1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 KERR COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COURT 9 Special Session 10 Monday, September 17, 2001 11 10:00 a.m. 12 Commissioners' Courtroom 13 Kerr County Courthouse 14 Kerrville, Texas 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 PRESENT: FREDERICK L. HENNEKE, Kerr County Judge H. A. "BUSTER" BALDWIN, Commissioner Pct. 1 24 WILLIAM "BILL" WILLIAMS, Commissioner Pct. 2 JONATHAN LETZ, Commissioner Pct. 3 25 LARRY GRIFFIN, Commissioner Pct. 4 2 1 I N D E X September 17, 2001 2 PAGE 3 1.1 10 a.m. Public Hearing Increases in elected officials' 4 compensation 5 5 1.2 10:30 a.m. Public Hearing 6 Proposed FY 2002 Kerr County budget 31 7 8 1.3 11 a.m. Public Hearing Proposed FY 2002 Kerr County tax rate 38 9 10 --- Adjourned 51 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 3 1 On Monday, September 17, 2001, at 10:00 a.m., a special 2 meeting of the Kerr County Commissioners Court was held in 3 the Commissioners' Courtroom, Kerr County Courthouse, 4 Kerrville, Texas, and the following proceedings were had in 5 open court: 6 P R O C E E D I N G S 7 JUDGE HENNEKE: Good morning, everyone. It's 8 10 o'clock in the morning on Monday, September 17th, Year 9 2001. We'll call to order this special Commissioners Court 10 meeting convened for the purpose of having a requisite 11 public hearing on the proposed tax rate, budget, and elected 12 official salaries for the coming fiscal year. In light of 13 the situation in our nation, I think we should depart 14 briefly from our standard procedure with these hearings. If 15 you'll all stand with me and join with me in a word of 16 prayer, followed by the pledge of allegiance, we'll commence 17 our business. 18 (Prayer and pledge of allegiance.) 19 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Thank you. 20 JUDGE HENNEKE: Commissioner Williams has 21 asked to make a comment regarding the candlelight rally that 22 was held yesterday evening. Commissioner? 23 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Thank you for the 24 opportunity, Judge, and thank you for the prayer. And, a 25 lot of things have happened to America since we last met on 4 1 this dais a week or so ago. On Thursday, I received a call 2 at the office from a lady, Mrs. Doraloha Freeman, on behalf 3 of her daughter, Amber Freeman, who's a student at Tivy High 4 School, and she was requesting use of the courthouse lawn 5 facilities for the purpose of a candlelight service. As we 6 talked, I said -- obviously, I said, "Yes, please do." That 7 makes sense, and particularly if it's going to be conducted 8 by the students and organized and carried out by students. 9 She said she'd had -- they'd been trying the get hold of the 10 mayor or some official to be a part of the -- of the 11 service, and was unable to do so at that particular time. I 12 said, "Well, you know, I'm sure I can get ahold of the 13 County Judge or another Commissioner, if that's what you 14 really want, but I ask you to think about it, the nature of 15 the request. And, if the students are truly doing this and 16 it's organized and carried out by them, wouldn't it be 17 better if the focus of the attention was the students, and 18 not an elected public official?" Not to shift the focus 19 from them to us. And, she thought about that and decided to 20 do that, she and her daughter, I believe. 21 The net result was, of course, that there was 22 a service here on the courthouse lawn last night, and I 23 think the newspaper reported somewhere between 300 and 500 24 people attended. It was handled beautifully by our young 25 people, and what was so good for me to see and witness, and 5 1 maybe some others of you did, was they taking the bull by 2 the horns, if you will, they conducting the service, they 3 saying to we adults and other youth of their own age in the 4 audience what exactly was on their heart. And I think 5 that's really encouraging, and they're the ones that are 6 going to inherit this mess from us one of these days, and to 7 have them speak out about America, what it means to them, 8 their experiences and how it changed their day and the days 9 ahead, I took great comfort in. I just wanted to share that 10 with you. 11 JUDGE HENNEKE: Anyone else like to make any 12 remarks? Okay. Without any further ado, let's move into 13 the business at hand. The first hearing that's posted is 14 10 o'clock, hearing on proposed increases in elected 15 officials' compensation. We've had three or four people 16 sign up to address us on this issue. We'll first start with 17 Mr. Gilbert Weiss. Mr. Weiss, come forward, please, and 18 identify yourself. 19 MR. WEISS: I'm Gilbert Weiss. I'm a 20 resident of Kerr County. First of all, I would like to say 21 that I was happy to read a couple weeks ago what Buster 22 Baldwin had said about his pay scale; that he was satisfied 23 with it. Rosa Lavender had written that. Now, looking at 24 each one of you, I know that you're intelligent, and you 25 know when you took that oath, what -- what the pay scale was 6 1 and what your package was. And, you have a big package; 2 your hospitalization, your sick leave, paid vacation, 3 retirement, plus car travel and all those things. And, I 4 would say that there are a number of people out here in the 5 county who would like to have your jobs. If -- and I was 6 always told if you -- if you're not satisfied with what 7 you're making, resign, quit, and get you a better job. And, 8 that's what I'm thinking what maybe y'all could do if you're 9 not satisfied with your pay scale now. I know that there's 10 lots of people out there would like to have this job, 'cause 11 it is a cushy job. And you'll have to admit -- 12 JUDGE HENNEKE: No, I will not admit that 13 under any circumstances. This is not a cushy job. 14 MR. WEISS: It's not? With all the benefits 15 and everything you're making? 16 JUDGE HENNEKE: No, it's not a cushy job. 17 MR. WEISS: You know what? I'll bet you, you 18 could find something out there a lot better than this where 19 you could make more money. 20 JUDGE HENNEKE: I would not -- 21 MR. WEISS: And I would say that's what 22 the -- I would do if I was looking for another job -- I 23 mean, not satisfied with my pay scale. And you don't have 24 to worry about raising taxes, because we have an aggressive 25 board out there that raises taxes every year. Mine have 7 1 been, in the last five years, raised every year, so -- 2 without any taxes being put on. So, without any other ado, 3 I thank you, and I just hope you'll take this in 4 consideration. 5 JUDGE HENNEKE: Thank you, Mr. Weiss. The 6 next speaker is Robert Fry. 7 MR. FRY: We were here last week by mistake; 8 somebody told us that this was happening last week, and we 9 came and we had a very interesting review of what went on, 10 and we're pleased and touched with the work that you people 11 do. I have to agree with Giddy. He was a mayor of a town 12 two times, and he went by just fine and he kind of knows a 13 little bit about what you've been going through, and so he 14 knows what he's saying. I'm retired, and I've been all over 15 the world putting up platforms, oil platforms, and retired 16 here 10 years ago. And, the -- the cost-of-living here has 17 gone up, especially for interest rates, and also for what 18 the City charges us, and we are paying for business and 19 streets and things that all of the people around us that 20 don't pay are using it. And, so, we don't think that we 21 should have to pay more to the City from all of the people 22 that are being invited to come and build houses around here. 23 The County maybe makes money from them. We don't, but we're 24 supporting them, and so we'd like to let you know that we 25 think that there are -- is another way to raise money. We 8 1 can charge it from them out there, or tell them when you 2 come in here, you pay. And, so, I would like to leave that 3 with you. 4 JUDGE HENNEKE: Thank you, Mr. Fry. Next 5 person is Frank Davis. 6 MR. DAVIS: Good morning. I think, as we 7 look at the big picture, we see our college kids are 8 bombarded with credit cards, and it's changed our values, 9 and we're kind of -- the value of consumerism. And, this 10 causes us to change our -- our attitude from need to greed, 11 and I think we're all guilty of that. And, so, I think we 12 see at this time an emergency facing us as a nation, and I 13 think it's time for us to -- to speak up. You know, when 14 we're growing up as young men, we are sidetracked sometimes 15 by taking care of our families and those things, and we 16 trust our government, and we trust those people in office. 17 In the 1960's I saw a number of attorneys going to Austin; I 18 didn't understand why, and then I woke up about 15 years 19 later and realized that it was hard to trust our government 20 to do the job and do what's right. So, I think it's time 21 for us to look at -- at the big picture and see that it may 22 be time for us to tighten our belts and to do without and to 23 do with less. And, as John Kennedy said, don't ask what 24 your government can do for you, but maybe what you can do 25 for your government. And think about our Constitution and 9 1 how they sold all of their possessions, and some of them 2 even becoming bankrupt, to serve the people. 3 And, so, I think you look out -- and when I 4 look out, I see the Highway Department, the public schools, 5 and everything we build architecturally is kind of a state 6 of the art thing. It's not like it was, you know, 7 post-depression and during World War II, you know, where we 8 did without and we did with what we had. We realized the 9 value -- we had friends. And now we've got the TV, and it's 10 come in and pushes all this consumerism, and also cuts out 11 our relationships with each other and communication. So, I 12 think, in the big picture, I would recommend that we do -- 13 either work for less or reach out more, and also that we try 14 to give these young people a chance to do something besides 15 pay taxes. If they're paying taxes, 55 percent of the -- 16 every dollar they make, we need to do them a favor and -- 17 and find some way to relieve that burden so they can be with 18 their families. So, I think that, in my opinion, it ought 19 to be from the top of the ladder, as an example, and scale 20 down. So, I think this applies to all three of the 21 subjects, and I just appreciate your time, hearing me. 22 JUDGE HENNEKE: Thank you. Bill Stacy? 23 MR. STACY: Gentlemen, Bill Stacy. As you 24 know, I've sat in your chair and I made those tough 25 decisions. I would also remind you, as of last Tuesday, 10 1 that plane that hit the twin towers in New York hit the Kerr 2 County Courthouse. And, I think it is up to you men to take 3 that budget, look at your possible pay raises, as well as 4 the increase in other parts of your budget. In the private 5 world, if you do a good job, you deserve a pay raise. And 6 only -- I can review some of the things that this and 7 previous courts have done that -- where you've backed off of 8 the lawsuit on the jail building that was built, but not 9 according to the plans that were approved by the 10 Commissioners Court, and the County Attorney backed away 11 from that, and obviously y'all had to back away from it, 12 too. But nobody asked any questions, and why, I don't 13 understand that. 14 You've allowed the Environmental Health 15 Department to go to the U.G.R.A. It used to be under the 16 County supervision, where the people could come to you 17 folks, and if they had a disagreement, they could maybe 18 adjudicate it, maybe not, but at least they felt they had a 19 hearing. Now they go to the U.G.R.A., and they could talk 20 to the wall and get about as much satisfaction. The 21 juvenile facility is now run by three lawyers or three 22 judges, if you want to, and should be run by the County. 23 It's my understanding that the lady that runs that facility 24 out there gets more money in salary than the Sheriff, and I 25 think that's reprehensible. The whole operation should be 11 1 under the County. You had to do a tap dance to finance the 2 expansion of it. And I was here when -- when they said that 3 expansion wasn't necessary, but some of us took a contrary 4 view of it, and we knew it was good for the county and would 5 be run by the County, instead of those high binders that 6 brought it to us. 7 The radio system, when I happened to be on 8 the Court, we had a similar problem. Nobody seemed to have 9 talked to the former Sheriff. I remember we solved it by 10 going to Motorola, and Motorola came up with several 11 options, and it wasn't going to cost us a million dollars. 12 I know times have changed, but I do have a son that's 13 involved in the technology business, and when you buy that 14 equipment today, it's going to be out-of-date tomorrow. I 15 think that you gentlemen should review the budget, and in 16 lieu of a tax increase, look at it in terms of your pay, and 17 where that today -- last week they might have walked, but 18 this week, is it necessary, or even is it patriotic? 19 I was concerned about -- when I was on 20 your -- in the Court, I said if I did a good job, I would 21 run for reelection and maybe then increase my pay, but I was 22 told when I ran for reelection that we needed a lawyer on 23 the court. And, in reviewing the history of this court in 24 my lifetime, we really need somebody that's been in the 25 private industry and has a B.B.A. behind their name, and not 12 1 a law degree. Gentlemen, I think you should spend time, 2 revise your budget, and don't increase taxes on the people 3 that are already overburdened. And our whole country is 4 going to have to suffer and -- and work ourselves out of the 5 problem that's happened to our country. Some of us joined 6 the navy at 17 to fight for our country, and I think that 7 y'all can do the least and help our country out of the 8 financial problems we're going to be looking at. Thank you. 9 JUDGE HENNEKE: Dave Nicholson? 10 MR. NICHOLSON: I'm Dave Nicholson. I'm a 11 taxpayer and a citizen of west Kerr County. I think I can't 12 add very much to what I've heard said already, except to 13 Mr. Gilbert Weiss that commented that there were a lot of 14 people in the county who would like to have these jobs at 15 the pay rate that is currently in place. I can just say 16 that I'm one of them that would like to have one of those 17 jobs. I provided Commissioners Court with some advice on 18 elected officials' salaries, and I'll do this within the 19 context of the proposed tax rates. Concerning the tax 20 rates, I'd like to make these points. Judge Henneke had 21 said that our taxes have remained the same for the past 22 eight years -- 23 JUDGE HENNEKE: I have not said that. I have 24 said that the tax rate has remained the same. 25 MR. NICHOLSON: And, of course, what that 13 1 means is that the tax rate hasn't been increased in eight 2 years. 3 JUDGE HENNEKE: Thank you. 4 MR. NICHOLSON: It's a somewhat specious 5 argument, because all of us have seen some consistent and 6 significant increases in our property taxes. Now, the -- 7 let me say that the proposed budget is conveniently about a 8 half of one percent below the rollback rate, and part of the 9 budget's financed by -- by debt, and so I think it's not 10 coincidence that we're bringing in the budget just almost at 11 the rollback rate. Commissioner Griffith has said that 12 we're going to have -- 13 COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: Griffin. 14 MR. NICHOLSON: Griffin? Excuse me. One of 15 the Commissioners has said that -- 16 COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: That's not the first 17 mistake he's made. 18 MR. NICHOLSON: -- we're -- quote, we're 19 going to have to make better some things that this Court 20 really didn't have anything to do with. And, I guess that 21 implies that a previous Court left this -- left this Court 22 with a financial burden. I think that's not right, and I 23 think, in fact, this Court has spent down the contingency 24 funds left by the previous Court. Now, about the proposed 25 salary increases for elected officials, I say again that the 14 1 department heads, the elected officials, other than members 2 of this Court, are career professionals with full-time jobs, 3 and the County must provide compensation levels that are 4 sufficient to attract and retain such highly qualified 5 professionals. The proposed pay rates for these jobs, I 6 think they range from 2.5 to 3.6 percent. That's modest at 7 best, and may not be sufficient. Their pay needs to be 8 competitive with industry and with other government 9 entities. The County Judge and Commissioner jobs are public 10 service jobs. Citizens should ideally seek these jobs in 11 order to contribute to the community and out of a sense of 12 duty. High-level remuneration is not appropriate for these 13 jobs. The Commissioners who were elected in '98 have 14 seen -- or will see a 42.2 percent rise in their 15 compensation, including 12.2 percent that's currently 16 proposed. 17 COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: Where did that number 18 come from? 19 MR. NICHOLSON: I got it off of this. The 20 elected department heads have not enjoyed such preferential 21 treatment. Their increases over this period of time have 22 been about 60 percent of what the -- the Commissioners Court 23 and Judge's increases have been. The County Judge has 24 enjoyed even better treatment than Commissioners. So, I 25 again urge this Commissioners Court to do the right thing, 15 1 freeze the salaries of the County Judge and the 2 Commissioners, and use that money to either reduce taxes or 3 provide increased compensation for the other county 4 employees. Please be guided by principal and not 5 self-interest. Thank you for listening. 6 JUDGE HENNEKE: Thank you. 7 COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: Just a minute, Judge. 8 If I may, I have a question for you. 9 MR. NICHOLSON: Yeah? 10 COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: You had some specific 11 numbers that you quoted last time you thought a salary 12 officials -- or salaries for elected officials ought to be 13 set at, and I just wondered what basis you determined those 14 numbers on. I think what you did was pull them out of 15 your -- out of the air. 16 MR. NICHOLSON: No, I didn't pull them out of 17 the air. I pulled them out of the newspapers. If that data 18 was wrong, then the data I have is wrong. If it's correct, 19 then the data I quoted is correct. 20 COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: What did you compare 21 -- what did you compare those levels to? 22 MR. NICHOLSON: I compared the -- the current 23 level of compensation compared to the level of compensation 24 before the 1998 election. 25 COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: So, you didn't compare 16 1 it to any other jobs, any other counties. You made no 2 comparison at all except on your own subjective value. 3 MR. NICHOLSON: I did pull up -- I did pull 4 up on the Internet the data that you used for -- 5 COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: We didn't use that. 6 If you'd been to all of the hearings, you would have known 7 that we discarded -- 8 MR. NICHOLSON: I've been to as many hearings 9 as you have. 10 COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: We discarded the 11 information that was in the database that TAC had, and in 12 fact, met with TAC to make sure that they would correct 13 their data, which they've started to do. 14 MR. NICHOLSON: Let me say -- 15 COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: The question still is, 16 what did you base it on? The inaccurate data that was -- 17 that was online? 18 MR. NICHOLSON: No. 19 COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: So, you didn't -- you 20 didn't compare it to any other county, you didn't compare it 21 to industry, you didn't compare it to the TAC database. You 22 didn't compare it to anything. You pulled them out of thin 23 air; is that correct? 24 MR. NICHOLSON: I have not pulled the 25 increases that you've enjoyed in the proposed budget out of 17 1 thin air. That's public data. I can look at what your 2 compensation is. 3 COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: The whole thing is 4 public data, I would submit to you, but you still haven't 5 answered my question. You didn't tell me how you determined 6 the numbers. 7 MR. NICHOLSON: I looked at the data on the 8 Internet, 254 counties in Texas, and I concluded that I 9 could determine a -- an outcome of a survey that I wanted to 10 see, and then manipulate that data to produce that outcome. 11 I suggest to you that's what happened. 12 COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: Which 154 -- I think 13 134, rather, are in the TAC database, so you didn't look at 14 all 254, so you're stretching that point to make -- to 15 demagogue this issue, is what you're doing. This political 16 candidate, I would submit to the Court, has used this podium 17 twice now to demagogue an issue because he doesn't have 18 anything to run on, and he's trying to create an issue. You 19 know, the public ought to be aware of that. If you've got 20 something that you want to add to the public discussion, 21 fine. Trying to flail around to make a political issue out 22 of it for your own self-interest -- and, by the way, I think 23 I'm getting a little bit tired of the integrity of this 24 Court now having twice been challenged by somebody who is 25 using this podium inappropriately for a campaign speech. I 18 1 don't have any more discussion. I'm through. 2 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: I have one comment. 3 You indicated that Commissioners' salaries have gone up 4 42 percent since 1998. That would mean that the basic 5 salary, which was around $28,000, would have increased by 6 $11,200 over the last three years. That is totally 7 incorrect. Your facts and figures are incorrect. 8 MR. NICHOLSON: The facts and figures I'm 9 using came out of the newspaper. 10 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: I don't care where 11 they came from, they're incorrect, and you are perpetuating 12 incorrect information. 13 MR. NICHOLSON: Well, you've got two 14 reporters here who will -- who will look at the information 15 they reported, I presume, and if my data is wrong, then it's 16 wrong. 17 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: It's wrong. 18 JUDGE HENNEKE: Okay. Thank you, 19 Mr. Nicholson. Those are the only individuals that signed 20 up to address us on the elected officials' salary increases. 21 Anyone else who'd like to address us on that issue? Okay. 22 If not, we'll -- 23 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Judge? 24 MR. HOLSTER: Excuse me. Can I speak? 25 JUDGE HENNEKE: Yes. Come forward, please, 19 1 sir, and identify yourself. 2 MR. HOLSTER: I'm Ross Holster. I live up 3 here on Earl Garrett Street. 4 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: I didn't catch the 5 name. 6 JUDGE HENNEKE: What is your name again, sir? 7 MR. HOLSTER: Ross Holster. 8 JUDGE HENNEKE: Thank you. 9 MR. HOLSTER: At 832 Earl Garrett. I have to 10 kind of agree with you gentlemen. I'm a retired man; I'm on 11 a fixed income. I moved here in 1992. I moved from 12 Sisterdale, and since then, even with my exemptions, my 13 taxes right now are about one and a half times what they 14 were when I first moved here. City taxes have increased, 15 County taxes have increased. I'm paying more for sewer and 16 water and electricity. I'm paying more for every service I 17 get. The sidewalks in front of my house have been in 18 terrible shape. I walk around Kerrville, and the 19 infrastructure's in bad shape in Kerrville. My income is 20 about $25,000 a year. I pay my taxes, I help my family out 21 on that. I pay all my fees. And I have to agree that at 22 this time, and the way things are, you've lost Mooney; you 23 have no tax base left there. They're bankrupt. The V.A. 24 system is down by two-thirds on employees, from 600 to 25 200-something, I think, or maybe 300 at the most. The State 20 1 Hospital is down at least half. 2 I don't know what counties y'all are 3 referring to. I would like to know what counties you're 4 referring to on this salary base, what the industrial base 5 of these counties were, military, anything, prison, such as 6 that, and the size of the counties. And, I honestly think 7 at this time, the way that -- the shape this county's in -- 8 I'm not talking about the country, which is in pitiful shape 9 right now, but this county's not in too good of shape, 10 either. The average salary in Kerrville is about $7.50 an 11 hour, if you're lucky. You go down to Burger King or Dairy 12 Queen and flip hamburgers for $5.50 an hour, $6 if you're 13 lucky. There's lots of people out of work here. I think 14 you should think about just, for the time being, maybe 15 freezing your salary and leaving the tax rate like it is. 16 People get where they can't afford it. Thank you very much 17 for the privilege of speaking to you. 18 JUDGE HENNEKE: Let me address a few of the 19 questions you raised, Mr. Holster, because I think it's 20 important. First of all, this is the county. It's not the 21 city. We don't have anything to do with the sidewalks, the 22 infrastructure in the city. 23 MR. HOLSTER: Any tax you raise in the county 24 effects everybody in the city, Judge. You can say what you 25 want to, but it does. 21 1 JUDGE HENNEKE: I agree with you. It affects 2 everybody. 3 MR. HOLSTER: No need to hide behind the 4 County; the County and the City are one entirety when it 5 comes down to paying taxes. 6 JUDGE HENNEKE: You pay taxes to both, but 7 the dollars you pay to the County are not spent in the city 8 for sidewalks, sewers, roads. By Constitution, by law, we 9 can not do that. 10 MR. HOLSTER: That's a good dodge. 11 JUDGE HENNEKE: It's not a dodge, it's the 12 law. It's not a dodge. You know, we are responsible for 13 the areas outside of the incorporated municipalities, which 14 in Kerr County are the city of Kerrville and the city of 15 Ingram. By law, we cannot spend your county tax dollars 16 inside the city of Kerrville. 17 MR. HOLSTER: I don't see that the county tax 18 dollar benefits very much outside the city of Kerrville, 19 either, to tell you the truth, Judge. I've been around the 20 county, too. 21 JUDGE HENNEKE: You probably haven't driven 22 any of the county roads recently, or you haven't seen the 23 Sheriff's Department out, or you haven't had to come and 24 file anything in the courthouse. And we have mandated 25 responsibilities, and our responsibility -- constitutional 22 1 responsibility as Commissioners -- I put myself in that 2 category for this discussion -- is to fund government 3 services. That is our requirement. 4 MR. HOLSTER: Does that include your salary 5 increases? 6 JUDGE HENNEKE: Yes, that includes the salary 7 increases. We are -- we are responsible for adequately 8 funding government services, which includes salaries for 9 employees as well as elected officials. 10 MR. HOLSTER: You're not taking care of your 11 employees; you're taking care of yourself more than 12 employees. 13 JUDGE HENNEKE: Last year, sir, we had a 14 professional salary survey done. 15 MR. HOLSTER: Uh-huh. 16 JUDGE HENNEKE: And we raised all of the 17 employees' salaries to the aggregate total of about 18 $550,000. 19 MR. HOLSTER: Who was -- who did the 20 professional survey? What did that cost? 21 JUDGE HENNEKE: The survey cost $18,421. It 22 was done by Nash and Associates, a consulting firm, a 23 personnel consulting firm out of Austin and, I believe, Los 24 Angeles. 25 MR. HOLSTER: You don't have anyone locally 23 1 can do that kind of work? 2 JUDGE HENNEKE: We sent out a request for 3 proposals. We got three responses, one from Allison Bass -- 4 Allison and Associates, one from the Nash Company, and one 5 from an outfit out of Dallas called Walters and Company. By 6 law, we are required to go out for proposals if we think 7 that the cost of the service to be provided is going to be 8 more than $25,000. Some of the other proposals were more 9 than $25,000, but by law we are required to go out for 10 proposals, and we chose the best and lowest of those 11 proposals, which was the Nash Company, and they did the 12 survey. They surveyed every employee position in the 13 county, made recommendations as to the proper classification 14 and salary, and as a result of those recommendations, we 15 spent approximately $550,000 this fiscal year to bring the 16 employees' salaries in line with where they should be. So, 17 I disagree with your statement that we have not taken care 18 of the employees. We took care of the employees first, and 19 we consciously put off the elected officials' salaries 20 before. We addressed elected officials this year, and in 21 addressing the elected officials' salaries, we got the 22 actual salary data from the 18 counties in the state of 23 Texas that are within 15 percent, plus or minus, of our 24 population. 25 MR. HOLSTER: And who -- what are the 24 1 counties? You never put in the paper what the counties 2 were. You've never put what the salary base was for these 3 counties or anything else. You just said you got the 4 counties, is all you've ever done. 5 JUDGE HENNEKE: It's been provided to the 6 media. Here it is. If you want me to read the list, I'll 7 be happy to, but it is the 18 counties in the state of 8 Texas -- 9 MR. HOLSTER: I'd like to hear it. 10 JUDGE HENNEKE: All right. The counties that 11 we surveyed are Wise, Lamar, Van Zandt, Hardin, Rusk, 12 Maverick, Cherokee, Navarro, Val Verde, Rockwall, Wharton, 13 Polk, Hood, Jim Wells, Medina, Atascosa, Matagorda, and 14 Brown. Those are the 18 counties in the state of Texas, 15 according to the 2000 census, whose population is within 16 15 percent, plus or minus, of our population. We got the 17 actual elected officials' salaries, including benefits, 18 including supplements paid by taxpayers from those counties. 19 We compared those to the salaries that are paid elected 20 officials in Kerr County. What we are proposing to do in 21 this budget that we're debating today is to -- is to adjust 22 the elected officials to -- halfway to the average. Each 23 elected official in Kerr County is below the average. Not 24 the highest, not the 75 percent mark, but the average salary 25 for elected officials in these 18 counties. And, what we 25 1 propose to do with this budget is to fund half of the amount 2 necessary to bring our elected official salaries up to the 3 average of those 18 counties. 4 MR. HOLSTER: But you want the other half 5 next year. 6 JUDGE HENNEKE: The proposal is to bring them 7 up to the average by next year, or -- 8 MR. HOLSTER: When are your pay raises going 9 to stop? That's what I want to know. 10 COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: At the average. 11 JUDGE HENNEKE: When the average hits, then 12 we'll be in the position -- 13 MR. HOLSTER: Have you taken the average 14 industrial -- the average tax base and the average income of 15 all these counties and compared them to Kerr County, or did 16 you just compare the counties for population? 17 JUDGE HENNEKE: We did it by population, 18 because that's -- 19 MR. HOLSTER: That's not right. 20 JUDGE HENNEKE: -- that's the best indicator 21 we could have of comparable ability. 22 MR. HOLSTER: I think you need to do it by 23 money. 24 JUDGE HENNEKE: Well, that would be another 25 way to do it, but that's -- 26 1 COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: And there's some -- 2 Judge, I should add that to the discussion, that there are 3 some counties that their budget's larger than ours, some 4 that have much smaller. This is -- and any statistician 5 will tell you that what you do is you -- you get a large 6 enough data sample that you wash out those effects the best 7 you can. Now -- 8 MR. HOLSTER: Do you take all the money -- 9 COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: -- you either buy -- 10 let me finish, please. You can either buy that, or you 11 don't have to, but that's the basis for -- any comparison 12 that you make has to be done on some -- on some statistical 13 basis. 14 COMMISSIONER LETZ: The comment I was going 15 to make, and it's a proposal that I made several weeks ago, 16 is that before we do anything else with salaries next year, 17 we need to appoint a community commission, which will be 18 open to the public to come and see exactly -- and let people 19 do exactly what you're talking about, look at industrial 20 base, look at tax rate, look at budget size, employees, 21 whatever that committee decides to do. And that will be 22 open to the public, and you're welcome, whether you're -- 23 MR. HOLSTER: I think, sir, that would be an 24 excellent idea, and I think you should advertise it a little 25 bit more ahead of time than you do, business such as that. 27 1 COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: This has been 2 discussed twice -- three times in this court. 3 COMMISSIONER LETZ: My contention would be to 4 appoint it probably right around the first of the year, and 5 then let it be in place, and then by -- hopefully by June, 6 have a recommendation to the Court as to where the county 7 elected official salaries should be. Because I agree with 8 you, it's a very difficult thing for us to adjust it. I 9 mean, we obviously do our own salaries, but we also do every 10 other elected official. And, we -- you know, I've been a 11 Commissioner six years now, I guess, and up until now I've 12 had a cost-of-living adjustment each year, and that has 13 never been -- it's always been less than the inflation rate. 14 MR. HOLSTER: I haven't had that, sir. 15 COMMISSIONER LETZ: I know. 16 MR. HOLSTER: I haven't had nothing. All 17 I've done is spent more, and doing on less. That's what I'm 18 doing. It's not only me. I could point out a whole lot of 19 people in town doing the same thing. 20 COMMISSIONER LETZ: All I'm -- 21 MR. HOLSTER: I think I spoke long enough. I 22 thank y'all for your attention. I would like to make one 23 comment. The last gentleman up here that y'all all thought 24 was kind of funny because he might be a politician or 25 something, I think you kind of disgraced yourself by 28 1 laughing at him and treating him like you did. He might be 2 a politician, but let me tell you something, he's a citizen 3 too, and he deserves the respect citizens get in this town 4 and this country. Thank you. 5 JUDGE HENNEKE: Thank you. Anyone else? 6 MR. DAVIS: I'd like to make one more point, 7 if I could. I think it's a -- we're in a global -- 8 JUDGE HENNEKE: Identify yourself again. 9 MR. DAVIS: Frank Davis. We're in a global 10 situation which -- you know, all the media the last few 11 years, that you've heard of these other nations; they've 12 increased tax rates 80 percent, 70 percent. And I think we 13 can get deceived into thinking that we need to raise our 14 taxes here. And Thomas Jefferson himself said that in a 15 republic, a democracy can tax itself to death. So, I think 16 we have to watch out, you know, some things about this 17 global influence on our thinking. Thank you. 18 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Judge, can I just make 19 one general comment also? I think those who follow the 20 Court know that this has been a -- you know, I am about as 21 opposed to raising taxes as you can be, and I also made the 22 recommendation at the last meeting to raise the taxes to 23 cover the -- the debt on the renovation of the courthouse. 24 It's not something that I take, certainly, lightly, and I 25 haven't since I've been a Commissioner. But, in my opinion, 29 1 at this point, you know, it is not wise -- the option -- we 2 have two options. I hear a lot about cutting the budget. 3 Well, at the same time, where are we going to cut it? I'm 4 not willing to cut the communications system and risk law 5 enforcement lives. That's a million dollar expenditure that 6 we're going to do. I'm not willing to do that. I'm not 7 willing to cut out the additional law enforcement that I 8 feel this community needs to protect itself. That's another 9 large increase in the budget this year. If you get rid of 10 those items, I would think you would find we have a very 11 conservative budget. The large increases are primarily the 12 law enforcement. 13 And, I just think that it's -- the other 14 thing that I've also heard, some of the comments, and I tend 15 to agree with, in a way, is that the things regarding -- the 16 Judge and one of the gentlemen had a discussion about where 17 we spend money and things of that nature. Well, there's 18 another body in the state, the Texas Legislature, that has a 19 lot to do with what y'all are talking about. By law, we 20 can't do some of the things that you're saying, and if the 21 changes need to be made, they need to be made in Austin. 22 And, I would think some of those ideas are good ideas. Some 23 of the changes need to be made, but it's something that, you 24 know, we don't have control over a lot of these things. We 25 are governed by law as to what we can do. 30 1 And, I think the -- the final comment, you 2 know, that I would make is just regarding elected officials' 3 salaries directly. It's a very tough issue, and I recognize 4 that, and I -- you know, we need to look at it. But, at the 5 same time, we have raised other positions throughout the 6 county to what we think are somewhat competitive, taking 7 care of the employees, and we created a position where we 8 now have employees that are getting paid more than the 9 supervisors, and I don't think that's right either, and that 10 is one of the reasons that I think that we're looking at 11 adjusting salaries where we are right now. And that's the 12 only comment that I'll make, but I appreciate all the 13 comments. You know, I think it's a -- you know, we need to 14 hear it. I wish people would come to more of our meetings 15 and give us comments. 16 There was one other thing I want to also 17 state. If you do come during the year, one of the other 18 things I think you will find is that this is a pretty 19 conservative Court financially. We get requests almost 20 every meeting to spend money, and we do a pretty good job, I 21 think, of holding the line. The general community wants 22 more and more expenditures -- or more and more services, but 23 they don't want the expenditure side of it. And, I think 24 that shows that we really, you know, as a community, really 25 need to look at it. We get -- you know, I rarely get a call 31 1 from a constituent or someone in the county saying that we 2 can do with less government service. What I do get is 3 saying that I want this road fixed, I want this trash picked 4 up, you know, I want this dead animal off the road. And 5 when the community comes continually demanding more services 6 from government, they're going to get more services from 7 government. And, I think it's a community -- I think what 8 Frank is saying is very much correct, is that it's a way 9 of -- a state of mind that this country and this community 10 right now wants more services. And, you know, it's very 11 difficult not to give some more, so I think it's a -- a 12 state of mind that we all need to really look at. Thank 13 you. 14 JUDGE HENNEKE: Thank you. That formally was 15 the hearing on the elected official salary increases. The 16 next scheduled hearing is on the actual proposed FY 2002 17 Kerr County budget. 18 (Discussion off the record.) 19 JUDGE HENNEKE: Is there anyone here who 20 would like to address us on the issue of the proposed FY 21 2002 Kerr County budget? Mr. Fry, you signed up to speak 22 about all. Do you want to make any specific comments on the 23 budget? 24 MR. FRY: I think it all shows just about -- 25 what I said before covers pretty well all of it. I think 32 1 that some of you are sort of ornery about this thing, and I 2 think that there are several of you in here that I admire 3 greatly; I think that you know what you're doing. And, some 4 of you don't think like I think, which is a professional 5 engineer that traveled over the world, so I think of many 6 things that you don't think of. But they don't attend to 7 helping people that come to you and -- if you'd excuse the 8 word -- bitch for fixing your driveway or fixing your little 9 road or doing this or doing that, some of the county work 10 that you're -- that you're required to do. Some of that 11 could be -- well, you have to listen to it. Just like some 12 of you fellas, we have to listen to that talk too much. 13 And, so, that's all I have to say. 14 We have feelings. We have -- us retirees, we 15 have pretty -- not much chance of our income coming up any 16 higher, and you've got a lot of people around here that are 17 making plenty of money. But you're going to have to raise 18 the tax to everybody when you raise the tax. All right? 19 Think about some of the people that are not paying taxes or 20 not paying much taxes that are asking you to do things for 21 them, and you're spreading your money out to do it. And, 22 we've also got the police department or your police -- your 23 county police group that are just running like the dickens 24 trying to take care of people that are coming into this town 25 that are not doing what they're supposed to do. And we just 33 1 had some of that happen starting last Tuesday. That's 2 costing this country money. 3 Now, are they going to raise our taxes? 4 They're going to raise our county taxes, they're going to 5 raise our city taxes to take care of all that? Are we going 6 to let the whole nation pitch in and help? You know, where 7 are you going to stop this doggone thing? And where are you 8 going to look at the people that live in this county and 9 what they're trying to do and what they're wanting you to do 10 for them and what you're having to spend on your police 11 department and your fire department, and whatever else you 12 have, that's having to take care of a lot of these people 13 that moved in here that got lots of money. And yet, when 14 their house burns down, they're hurt, and they want you to 15 come and do something about it. Now, we're -- the county 16 people and the city people have thoughts about all of that, 17 and so when you get hot and sassy about some of the things 18 you've got to say, remember that we've got a few thoughts of 19 our own that we feel like -- and we admire you for what 20 you're doing so far. And, so, let's all think of this and 21 pull together like our president is trying to do with the 22 rest of the world. Let's pull together. Let's talk about 23 it. 24 JUDGE HENNEKE: Thank you, Mr. Fry. Is there 25 anyone else who wants to address the Court on a specific 34 1 item of the 2002 proposed budget? Yes, sir? 2 MR. DUGGLEBY: My name's Norm Duggleby. I 3 was actually signed up for the last, but I think my comments 4 would probably be more appropriate for this section, so can 5 I exchange -- 6 JUDGE HENNEKE: Yes, you may, sir. 7 MR. DUGGLEBY: My name's Norm Duggleby. We 8 moved to Kerr County about a year and a half ago. We moved 9 from Dallas. I was in business about 15 years as a business 10 consultant, so I say that because I do think I have some 11 credibility in working with literally dozens of businesses 12 of various sizes. And our goal was always to do things 13 better, to do things more efficiently, to do things cheaper, 14 to satisfy the customer more, to solve problems, to create 15 opportunities, and I really see the -- the government as 16 really no different than those things that happen in the 17 secular business world. I want to just give you three -- 18 and have I no problem with any of you. The few times that 19 I've been here, I've been actually impressed with the 20 quality of the leadership that we have. I was impressed 21 when I came across the parking lot, and having watched the 22 construction of the parking lot done by county officials, as 23 opposed to companies out of San Antonio or someplace. And, 24 I'm sure you saved some money there, and it's a good job. 25 It's not, maybe, 100 percent, but I think it's great. So, I 35 1 appreciate you guys. 2 My goal is not to intimidate or not to 3 disparage or anything, but I want to give just three quick 4 examples. About three weeks ago, I ordered an 18-inch by 5 24-inch culvert from McCoy's at about 9:30, after I left the 6 doughnut shop down here. It was delivered at 1:30 the same 7 day. I called my friend Ken, who lives up at Live Oaks. He 8 came down. With he and I and my tractor, we installed that, 9 had it covered with about two and a half feet of fill, and 10 had it all done by about 4:00 in the afternoon, and did a 11 nice job. I say that as a comparison to -- I had a couple 12 lots up at -- up north here off of 16. When we first moved 13 here, I found out that the County would put in a culvert, so 14 I finally found out where we ordered one, got a 12-foot -- 15 or 12-inch by 20-foot culvert. It took about a month before 16 they even got out to try to -- try to put it in. I had big 17 flags like this right where I wanted it. I said, "If I'm 18 not there" -- I gave them my telephone number. 19 Somebody evidently came out, couldn't see my 20 flags, and so that took another week to be there by the time 21 the supervisor got out there from Road and Bridge. It was 22 another -- about a week and a half, and they came out with 23 more equipment than I've ever seen in my life. We had a -- 24 a grader, the biggest one I've seen, front-end loaders, 25 street sweepers, four workers, supervisor, dump truck, 36 1 trailer, and there was probably a couple other pieces to put 2 this 12-inch by 20-foot culvert in. At the end of the day, 3 when I thought they'd all be done, the guy comes up, the 4 supervisor, and says, "Can I park my equipment here 5 overnight? We've got to finish tomorrow." I was 6 flabbergasted. My friend and I could have put it in in 7 maybe an hour or two hours at the most. They parked the 8 equipment, and my neighbors were calling, "What's all the 9 equipment?" Must have been a million dollars worth of 10 County equipment sitting there. The next day, it was an 11 entire day. They showed up about 9:30 and worked till about 12 3:30 or quarter till 4:00, and they got my culvert in. They 13 did a beautiful job, did a wonderful job, but it's the same 14 thing I could have done myself in about an hour and a half 15 or maybe two hours. 16 So, I encourage you to not raise tax rates, 17 and just become more efficient. Get into these areas. We 18 tried to get an address through the 911 system. I was never 19 so frustrated in all my life. I've shared that with a 20 couple people, and I've -- it took probably four or five 21 phone calls. It took three personal trips out. I never did 22 see this Mr. Sandlin, who I guess is in charge of it. I've 23 asked -- I'd asked at least four different times for him to 24 call me back to discuss it. It took almost five or six 25 months to gets a, quote, temporary address, which we have. 37 1 And -- and maybe that's an area that you could look at. I 2 think that's one of the most inept -- it's a waste of money. 3 My understanding is they've been at it, what, 10 or 12 or 13 4 years, and we have, what, 2,800 permanent addresses out of, 5 like, 40,000 people in the county. To me, you're wasting 6 your money. 7 One other example, my wife does the jail 8 ministry, helps and counsels young people out at the 9 juvenile center. And, there's a lady who started cooking 10 out there, everyone loved her cooking, and they ended up 11 firing her because she was using her judgment and trying to 12 save them money by buying things in bulk so that she could 13 make things instead of buying things, you know, already 14 made. And she told my wife, she said, "They could save so 15 much money if they would just let" -- you know, instead of 16 doing it the way that they're doing it. So, some of that -- 17 that's just three examples. I could give you more. But, I 18 think -- you know, I have no problem with people making a 19 good wage. I have no problem with you guys; I think you're 20 doing a wonderful job. But, I tell you, things are 21 different since Tuesday than they were before, and I think 22 you have to take that into consideration. 23 We've got a little property up here, and the 24 taxes just -- the property taxes on that are more, by about 25 $500 a year, than I made my first year out of college at 38 1 Purdue University, with a B.B.A. Now, that's been a few 2 years ago, but that's just my taxes on my property that are 3 more than I made as a college graduate out of Purdue 4 University. So, I would encourage you to sharpen your 5 pencils, get more efficient. If you got money to spend, 6 figure out how to get those county crews to do it in two 7 hours instead of two days, and to do it with two pieces of 8 equipment instead of eight, and to do it with two people 9 instead of a crew -- a crew of six or so. And I think you 10 would be leading by example and have the admiration of your 11 employees, and would have the admiration of your citizens. 12 Thank you. 13 JUDGE HENNEKE: Thank you, sir. Anyone else 14 wish to address us on the issue of the budget? Budget, per 15 se? Seeing none, we'll be in recess until 11 o'clock for 16 our last public hearing on the tax rate. 17 (Recess taken from 10:53 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.) 18 - - - - - - - - - - 19 JUDGE HENNEKE: It's 11 o'clock in the 20 morning on Monday, September 17. We'll open this public 21 hearing on the proposed FY 2002 tax rate. Mr. Fry had 22 signed up to address us on the tax rate. I believe he's 23 made the comments he wanted to. The other individual who 24 has signed up specifically to address us on the tax rate was 25 Mr. Frank Davis. Frank, do you have anything else you want 39 1 to say? 2 MR. DAVIS: Yeah. Just a little bit -- 3 just -- I also want to say that I -- you know, that I 4 respect your position and your place here, and I don't want 5 to come here as attacking our system, because we have a 6 great system. And, I visited with each one of you 7 personally, and I respect each one of you. On the tax rate, 8 as -- I think, as leaders, what we have to look at is -- is 9 the attitude of our constituents. And, as you've seen this 10 morning, the people are depressed because of the burdens, 11 but the real people depressed are not so much us retired 12 people, but these young families and single moms and that 13 type of -- that type of our population. 14 And, so, I think that, you know, in lieu of 15 what's already been said, you know, I think we can look to 16 more -- like our other leaders have said, in being 17 accountable and holding people accountable. And, it's 18 working in public education, it's working in, you know, 19 other areas, from the Attorney General's office. And, so, I 20 think we're going to have to not look at the -- you know, 21 have a victim mentality or a welfare mentality, but we're 22 going to have to look again, and as one person -- I think 23 Mr. Fry mentioned that these people come in, are not part of 24 the team, are not part of the system. So, I think those are 25 things that we can look at. 40 1 And, the last speaker talked about 2 efficiency, you know, and equipment and that sort of thing, 3 and new automobiles. And, you know, most of us guys, like 4 the old rancher back here, we have to do with a truck maybe 5 18 or 20 years, and -- or a house or a barn. We just have 6 to, you know, kind of patch it up here and there. We see 7 state of the art, you know, things going in. I know that 8 this bridge going in over here is going to have a special 9 place, you know, for a -- sort of a place to look out over 10 it, and it's going to look something really beautiful. You 11 know, and I know that's in the works for the Highway 12 Department. It's good to have things beautiful; we 13 appreciate that about our wives, you know, creating beauty 14 in the -- in our home and for our families, but I think we 15 have to again look at being practical and functional and -- 16 in government, and, as one person mentioned, leading by 17 example. 18 And, so, I know we always get the runaround; 19 we feel like -- we get depressed, but we feel we get the 20 runaround when we go out there to talk about the -- the 21 values. They say it's Austin, and -- or they say it's 22 y'all, or -- you know, passing the blame is one of my 23 faults, too. So, I think we need just to, as Mr. Griffin 24 and I have talked about, get the communication clear, and be 25 more like Mr. Fry said, and work in unity and pull together. 41 1 And, so, I think we can each see what else -- what more we 2 can do, and also in helping another person that we know to 3 become more self-sufficient, more productive, and more 4 compassionate and showing more mercy and common sense. 5 JUDGE HENNEKE: Thank you. Anyone else have 6 any specific comments about the tax rate? 7 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: I want an opportunity 8 to make some comments in general at some point. 9 JUDGE HENNEKE: We'll get right to you. Once 10 again, let's put out the call. This is a public hearing on 11 the proposed FY 2002 tax rate. Is there anyone else who'd 12 like to address the Court specifically on this issue? Okay. 13 Then, Commissioner, let's have it. 14 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Okay. I just wanted 15 to make a few comments. I noticed that all but two of the 16 speakers were from my precinct, and -- and I think that 17 that's just the picture of people that are interested and 18 involved in our government, and I appreciate them very much. 19 I think there's been some excellent constructive comments. 20 Frank, you and Mr. -- Hostel? 21 MR. DAVIS: Holster. 22 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Excuse me, sir. Great 23 comments about -- about our government, and this is what 24 it's all about, is you. It's not about us. It's about you, 25 and your -- your ideas and your taxpaying. We represent you 42 1 as -- we have a representative government in the United 2 States, and this Commissioners Court is a part of that, and 3 I just wanted to say I appreciate you guys coming in here 4 and looking us in the eye and telling us what's on your 5 mind. I appreciate that very much. I tell you what I don't 6 appreciate. I saw a letter in the paper last week from a 7 pastor of a local church that called us names, and I 8 disliked that very, very much. He's a friend of mine, and 9 he and I will have a little come-to-Jesus meeting about that 10 at some point. But, that's all. I just wanted to say thank 11 you very much for coming to your government and expressing 12 your concerns. That's all. Thank you, sir. 13 JUDGE HENNEKE: Bill, do you have anything 14 you want to say? 15 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Just a couple notes, 16 Judge. We do appreciate -- express appreciation for those 17 who came out today and expressed their points of view on the 18 three aspects of the County's funding the necessary services 19 that we must do. I think it's important that people take 20 into consideration that the demands county government, as 21 one speaker indicated, continue to grow, but they don't 22 continue to grow just because some folks think that we need 23 to fix the entrance to their home or their driveway or the 24 road particularly in front of them. Over the last ten 25 years, Kerr County has grown by more than 7,000 people. 43 1 More than half of that 7,000 has gone into the county, and 2 the remainder have sought lodgings or bought homes inside 3 the city of Kerrville or Ingram. So, the demands on the 4 County are increasing, and they're going to continue to 5 increase over the next 10 to 20 years, and it will be this 6 Commissioners Court's duty and those Courts that succeed us 7 to find ways to service the needs that are constitutionally 8 brought about for us to provide, and they'll have to do it 9 out of tax revenues that are available to do that. 10 I think it's important to note, with respect 11 to the tax rate, that what this Court is attempting to do is 12 to rectify, if you will, or correct, if you will, whichever 13 word you like better, a situation brought -- brought to our 14 budgeting process by reason of trying to fund improvements 15 to county facilities out of the general operating budget, as 16 opposed to setting aside a tax rate for that specific 17 purpose. And, that's really where the bulk of the tax 18 increase proposed is going, is to take care of that and to 19 take care of the needs of our law enforcement. And, I would 20 echo very forcefully the comments of other Commissioners 21 with respect to our law enforcement. It can't be "good 22 enough," and we need to do those things that are necessary 23 to make it the best possible. 24 And if, by refusing to spend the necessary 25 dollars to correct obvious wrongs in the law enforcement 44 1 system; i.e., communications, then we are derelict. And, I 2 believe that that -- that I can't look the public in the eye 3 and say, "Yes, I voted against the budget, because it was a 4 million dollars for a communications system," and a deputy 5 got killed or someone got killed or someone was injured 6 because law enforcement couldn't do its job properly. I 7 don't want to face that responsibility. I want to take care 8 of it before that happens. And, so, those are the two 9 issues that primarily have increased the budget the way it 10 is, correcting something that should have been done, 11 perhaps, a little bit differently. I'm not finding fault, 12 but when you add that kind of a large debt number into your 13 general operating budget, you then are depriving the general 14 operating budget of taking care of other things that must be 15 taken care of. So, we're correcting what the -- an obvious 16 situation to be corrected, and we're doing what we believe 17 is correct and right with respect to law enforcement. 18 JUDGE HENNEKE: Jonathan? 19 COMMISSIONER LETZ: The only additional 20 comment I would make to what I made earlier is a little bit 21 further on what Commissioner Williams said. The tax rate 22 increase is, like, 2.08, which is the amount to fund the 23 renovation of the courthouse annex, and that tax 24 anticipation note is paid off in five years. And, 25 certainly -- I may or may not be on the Court in five years; 45 1 who knows? But, certainly, it would be -- I hope the Court 2 at that time will retire that tax rate at that time, once 3 that debt is paid off. The way I look at it, that is the 4 reason for the increase, is to fund the balance of that 5 5-year note, and once that note is paid off, I would 6 certainly hope that the Commissioners Court at that time 7 would seriously -- hopefully would reduce the tax rate by 8 that amount. 9 JUDGE HENNEKE: Larry? 10 COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: Yes. Just to echo, 11 particularly what Buster said, that it's really good to have 12 citizens come to us and communicate. Frank also talked to 13 the same subject. That is so important, but it's not a 14 once-a-year exercise. It's a -- we would like to have your 15 input throughout the year, and there are many people in the 16 public who -- who do that for us, and it's always a great 17 help. We can never all agree on all the issues. That would 18 be impossible. In fact, we wouldn't have a need for 19 government if we could, so there needs to be a discussion 20 that's based on the facts, as they are, the best we can get 21 them and determine them, and that then we have give and 22 take. We can disagree, we can agree, and then it falls on 23 this Court to have to make a decision, and that's the way 24 the process works. But, the more input we have from the 25 public, the better. It's not the worse. We want to hear 46 1 from the public, because it helps us make a decision. 2 And, finally, I'd say that the whole function 3 of government -- of all government is primary budgetary in 4 many, many ways, and budgeting is the allocation of scarce 5 resources. No matter where you are, there's never going to 6 be enough budget into any function, whether it's your 7 business, your house, your home, your -- your government, or 8 anywhere else. So, what you have to do is have some 9 structure set up where you can make a choice and prioritize 10 and do the things you think that are important, and then 11 there's some things that you have to -- you have to forego 12 or you have to reallocate or readjust and take a different 13 view on. So, the more input we get, the better. When it 14 comes down to final vote, then there's got to be something 15 that makes this decision, and that's how the process works, 16 and it's a good one. 17 JUDGE HENNEKE: It is the Constitutional 18 responsibility of the Commissioners Court to fund county 19 government and to fund essential services. We don't provide 20 any luxuries in our county government. We have a fine Road 21 and Bridge Department that keeps our county roads up. If we 22 want to go back to dirt and caliche roads, then we can 23 probably cut back on the amount of money we spend for Road 24 and Bridge, but I don't think the citizens would be happy 25 with the quality of the roads. If we want to go back to 47 1 where we -- we provide law enforcement with antiquated 2 vehicles and inadequate communications, we can do that, but 3 I don't think the citizens are going to be happy with the 4 quality of their law enforcement. If we want to go back to 5 the situation where we don't have enough people to process 6 the voting requirements, the registration and actual 7 counting of the ballots, we can do that, but the citizens 8 are not going to be happy with the results. This 9 Commissioners Court responds to the demands of the citizens 10 of Kerr County for services. We don't go out of our way to 11 think up things to do in order to spend money. 12 The 2.08 percent tax increase that has been 13 proposed will raise approximately $440,000, which is the 14 amount necessary to amortize the tax anticipation note that 15 was used to refurbish the courthouse annex over here. Well, 16 let's stop and think about some of the additional expenses 17 that we have. The Sheriff is getting six additional 18 employees; four patrol deputies, a criminal investigator, 19 and a records clerk. Those salaries alone are approximately 20 $150,000. If you add the requisite 25 percent on there for 21 benefits, you're at about $185,000 for those six employees 22 alone. The cost of the radio project for the Sheriff's 23 Department, which is an absolute essential, is $160,000 a 24 year. Two and a half percent cost-of-living increase for 25 all of the employees is approximately $150,000. The cost of 48 1 the insurance premiums that the County pays for the 2 employees, which is a part of their benefit package, is 3 $120,000 a year. The cost in the increase -- the increase 4 in the workmen's compensation insurance premium for this 5 year is $39,000. Government is not cheap. 6 One of the previous speakers made mention of 7 getting by with less. We are funding three new vehicles 8 this year for other than the Sheriff's Department. We're 9 replacing a 1985 pickup truck for the head of the 10 Maintenance Department, we're replacing a 1991 pickup truck 11 for the Animal Control Division, and we're replacing -- 12 what? Probably a '95, '96 truck for Road and Bridge? 13 COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: Yeah. 14 JUDGE HENNEKE: All of which have 15 substantially in excess of the amount of miles that you 16 would anticipate that would be quality equipment for 17 anybody, whether it's in private industry, private citizens, 18 or government. We're funding one additional employee in the 19 Road and Bridge Department. We're funding one additional 20 employee in the Tax Assessor/Collector's department. That 21 employee in the Tax Assessor/Collector's department will go 22 specifically to the voter registration. In 1998, when I ran 23 for this office, we had approximately 23,000 registered 24 voters in Kerr County. We're almost up to 32,000 registered 25 voters in Kerr County right now, with the same number of 49 1 people. Voting is such a fundamental function of government 2 that we cannot scrimp on resources in order to provide 3 quality voting and registration opportunity for the citizens 4 of Kerr County. 5 The list of add-ons is endless. When you add 6 all that up, you'll see that there is little left in this 7 budget that is discretionary. So much has been made of 8 elected officials' salaries. The total amount of the 9 elected official salaries is, what, $40,000? Approximately 10 $40,000, which is -- 11 COMMISSIONER GRIFFIN: Point -- 12 JUDGE HENNEKE: .30 of 1 percent of the -- of 13 the budget. If you took out the elected officials' 14 salaries, it wouldn't change the tax increase at all. It 15 would make no impact whatsoever on the tax increase. We do 16 a good job of budgeting. I'm proud of the work that we do. 17 I'm proud of the work the department heads do. We don't 18 question our department heads very much when they come in 19 for budgets. They've all had increases. All of our 20 telephone bills have gone up, all of our electric bills have 21 gone up, all of our postage has gone up because of cost 22 increases in those services. We have to pay for those 23 services too. And elected officials have cut and scrimped 24 and saved and adjusted, and they've come to us this year and 25 said, "We've got to have more." We've got to have more 50 1 postage. As Commissioner Baldwin mentioned, the State 2 Legislature lays on us requirements that we have to pay for. 3 A fairly recent requirement was that when a plat is revised, 4 all members of the subdivision must be -- must receive by 5 certified mail, return receipt requested, notices of those 6 subdivision -- of that plat revision. The Legislature did 7 not give county government the ability to charge the 8 developer for that. Those certified mail alone are about 9 $350 a month. That's a cost that we must absorb. 10 The Tax Assessor has, I believe, come to us 11 and said that the Texas Department of Transportation will no 12 longer pay for the computer equipment -- or the hookup for 13 the specialized voter -- tax license equipment that we are 14 required to use. That is an expense that we must absorb. 15 The Department of Public Safety has changed the equipment 16 that the Sheriff's Department used to do checks. That's a 17 cost that we must absorb. What I want the message to go out 18 to the people in Kerr County is that cost of government goes 19 up, and it's our responsibility to fund that cost of 20 government, and we do it as tightly and efficiently as is 21 humanly possible. We appreciate all your comments. We 22 appreciate your help. The best government we can have is a 23 government that's most involved with the citizenry, and we 24 thank you all for coming. We thank you all for your letters 25 and your phone calls. Together we'll make this happen. 51 1 Together we'll do it so that we all can be satisfied with 2 the end result. So, thank y'all for coming, and we are 3 adjourned. 4 (Commissioners Court adjourned at 11:21 a.m.) 5 - - - - - - - - - - 6 7 8 9 10 STATE OF TEXAS | 11 COUNTY OF KERR | 12 The above and foregoing is a true and complete 13 transcription of my stenotype notes taken in my capacity as 14 County Clerk of the Commissioners Court of Kerr County, 15 Texas, at the time and place heretofore set forth. 16 DATED at Kerrville, Texas, this 18th day of September, 17 2001. 18 19 20 JANNETT PIEPER, Kerr County Clerk 21 BY: _________________________________ Kathy Banik, Deputy County Clerk 22 Certified Shorthand Reporter 23 24 25