courtroom
Kerr County Courthouse
Kerrville, Texas
Evaluation of Commissioners Court Employees
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


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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
special meeting of the Kerr County Commissioners Court
scheduled for this time and date, Tuesday, June 9, 2009, at
1:30 p.m. It is that time now, or a bit past it. The agenda
item for today is to consider, discuss, and take appropriate
action on evaluation of employees that report directly to the
Commissioners Court. We have a schedule of individuals that
we've got on a timed basis in alphabetical order that we're
going to be working with. Before we go into executive
session to work on an individual basis, does any member of
the Court have anything they wish to offer on a general basis
concerning the evaluation process?
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: No, sir.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Not I.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Want to talk about the City?
JUDGE TINLEY: No, I don't think so. I would like
to offer some general comments, and I've got my yellow pad
over here, Buster.
25 ~ COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Oh, y'all get a pillow.
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COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: In trouble now.
JUDGE TINLEY: The -- the departments that have
some sort of an enforcement function, I think, are the ones
that -- that those of us here on the Court probably hear
about the most, because those are the ones that the public
gets into conflict with. And so, as a consequence, when it
comes to the negativity that we receive here on the Court, I
suspect, in large measure, it's because of those that do have
an enforcement authority. Environmental Health, Animal
Control, those are the primary ones that -- that we hear from
the most. I think -- I think it behooves us to -- to
ascertain that those departments that have an enforcement
authority be absolutely certain in exercising that authority
that whenever they act, they act within the authority granted
to them, and -- and not exceeding the limitations placed on
that authority. That -- that avoids complaints. That avoids
liability problems. It avoids us on the Court having to
spend a lot of time dealing with those issues.
That's not to say that we won't have to deal with
them, because we will. There will be complaints. The
complaints will be that they exceeded their authority or they
were somehow abusive in exercising their authority. So, I
guess my general suggestion would be that those departments
that have enforcement authority, if there is any question at
any time about whether they're acting within their authority,
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that if at all possible, they defer, get the County
Attorney's opinion, find out that they're on good footing, so
that the end result is that -- that the public that we deal
with has -- has a confident feeling that we're -- that we're
operating within the law, that we're credible, we operate
with integrity. And I know this -- I know this is very
important, and I would urge that that happen.
Another couple of comments I'd like to make deal
with just the general overall dealing with the public. One
is public information. Oftentimes we're asked about
information that we may have in our possession, and we start
out with the assumption that every bit of information that we
have in our possession is, in fact, public information,
unless it's specifically exempted or excluded by law as being
confidential. I've said on a number of occasions, and I
would like it to be -- it's my policy, whether it's
officially adopted by anybody else on the Court, that if I'm
asked about an approach to public information, do not require
anybody to file a formal request for public information.
There's only one way you can be in violation of the act, and
that's if, in fact, they file the request under the act and
you don't respond to it appropriately. If they never file
that request, if you never put them in a position to have to
file that request, you're safe.
If you're asked for information, you have it
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available to you, and it's clearly public information,
provide it to them. Simple. Don't get into hassles about,
"Well, you'll have to put that in writing." Don't get into
hassles about, "Well, I'll have to see what that costs." If
it's just a few pages that you made copies of, you don't have
to generate and create information; it's what you have in
your possession or subject to your control. Don't get into
hassles about cost. If it's several pages, provide it.
They've already paid for it; they're taxpayers. Now, if
we're talking about 60, 100 pages and whatnot, just sit down
with them and say, you know, "This is more than ordinary.
We're going to have to figure out a reasonable cost," and get
the right guidance on that. Electronic information, e-mails,
that is public information. Be very careful what you put in
your e-mails. The public has a right to that, the same as
letters, correspondence passing back and forth between you
and others that relate to local government business.
Another thing, if you wouldn't stand within arm's
reach of that individual, person-to-person and
eyeball-to-eyeball, and say the same thing to them in that
context, don't put it in an e-mail. Don't get 10 foot tall,
bulletproof, and put it in an e-mail. Treat them just like
you were talking eyeball-to-eyeball with them, and I think
that'll -- that'll serve you well.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Judge, can I make -- make one
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little comment there?
JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: I'd just -- I'd go even further
than e-mail. I wouldn't necessarily even say in writing what
you would say in person. To me, assume that everyone in the
world is going to read that e-mail, 'cause they probably
will, especially if you say something you shouldn't say.
JUDGE TINLEY: Mm-hmm.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Dang.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: I mean, it's -- you can get in
trouble with e-mails.
JUDGE TINLEY: Absolutely. I mean, they're there,
and it's part -- and be very careful; don't delete e-mails.
Don't say, "Oh, my goodness, I wish I wouldn't have said
that." Click. Now, if you haven't already sent it, if it
hasn't become part of the domain and you're still in the
process of drafting it, that's fine. But once it happens, it
happens. Don't delete it. That'll get you in big-time
problems. I could -- I could refer you to -- what's his
name? -- Chuck Rosenthal, the D.A. down in Harris County; he
might have a few comments about e-mails. The other general
thing I'd like to mention is, I see a lot of situations where
we get so many good things done where we operate as a
cohesive team, and be mindful that you are one spoke or
several spokes in a great big wheel, and it takes that entire
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that are involved in a given situation, a given problem, a
given solution. Get a team spirit and make it a team effort.
And I think if -- if all of us will adopt that attitude,
we'll be a whole lot better off and we'll get a whole lot
better results, and we'll get them in a more efficient
manner. Okay, I'm -- I'm off my soapbox now.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: That's a lot.
JUDGE TINLEY: I don't have any of my yellow pad
left.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Do you want me to teach them
how to sing the Tivy Fight song?
JUDGE TINLEY: That would be helpful. Yes, it
would.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: We'll do that next time
around, 'cause I know it.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay. Okay. I'm off my soapbox for
now. Anybody got anything?
COMMISSIONER LETZ: No. I have a question. I
think it was a good -- I think a lot of times we don't think
about that county employees other than elected officials are
also subject to the open records. I mean, we -- we get --
the five of us get it drilled into our heads on a regular
basis. I think it is good to bring it up. And, Eva, I
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presume -- or hopefully we have that in our packet when we --
for new employees?
MS. HYDE: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: It is? Good. 'Cause you can
get in lots of trouble over open records, not providing that
stuff, and it's very important. That's it.
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay. Are we ready to go into
executive session to do a one-on-one? Okay. At this time,
it is 1:43, and we will go into -- we will go out of closed
or open -- excuse me, public or open session to go into
executive or closed session.
(The open session was closed at 1:43 p.m., and an
executive session was held, the transcript of which
is contained in a separate document.)
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay. We're back in open or public
session. It is 5:22, it looks like. Any member of the Court
have anything to offer with respect to what was considered in
closed or executive session?
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Judge, I'd like to make a
comment. Everybody at this -- on this Commissioners Court
has been here a long time. I don't mean today, but I mean in
years of service. And, as a matter of fact, you know, if you
go throughout the state, which I have numerous times, and
visited commissioners courts all over the state, this Court
is probably as stable, mentally --
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MS. LAVENDER: Let's take a vote on that.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Yeah. Or second opinion?
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Digging a hole.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Well, this is my opinion.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Okay.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: I mean, by gosh, it's mine.
Actually, it's my fantasy. But these guys have been here a
long time, and they understand county government. They
understand business, and some of them understand big
business. And in the years that I've been here, and the
struggles and all the sometimes ugliness that we've been
through through the years, I've got to say that this is --
we're in the best condition of anybody in this entire state
of Texas, and that covers all departments. Everybody from
yours to yours to yours to yours and yours, everything that
we do in this county is above and beyond the call of duty.
It's top of the line. It is the best you can -- the best
I've seen anywhere. A lot of counties across the state talk
about us -- talk about Kerr County and how it functions, and
it's all because of you guys and how you do your job. And I
think that what it is, is that -- is that you love your jobs
and you're committed to making Kerr County and your job the
best it can possibly be. And I, for one, say thank you,
guys, very much for that.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: We've been here long this
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afternoon, long afternoon. Most of you were sitting out
there wondering what those guys in there are going to say,
and we've been here listening and talking and so forth. The
bottom line is, I want to thank you for your service, all of
you. And I want to thank you for doing what you do with our
'~~ employees. We have a good group of employees, and if we
didn't have a good group of employees, we'd all hear about
it, or hear about the transgressions or hear about the
attitude or whatever, and we're not hearing that. And that
says a lot for our employee group, and says a whole lot for
you, and we appreciate that. Appreciate your service. If we
were harsh in some cases, it's because these are some of the
things we observe or heard or know about, and we only put it
out there for you, for your benefit, to help you improve.
One last caveat. Ms. Hyde and I talked just a moment or two
during or break, and for the benefit of the Court, we're
going to -- she and I will get together in about a week or so
and take a look at this process to see whether or not the
process was good. I'm asking members of the Court to tell
me, if you will, or the Judge, if you think there are ways we
can improve it. And if any of you think that there's some
ways we can improve the review process, that's something
we're going to do every year. We want to make it fair. To
use the words of Fox, want to be fair and balanced. Good
night.
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COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Good night. Yeah.
COMMISSIONER LETZ: Like the other two, I really
appreciate all y'all. Y'all all have a tough task, as you
have five bosses, and we all have different idiosyncrasies
and different demands and different ways of looking at
things, and so y'all do have a tough road right there, and I
appreciate it. I think we're very fortunate to have a really
good group of department heads, being y'all, and you've
accomplished, you know, the vision I think that we tried to
set. And y'all are doing a really good job. Thank y'all.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: I have to say the same --
pretty much the same thing. This is -- my time here some
years ago was not nearly as pleasant as it has been this
time. There've been a lot of good changes made and a lot of
good people hired, and they're sitting in this room. And
y'all have hired some good people to help you, and that
really makes a difference, because I don't catch the flak in
public that I caught years ago. It's more pleasant now, and
I tell people all the time, this is the best staff, top to
bottom, Kerr County's ever had, and we thank y'all for being
a part of it. And whatever we can do to make this process
better, we need to do. And we hope we've been fair with
everybody. I think we have. And I -- I don't think you'd be
in here now listening to us talk a little more if we didn't
feel good about it. That's it.
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JUDGE TINLEY: I -- I think Commissioner Baldwin
felt somewhat enabled -- brave, as it were -- making his
comments about the mental ability, knowing that the next
mental health hearings are a good week away, since they were
just held this morning. I think he expects that I'll forget
about it by that time.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: I do.
JUDGE TINLEY: He keeps talking to me about my
aging process. I want you to keep thinking "team."
Cooperative team. This whole thing runs as efficiently as it
does. I've seen -- you know, I'm as short a timer as there
is here at this table, and I've been here, what, six and a
half years, I guess. But I have seen -- I've seen a lot of
positive results because of the cooperative effort of the
employees and departments working together as a team, and I
think that's where you gain your efficiencies and your
productivity, and when that goes up, our problems go down.
The complaints go down. You don't hear the complaints out in
the public. We don't -- our phone doesn't ring here. We
hear -- I hear positive things every single day out in public
about -- probably the most common thing I hear is, "I don't
hear anything; that tells me everything's getting along just
fine down there." And, "No news is good news." And that's
not literally always the case, but that's the public
perception, and perception is everything.
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I encourage people every time I'm out in the
public, if they got some ideas, some suggestions, some
complaints, some thoughts, pass them on to us. We want to
know what the public's thinking. And I assure you, if they
thought there was some improvement that could be made by
virtue of what they know, what they hear, what they see,
they'll sure as the dickens tell you. They will let you
know, because you work for them, and they're going to let you
know that. And we're pretty fortunate. We don't hear -- we
don't hear a whole lot. Most of what we hear is positive.
Occasionally we get a positive suggestion. We kick it
around. If it is a good one, we implement it and go on down
the road. But it works because you folks and those in your
departments work together as a team with the other
departments and the elected officials that are elected to run
them. Thank you. Just keep up the good work. Anything
else, gentlemen? Any of you guys got any comments for us?
Any more comments for us?
MS. HYDE: 9 a.m. tomorrow morning, policy book,
Jury Room 2.
COMMISSIONER OEHLER: Jury Room 2?
MS. HYDE: Jury Room 2.
JUDGE TINLEY: Going to be working mainly initially
on vacations, sick leave --
MS. HYDE: The four sections that are left. If
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COMMISSIONER LETZ: You can take my packet when you
leave so it can all be disposed of.
JUDGE TINLEY: Anything else? We'll be adjourned.
(Commissioners Court adjourned at 5:31 p.m.)
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 10th day of June, 2009.
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JANNETT PIEPER, Kerr County Clerk
BY: __ __ ~K~_________ _____ _
Kathy nik, Deputy County Clerk
Certified Shorthand Reporter
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