1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 KERR COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COURT 9 Special Session 10 Monday, September 19, 2005 11 9:00 a.m. 12 Commissioners' Courtroom 13 Kerr County Courthouse 14 Kerrville, Texas 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 PRESENT: PAT TINLEY, Kerr County Judge H. A. "BUSTER" BALDWIN, Commissioner Pct. 1 24 WILLIAM "BILL" WILLIAMS, Commissioner Pct. 2 JONATHAN LETZ, Commissioner Pct. 3 25 DAVE NICHOLSON, Commissioner Pct. 4 2 1 I N D E X September 19, 2005 2 PAGE 1.1 Consider, discuss, and take appropriate action 3 on the Library Contract between City of Kerrville and Kerr County 3 4 1.2 Consider, discuss, and take appropriate action 5 on the Animal Control Contract between City of Kerrville and Kerr County 33 6 1.3 Consider, discuss, and take appropriate action 7 on the Revision of Plat for Mosty Pecan Grove, Vol. 7, Page 295, Pct. 2 35 8 1.4 Consider, discuss, and take appropriate action 9 on procedures for the paying and reporting of costs or charges incurred or expenditures involving 10 penalties, fees, interest or other costs associated with late payment or other administrative system 11 failures 36 12 1.5 Consider, discuss, and take appropriate action on authorizing Kerrville Area Chamber of Commerce 13 to coordinate Kerr County Sesquicentennial (150th) Celebration in combination and consultation with 14 Kerr County Commissioners Court, Kerr County Historical Commission, and representatives of 15 the several cities and towns within the county 38 16 1.6 EBA Litigation (Executive Session) 39 17 10:00 a.m. Public Hearing on proposed FY 2005/2006 Tax Rate for Kerr County 40 18 --- Adjourned 49 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 3 1 On Monday, September 19, 2005, at 9:00 a.m., a special 2 meeting of the Kerr County Commissioners Court was held in the 3 Commissioners' Courtroom, Kerr County Courthouse, Kerrville, 4 Texas, and the following proceedings were had in open court: 5 P R O C E E D I N G S 6 JUDGE TINLEY: Good morning, ladies and 7 gentlemen. Let me call to order this special meeting of the 8 Kerr County Commissioners Court scheduled for this date and 9 time, Monday, September the 19th, 2005, at 9 a.m. The first 10 item on the agenda is to consider, discuss, and take 11 appropriate action on the library contract between the City 12 of Kerrville and Kerr County. Commissioner 4? 13 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: Each of you have a 14 final, I think, contract for the library contract. The City 15 Attorney and the County Attorney and myself and -- and the 16 City Manager have met twice now, and we've got a contract 17 that we recommend that you approve and sign, and I'll just 18 briefly tell you a few -- what I think are minor changes 19 that we discussed in our earlier meeting. Under Item 4, the 20 board will consist of City Council member, Commissioners 21 Court member, two members appointed by Kerr County, two 22 members who shall be residents of the city and be appointed 23 by the City Council, and one board member shall be a member 24 of the Friends of the Library and appointed by that group. 25 So, we'll have a seven-person board with terms on a 9-19-05 4 1 staggered basis, and they'll be representing the two 2 government entities. On Part 8, I don't think that's a 3 change. I just want to confirm that the -- the duty of the 4 Library Board will be to present a proposed operational 5 expense budget to the two entities each year by July 30. 6 And I'm hoping that next year that'll help us with -- to 7 avoid some of the difficulties we've seen this year. 8 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Commissioner, before we 9 leave that point, the -- I think July 30 is the date we have 10 in some other contracts too, but I really -- I know the 11 airport's July 30th. I think that's too late. 12 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: I do too. 13 COMMISSIONER LETZ: I really think that we 14 need to move all of our joint contracts with the City to 15 June 30th. I just think that when we get to July 30th, we 16 are so far along in our budget process by then, and then -- 17 as an example, I know with the airport situation, which is, 18 long-term, maybe similar to this, you get into a situation 19 where the boards have -- that board has to approve it, and 20 you start getting into having to wait for notices and 21 meetings, and it can get pushed two to three weeks after the 22 date real easily. 23 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: I agree with you. 24 Let's ask them to change it to June 30th. 25 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: If my memory serves 9-19-05 5 1 me correctly, when we used to have the joint meeting between 2 the City Council and Commissioners Court to discuss 3 budgetary items, that meeting took place in June. 4 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: I think that's 5 right. 6 COMMISSIONER LETZ: I wouldn't mind earlier 7 than that, but June -- I think we could live with June as a 8 date for all these contracts, or all these agreements. But, 9 anyway -- 10 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: I'll ask them to 11 change that. Let me point out the last part of that. Part 12 8 there defines what expenses are eligible for consideration 13 in the budget. Part 9 spells out that we pay $300,000 for 14 this year. 15 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Sorry, can we go back to 16 8 again? 17 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: Yeah. 18 COMMISSIONER LETZ: On the part that's being 19 -- needed capital improvements expense for the library for 20 operating or capital improvement for the Hill Country -- or 21 for the History Center, is there anywhere defined "capital 22 improvement"? And the reason was, it seems there were some 23 unusual things -- I guess it was different. They had -- in 24 one of the drafts I saw, the library put books in there, 25 which -- 9-19-05 6 1 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: We had a long 2 discussion of that, and I don't know; maybe governments 3 account differently than business does, but I don't think 4 books are capital. I think they're expense. But we have an 5 understanding that it does cover the purchase of books and 6 other learning materials. 7 COMMISSIONER LETZ: So I guess we're using 8 GASB rules or whatever that is for cities and counties? 9 Okay. 10 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: I'm not sure I 11 understood what you're trying to say, Commissioner 4. 12 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: They -- the 13 library -- or the City includes the purchase of books. It's 14 around $100,000 as a capital item. 15 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Yeah, okay. 16 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: And I think -- maybe 17 under GASB it is, but it's not traditionally what you'd 18 think of as something that you depreciate. 19 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: I wondered about 20 that. I saw books and -- I guess books and manuscripts, or 21 something like that, listed as a capital item, and I 22 wondered about that. 23 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: Yeah. And the last 24 thing I want to do is discourage the purchase of new 25 learning materials. That's the reason we have a library. 9-19-05 7 1 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Well, should that be 2 just under a plain operating expense, or -- 3 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: It's their 4 accounting system. 5 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Okay. 6 COMMISSIONER LETZ: The -- is this a change 7 from the current agreement, or is the current agreement 8 silent on that point? 9 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: It was silent. 10 We've had some concerns over the last two or three years. 11 We were going to do construction there. 12 COMMISSIONER LETZ: But the -- and this is 13 really to go in line with the -- not the practice; I guess 14 the reality that the City owns -- 15 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: Yes. 16 COMMISSIONER LETZ: -- all the capital 17 improvements. 18 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: Yes. 19 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Okay. 20 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: Okay. Part 9, let's 21 look at that a little bit. It spells out this year's 22 contribution of $300,000, and then it goes on to say that it 23 is the -- in future years, it's the intent of the two 24 parties to evenly participate in net operational expenses, 25 subject to approval by both City Council and Commissioners 9-19-05 8 1 Court. Now, that goes on in 10, and 10 carries on to say 2 that if either party fails to approve by October 1, then the 3 parties agree that the budget for the previous fiscal year 4 shall be deemed approved and shall become the budget for the 5 current year. That takes a little good faith. I think it's 6 needed and necessary to assure our constituents and the 7 patrons that there will be some continuity at the library 8 operations. And then, of course, there's always the out 9 if -- if there's just a total meltdown, we can give notice 10 in writing by July 1st that we terminate the agreement; 11 that's in Part 11. I think it's a good contract. I think 12 it's a better understanding than we've had in the past, and 13 it could form the basis for a more productive relationship 14 in that regard. And, with the one change on the June 30 15 date, I move that we approve the library agreement. 16 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: I have a question, 17 Commissioner. 18 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: I'll second that 19 motion. 20 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: In Paragraph 9, we 21 state the County's contribution. Why -- why are we only 22 stating the County's contribution and not the contribution 23 of the parties, plural? 24 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: Commissioner, I 25 think it's the nature of the agreement. It's -- I think you 9-19-05 9 1 -- if you look at it as a service agreement, we're saying, 2 "Here's what we'll pay." Now, you -- except for the intent 3 that we stated that expenses be equally divided, I presume 4 that the City could unilaterally decide if they want to pay 5 something more than that. 6 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Okay. 7 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: We're not asking 8 them to agree with us about what they pay. They're asking 9 us to -- to contract to pay. 10 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Is that number 11 referenced in Paragraph 9, is that a negotiated number, or 12 is that just a number that you picked up from what the 13 budget -- is in our budget as it exists today? 14 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: That's our -- that's 15 what's in our budget. And learning from the Interim City 16 Manager, I understand that the City intends to pay $300,000, 17 and that's what's in their current budget. 18 COMMISSIONER LETZ: I think -- I mean, the -- 19 I know I've had discussions with at least one City 20 Councilperson about possibly trying to raise that amount 21 something, that we look at this number. 22 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: I think he's in the 23 audience. 24 COMMISSIONER LETZ: I see that one person in 25 the audience. And my comment has been, you know, I'd 9-19-05 10 1 certainly be willing to look at it; however, I don't see any 2 way under the County's current financial situation to get 3 back to the full amount that was requested. And the -- I 4 think I've said it several times; I think there is a little 5 bit of excess in the airport budget, and I wouldn't mind 6 using that excess if it can be -- you know, right now 7 there's $9,000, I think, excess in our budget versus what 8 the funding's going to require. I think there's additional 9 reductions that can be made without hurting the quality of 10 service at the airport, and if we could come up with a 11 larger number, I wouldn't -- I would have no objection at 12 all to putting that money into the library budget. And I 13 said that because of the term, "the contribution shall be 14 $300,000." That locks it in, that we can't change that 15 number without changing this agreement. 16 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Unless we change it 17 now. 18 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Well, that's what I'm 19 saying. Is there a way that -- you know, I don't have a 20 problem with saying 300,000, 'cause that's what's in our 21 budget, and our budget's, you know, been preliminarily 22 adopted. I wonder if we can modify the term -- the word 23 "shall" so there's flexibility to change that number during 24 the year if we so choose without having to go back and 25 change the contract or do an amendment to the contract. The 9-19-05 11 1 way I would read it right now, we can't give more unless we 2 amend the contract as well as the budget. 3 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Well, you could 4 change it very simply by saying, "The parties agree that the 5 County's minimum contribution for fiscal year would be... " 6 That gives us the -- 7 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Right. 8 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Gives us the 9 opportunity to do something greater if we can find the 10 dollars to do so. 11 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Right. 12 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: I had a similar 13 conversation with Mr. Benham, who's in the audience also, 14 and I notice he wants to speak on the subject, and maybe the 15 Councilman also wants to speak on the subject. But I'm kind 16 of like you, Commissioner; I'd like to see if we can, at the 17 very least, get back to the funding level that we were last 18 year. I don't know if that's possible, or whether we can do 19 more; I don't know. 20 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Well, I don't -- I 21 don't know if I agree with you guys, because we've worked 22 this thing and we've -- we've whittled it and worked on it, 23 and we come up with a number, and we're pretty firm in 24 there, and the -- and the phenomenon in all of that is that 25 the City agreed. You know, we put in 300,000, and then they 9-19-05 12 1 agreed that that is a good number. Or at least that's what 2 I'm seeing, that they budgeted 300,000. That means that 3 they think that that is a good number. So, I don't see any 4 reason to change it at all. 5 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: I'm not sure that's 6 what they budgeted. I think that's what they approved; I'm 7 not sure that's what they budgeted. Maybe somebody else 8 could shed some light on this. 9 COMMISSIONER LETZ: They budgeted 400-some 10 thousand from -- 416. 11 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: I misunderstood, then. 12 I thought Number 4 said they budgeted 300,000. 13 COMMISSIONER LETZ: They budgeted 416, funded 14 300, as I understand what the City did. 15 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Well, I -- again, to 16 me, they're agreeing with the 300,000. I mean, I -- and any 17 time we have an agreement with the City, I think that that's 18 a good thing. 19 COMMISSIONER LETZ: I guess my question is -- 20 let me just go back. If there's some kind of a small 21 disaster or big disaster over there, for us -- under the 22 current wording, for us to do anything, we have to go back 23 and amend the contract as opposed to doing a budget 24 amendment. I'm just saying if we change that wording to 25 what Commissioner Williams suggested, to "minimum of 9-19-05 13 1 300,000," all that's saying in my mind is that 300,000 is 2 what we're funding, but if we, during the year at some 3 point, choose to fund more, we can do it without going back 4 and having to amend the contract. That's all I'm saying. 5 JUDGE TINLEY: I was present at the Council 6 meeting at which they considered this matter, and my 7 recollection was that what the Council had put $416,000 in 8 their budget, but they approved that they would expend an 9 amount equal to that expended by the County, but I'm willing 10 to defer to Councilman Coleman, who's here, who I think can 11 give us maybe a little bit more definitive read. 12 MR. COLEMAN: My name -- Judge, my name is 13 Chuck Coleman. I live at 309 Bobwhite. I'm not really here 14 in an official Council position; I'm here as a concerned 15 citizen. I'm not authorized to be here. My -- my sense on 16 our vote was pretty much as you stated. It was more an 17 attempt to try to preserve our past cost-sharing basis and 18 give us more time to work with the Commissioners Court to 19 try to increase that if we could. I think the City does 20 feel that the library is incredibly important. Surveys 21 indicate that a lot of people, both city and county, use the 22 library, and I think the library is on -- obviously, on our 23 agenda next time, and I'm sure that the budget for the 24 City's portion or the approved funding will probably be 25 increased. 9-19-05 14 1 JUDGE TINLEY: Thank you, sir. Mr. Benham, 2 you had forwarded a participation form. We'd be happy to 3 have you speak about this subject. 4 MR. BENHAM: Thank you, Your Honor. For the 5 record, I'm Joseph Benham. I live at 522 Rolling Green in 6 Kerrville, and I am in Commissioners Williams' precinct. I 7 think the most useful thing I can do this morning, rather 8 than go back over information I've given you in the past 9 about the financial contributions of the Friends to try to 10 further the library and many thousands of hours of volunteer 11 time that our members put in, is to respond to some specific 12 concerns that have come up in previous meetings of this 13 group that I've been able to attend. My health hasn't 14 allowed me to be here every time, but I come when I can. 15 And in conversations that I've had the privilege of having 16 with some of you individually, and with members of the City 17 Council -- I'm not authorized to speak for the City Council, 18 obviously. I am authorized to speak for the Friends of the 19 Library. 20 One of the things I wanted to say, first of 21 all, is I see -- unlike some of the people who've written to 22 the newspapers, I see nothing whatsoever wrong with you 23 gentlemen doing some brainstorming on how best to spend the 24 County's money. If I were on that side of the bar, I would 25 be doing exactly the same thing. I commend you for that. 9-19-05 15 1 Secondly, I have been distressed, both as a representative 2 of the Friends and as a concerned citizen, with the fact 3 that those meetings -- joint meetings with the City that 4 were mentioned earlier were discontinued. I think that was 5 a mistake. I don't know that there's anything to be gained 6 by trying to play the blame game -- this isn't New 7 Orleans -- play the blame game, but I do think it was a 8 mistake. And I would urge you gentlemen, and I'm 9 encouraging the City Council to start having those meetings 10 again. I attended some of them. I remember one workshop at 11 Riverhill Country Club, for instance, in one of their 12 meeting rooms, where you took up not only the library, but 13 EMS and the airport and everything else that the City and 14 County do jointly. I think it was a terrible mistake to 15 discontinue that custom. I hope it'll be reinstated, but 16 the fact the that it -- that a mistake was made is not 17 something that I want to see hurt the library. 18 Now, a question was raised by someone about 19 the library not being secure enough in terms of what people 20 can -- and especially children can look at in there. We 21 spent $9,000 of -- of our reserves to hire one of the 22 outstanding -- we were assured he was one of the 23 outstanding, perhaps the preeminent expert consultant on 24 library information systems, and one of the questions that 25 was asked was about firewalls. How do you keep stuff off of 9-19-05 16 1 the -- out of the hands or out of the -- off the screens 2 that people, especially children, shouldn't be seeing? We 3 also had the good fortune to be able to draw on the 4 expertise of one of our board members at the time, a 5 gentleman whom I suspect most of you know named Tom Murray. 6 He's -- among other things, he's very active in this 7 campaign to get us a new hospital. Tom, before he retired, 8 was the Chief of Information Services for the Chevron 9 Corporation, which is a fairly substantial outfit. And, 10 anyway, the bottom line was that you're wasting your money 11 if you -- if you spend money on those firewalls. 12 The -- the analogy I used was if they can't 13 keep these hackers out of the computers of places like NATO 14 and the Federal Reserve system, we're not going to keep them 15 out of the library in Kerrville. I'm -- I'm as disgusted as 16 anybody in this room at the sick people who put stuff on the 17 internet that shouldn't be there, but the fact is that as 18 fast as you spend money on software to keep it out, they 19 figure a way to get around it. But I want to assure you 20 that it was addressed very seriously; that we recognize 21 there is a problem. The librarians do everything they can 22 to discourage it, but there's no foolproof solution to that 23 problem, in this library or any other. 24 Another question that came up was, why should 25 the library be exempt from the cuts that you folks were 9-19-05 17 1 having to make for reasons that have already been stated, 2 your tax freeze and so forth? Well, the fact is, the 3 library hasn't been exempt from those. This budget that's 4 been referred to already -- already called for the spending 5 on the library to be reduced by over 14 percent. Now, 6 that's a pretty hefty cut, but the Library Director says he 7 can live with it. The people on our board who understand 8 budgets better than I do, which is most of them, say that 9 the library could live with a 14 percent cut. What the 10 library can't live with, gentlemen, or can't function 11 effectively with is a cut of -- of a third, which is what 12 300,000 from you gentlemen and 300,000 from the City Council 13 would do. It would cut the library budget by one-third, and 14 that is a terrible prospect. 15 It's going to mean -- if it's implemented, 16 it's going to mean reduction in hours. It's going to mean 17 reduction in services. It's going to mean that the library 18 won't have as much money to spend on -- on books and 19 materials and so forth. It's just -- it's just terribly 20 dismaying prospect, and I would urge you to revisit it. The 21 -- as I say, the library was already looking at a 14 percent 22 cut in the -- in the budget which was proposed, so it wasn't 23 that the library was sitting up there untouched by the need 24 for economy. But, again, I have to say, 14 percent -- to 25 cut by 14 percent and then cut what's left by a full third 9-19-05 18 1 is a terrible -- terrible policy decision, whatever you want 2 to call it. Okay. 3 The question was also raised, can't you get 4 money from elsewhere? The Friends are already making a 5 routine contribution of $20,000 a year. We have dipped into 6 reserves for the consultant I mentioned earlier on 7 computers. We're now funding a survey of analysis by a 8 group of library consultants whose -- whose preliminary 9 results have been made available to at least one member of 10 the Court, and I hope -- and I'm sure will be made available 11 to every member of the Court as soon as that work is 12 complete. We're paying for that, but that's about all the 13 money we have, frankly, except what's in our endowment, and 14 the endowment is re -- in -- I'm sorry, my morning pills are 15 interfering with my tongue. Our income from our endowment, 16 is what I intended to say, is restricted to capital 17 purposes. We cannot use that money for -- for operations. 18 Antonio came to us a couple of years ago and 19 asked us for some money to help out with a shortfall in -- a 20 need in the operations area, and we had to turn him down 21 because the -- and we'd be violating our -- our charter if 22 we did. Now, foundations. Foundations have been 23 extraordinarily generous where the library is concerned. It 24 was private money that put up -- largely private money. 25 There was a little federal money that I understand Ladybird 9-19-05 19 1 Johnson got for us; that was before I moved here, but it 2 was -- the building that's there was built largely with 3 private money. The Friends raised $360,000, mostly from 4 foundations, to purchase the building next door to the 5 library where the Cypress Grill used to be and travel agency 6 and so forth -- I'm sure you remember it -- for future 7 expansion, use by the library. 8 The foundations have been very generous in 9 making capital contributions, but they will not give us a 10 nickel for operations. That's just not the way they do 11 business, and we can't tell them how to do business. All we 12 can do is ask. And, as I say, they've come up with some 13 very generous gifts, and that -- that building -- the 14 funding for that building being the most obvious example. 15 But all of them have been for capital investment, not for -- 16 not for operations. So, private sources. The Friends put 17 every penny into that library that we earn from book sales 18 and we get from dues and so forth, but that's -- that's 19 limited. We're just about at our limit as to what we can 20 contribute to the library. The foundations won't put in the 21 -- they will not put in money for operations. 22 Let me see. I believe those are all of the 23 questions that have come up in my conversations with -- with 24 members of the two government bodies. I'd like to reiterate 25 that we, the Friends, and I personally am very eager -- I'm 9-19-05 20 1 at your disposition for anything I can do to be of help in 2 this. You gentlemen have been very patient in listening to 3 me in the past, and I would like to -- well, I'm going to 4 say this. I would like to do everything -- I am going to do 5 everything I can to improve the relations between the City 6 and the County. I think that -- again, I'm not going to 7 play the blame game. Just in the seven years-plus that I've 8 lived here, I've seen too many examples of irritation and, 9 on occasion, even enmity between the two branches of 10 government. That doesn't help anything. 11 Commissioner Letz and I had the privilege of 12 working together on a project, which we didn't quite succeed 13 in, to put up a new Ag Barn here, get the funding for a new 14 Ag Barn here. When we went to the City Council to ask them 15 to sign off on it, there was visible antagonism in the room 16 between a gentleman no longer on your Commission who spoke 17 for the County and some people who aren't on the City 18 Council any more, I don't believe, but were there then, and 19 it was just -- as I say, there was visible antagonism. That 20 doesn't help anybody. And I am delighted to hear 21 Commissioner Nicholson say that he wants a more productive 22 relationship. I want to see a more productive relationship. 23 Again, I'm grateful for your patience in letting me share 24 these thoughts with you. If I can answer any questions -- 25 yes, sir? 9-19-05 21 1 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Thank you for your 2 comments. I appreciate that very much. And we can use all 3 your help in mending that fence. When we first started 4 having these conversations, I made the comment that I don't 5 go to the library a whole lot any more, because the reason 6 that I used to go is -- is to read all the newspapers every 7 -- all the newspapers there; I used to read them. But now I 8 read them on -- on the internet, so -- and by that simple 9 comment, I had some really ugly phone calls. 10 MR. BENHAM: Well, I regret that. 11 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: You know, and that's 12 okay. That's -- I'm a big kid. But the question I'm going 13 to ask you is probably going to create some more ugly phone 14 calls, but I don't -- I don't mean -- this is a real -- 15 real, live question, and I -- I can't get my brains wrapped 16 around what the problem is with this thing. One of the 17 comments I saw in the paper is, due to the cutback, the 18 hours at the library are going to have to go from 56 hours 19 open to 40 hours open. What is wrong with that? 20 MR. BENHAM: Well -- 21 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: I mean, and I'm asking 22 -- I'm asking a real question. I don't understand -- 40 23 hours is a long time. 24 MR. BENHAM: Perfectly valid question, 25 Commissioner. The only -- in the first place, I haven't 9-19-05 22 1 been involved in the analysis that produced that 40-hour 2 figure. Antonio has said that he definitely would be 3 looking at a reduction in hours. As I say, I wasn't in on 4 that. Well, I would just say this. There is a lot of use 5 of that library on Sundays -- on Sundays and in the 6 evenings, and those are the -- those are the times that 7 would have to be cut back. If -- if you would take a recess 8 and go over to the library in about 15 minutes, you'd see 9 people already standing in line waiting to get into the 10 library at 10 o'clock. If you were in there at 6 o'clock in 11 the afternoon, as I frequently am, on days when the library 12 closes at 6:00 -- it's not open -- it's only open two 13 evenings a week. But if you were in there -- and I'm not 14 usually in there at 9 o'clock -- or 8 o'clock, I guess it 15 is, when they close for the night, but I'm frequently there 16 at 6:00. The librarians are having to go around and tell 17 people, "The library is closing; you have to leave." 18 The -- the answer is, that library gets used 19 during all of those 56 -- I thought it was 57, but 56 -- 20 during all of those 50-plus hours. When you go in there -- 21 when you go in there during the day, there is usually a 22 waiting list to use those computers. There's not a vacant 23 seat where those computers are concerned. And the library 24 is very intensely used, and it's used during those hours 25 that would have to be shut down. Some of those people are 9-19-05 23 1 coming in after work. Some of them are students who come 2 down there after school in the evening to get information 3 for their -- for their homework projects. And not everybody 4 can come between 10:00 and -- 10:00 and 5:00. So, I -- I 5 think your -- your question is certainly valid. Why do we 6 need the hours -- the extra hours? All I can say is that 7 the library is used during those hours. It's not sitting 8 there empty by any means. Yes, sir? 9 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Joe, thank you for 10 your -- your remarks -- your comments, and thanks for 11 stopping by the other day to visit. This is a question that 12 probably should be directed to the Library Director, or one 13 that perhaps should be fleshed out if we had an opportunity 14 to address these topics line-by-line. I notice under 15 Charges for Services on the revenue side of the ledger, the 16 nonresident fees is sort of a meager $2,600. Would you have 17 any way of knowing how many library cards are issued to 18 people who live outside Kerr County? 19 MR. BENHAM: I can't give you a number, but I 20 can tell you where most of them come from. They come from 21 Gillespie County, Tierra Linda and some of the other 22 subdivisions over there. They're folks who find it more 23 convenient to come to our library than to go into 24 Fredericksburg, and they're willing to pay the additional -- 25 I think it's still $25 a year. At any rate, whatever the 9-19-05 24 1 fee is, they pay that fee to be able to come to Kerrville 2 instead of going to Gillespie County. I'll be happy to get 3 that number for you, Commissioner, but I don't have it -- I 4 don't have it in front of me. 5 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: That's roughly a 6 hundred -- 7 MR. BENHAM: That's the principal source. 8 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: That's roughly 110 or 9 120 uses. I was curious as to whether or not there were 10 more than that. 11 MR. BENHAM: We have a few -- we have -- I 12 know we get a few winter Texans who are not residents. They 13 come down here in the winter, park in one of the R.V. parks 14 for a while, but they don't take out residency in Kerr 15 County. And -- but they want to use the library, and 16 they -- they get one of those cards. But I can't quantify 17 that number, either. There are a few that I know of. 18 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Okay. If I'm looking 19 at the budget that was given us correctly -- excuse me -- 20 the numbers that were presented represent about a 5 percent 21 reduction in operations from last year. What I found 22 interesting, too, is that from the previous year, '03-'04 23 budget to the '04-'05 budget, there was a 14 percent 24 increase. So, you know, there's -- whatever. 25 MR. BENHAM: Okay. 9-19-05 25 1 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Question I have -- and 2 just -- and everyone may be puzzled, because we finally have 3 a copy of the budget. We received this last week, as I 4 recall, so we do have -- finally we did get a copy of the 5 budget for the library. Question I have really isn't 6 directly related to this; it's kind of a general question. 7 You may or may not know. Several months ago, I made the 8 comment that I would really like to see explored as to 9 whether it is feasible to do an interlocal agreement with 10 Schreiner University and share some of the administrative 11 costs, primarily, and make joint use of that -- you know, I 12 know a lot of the public uses Schreiner University already; 13 I've heard up to 60 percent of the use out there is by the 14 general public. Do you -- to your knowledge, has anyone 15 looked at doing any interlocal agreement with Schreiner 16 University to share administrative costs and things of that 17 nature? Which, when I look at the budget, that seems like a 18 very high number, percentage-wise, out of the total budget. 19 MR. BENHAM: I don't know about any kind of 20 cost-sharing discussions. I know there were some 21 discussions with Dr. Summerlin after, I believe, you raised 22 that question in a previous meeting of this court, and he 23 simply said he didn't think it would be feasible, because so 24 many of their books are not the sort of thing the general 25 public is -- is looking for in a library. Now, whether -- 9-19-05 26 1 whether anybody from the City has talked to him or to Fred 2 Gamble, his finance man, or Mike Looney -- he's Director of 3 Development. Whether they've talked -- whether they've been 4 in on some discussions as to cost-sharing, I -- I don't 5 know. I haven't -- I know, as I say, Dr. Summerlin said he 6 didn't think it would be feasible from the standpoint of -- 7 of usage. But whether anybody's gotten into it from a 8 financial standpoint, I really don't know. I wish I could 9 shed some light on it. 10 COMMISSIONER LETZ: I still have one further 11 comment. If it's something the Friends can look into, to 12 me, it would be interesting. Obviously, there are areas -- 13 there are different charges -- different reasons for those 14 libraries and there are different types of books, but 15 administration of a library should be administration of a 16 library, so I think that's what I'm thinking of there. And 17 the other area would be computer use. Certainly, the use -- 18 I know there's a lot of computer use at Schreiner, a lot of 19 computer use at our library. If that can be shared somehow 20 to make it more efficient. Maybe, you know, on the hours, 21 it just is something that really is worth exploring. 22 Clearly, I understand, you can't totally integrate the two, 23 but in areas there may be things that can be done on a 24 shared basis that would save both money. 25 MR. BENHAM: Well, one -- if you allow me one 9-19-05 27 1 more comment on that, I -- I have been very impressed, and 2 I've said so in print, since Dr. Summerlin became president, 3 of his desire to improve the interplay or whatever you want 4 to call it -- I'm told in the trade they call it "town and 5 gown" relations. The -- the university is inviting the 6 public to more things on campus than they had in the past. 7 I'm on the board of the symphony as well as the Friends, and 8 Dr. Summerlin has given us office space out there and done 9 everything he could to -- to encourage that and the other 10 arts, whereas not just to have stuff on campus, but to 11 have -- have the public involved in the arts, and at 12 Schreiner and vice-versa. I've been -- I've been directly 13 involved in those things, so I know about them. I'm sure he 14 would be open -- I know Dr. Summerlin pretty well. I'm sure 15 he would be open to discussions of what you're describing. 16 He's not a -- he doesn't stay in his office with the door 17 locked, by any means. But I can't -- obviously, I can't 18 speak for him. 19 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Right. I was just 20 wondering if you had -- if those discussions had taken 21 place. They have, it sounds like, to a very limited basis, 22 but there may be something to pursue. And maybe it's really 23 more appropriate for the City to pursue it. I don't know 24 where that -- where it should come from, per se. 25 MR. BENHAM: If you will allow me one more 9-19-05 28 1 thing, then I'll shut up. I was at the City Council meeting 2 at which they voted; and, again, I'm not authorized to speak 3 for them, but I -- I have talked to several of them since 4 that meeting. I know that they -- when I say they have 5 assured me that if the County can fund the library to a 6 greater extent, hopefully a significantly greater extent 7 than 300,000, they feel confident that the City will do the 8 same. They said at that meeting that -- there were 9 statements made at that council meeting that the City was 10 going to keep money in reserve in case the situation changed 11 to the point where they could preserve the fifty-fifty 12 split, but put more money into the library, 'cause that's 13 what they wanted to do. Now, again, I'm not authorized to 14 speak for them, but I have had those assurances individually 15 from the City Council members. So, again, I hope you 16 gentlemen can see fit to move further. 17 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Let met me add one 18 more comment, Judge. The last thing you and I spoke about 19 the other day was a more permanent solution, as opposed to 20 what we're talking about now. What we're talking about now 21 is a temporary solution. 22 MR. BENHAM: Sure. 23 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: It's this year and 24 perhaps next year. And the permanent solution would involve 25 the creation of a library -- a county-wide library district. 9-19-05 29 1 And I just judge, from the fact that you asked me the 2 question, that that was something that you would work for on 3 behalf of the Friends and support it, and I would work for 4 it too on behalf of Commissioners Court. I think that is 5 the permanent solution, and I think that we should all be 6 working for that. 7 MR. BENHAM: I totally agree. And before I 8 moved here, I was secretary and director of a -- a public 9 utility district that served a substantial part of north 10 Harris County, and -- I'm sorry, I should say unincorporated 11 areas in a significant part of north Harris County, and one 12 corner of Montgomery County. And I'm a great believer in 13 districts that can -- can handle their own finances and 14 don't have to continually be running to the -- I also had 15 the privilege of being president of a -- of the property 16 owners' association out there, and we -- it wasn't a 17 district, but we assessed ourselves as property owners to 18 provide the security for our subdivision, our community. 19 And, again, we had -- I'll say, frankly, we had better 20 police protection than the city of Houston -- than the 21 average city of Houston resident did, because we had control 22 of it at the local level. We financed it at the local 23 level. So, you and I are on the same wavelength on district 24 -- on the concept of district 100 percent. I will say this; 25 it's going to take a while, and therefore, I hope you can go 9-19-05 30 1 ahead and put adequate funding into the library in the 2 meantime. But I will -- I will be the first one in this 3 room to join you in working to create such a district. I 4 think it's a great idea, and I think it would be the 5 solution -- could very well be the solution to our needs 6 here. 7 JUDGE TINLEY: Thank you, Mr. Benham. We 8 appreciate you being here today, and we appreciate your 9 comments. 10 MR. BENHAM: Well, I'm grateful for your 11 time. 12 JUDGE TINLEY: Thank you, sir. 13 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: Thanks. 14 JUDGE TINLEY: We have a motion and a second 15 on the floor, Commissioners. Does your motion include the 16 two minor changes that were made -- 17 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: It just -- 18 JUDGE TINLEY: -- to the agreement, the 19 minimum and the June 30 change? 20 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: It includes the 21 June 30 change. What language do you -- 22 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Well, let me take a 23 whack at it, Judge. The motion on the floor, I'd like to 24 offer an amendment to the motion. I believe that's the 25 right way to do it. I'd like to offer an amendment that, in 9-19-05 31 1 addition to the June -- Paragraph 8, the June substitution 2 for July, I'd like to offer in Paragraph 9 the parties agree 3 that the County's minimum contribution for the fiscal year 4 shall be -- I'm going to see if we can make this fly. There 5 is some money in the airport budget that we can drift over, 6 perhaps. I'm going to offer a substitute that the amount be 7 changed from 300,000 to $350,000. 8 COMMISSIONER LETZ: My comment is, I can't go 9 along with a change right now, 'cause I don't know where the 10 money's coming from. I mean, if we could -- you know, and 11 plus -- well, you know, I'd be willing to look at that when 12 we look at our budget again. But at this point, I can't go 13 along with raising it a number and decreasing the county 14 reserves, which, in my opinion, are already horrendously 15 low. 16 JUDGE TINLEY: Do I hear a second to the 17 amendment? Hearing no second to the amendment, the 18 amendment will die for lack of a second. 19 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Judge, I'll make a -- 20 offer an amendment, that we just add the word "minimum." So 21 it shall read, "The parties agree that the County's minimum 22 contribution for Fiscal Year 2005-2006 shall be $300,000." 23 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: I'll second it. 24 JUDGE TINLEY: Motion made and seconded for 25 an amendment. I'm gathering, Commissioner Nicholson, that 9-19-05 32 1 we still have the June 30 in lieu of July 30 in your motion? 2 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: Yes, sir. 3 JUDGE TINLEY: Okay. Okay. We have a motion 4 and a second on the amendment. Any further question or 5 discussion on the amendment? 6 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Does the word "shall" 7 remain? 8 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Yes. 9 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Stays in? 10 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Yes. 11 JUDGE TINLEY: All those in favor of the 12 amendment, signify by raising your right hand. 13 (The motion carried by unanimous vote.) 14 JUDGE TINLEY: All opposed, same sign. 15 (No response.) 16 JUDGE TINLEY: The motion does carry. We're 17 back to the main motion now, to the approval of the 18 contract, which would include an additional change of 19 June 30 in lieu of July 30 in Paragraph 8, and otherwise 20 approve the contract as amended by the amendment just 21 passed. Any further question or discussion on that motion? 22 All in favor of that motion, signify by raising your right 23 hand. 24 (The motion carried by unanimous vote.) 25 JUDGE TINLEY: All opposed, same sign. 9-19-05 33 1 (No response.) 2 JUDGE TINLEY: That motion does carry. We'll 3 move to Item 2 on the agenda, to consider, discuss, and take 4 appropriate action on the Animal Control contract between 5 the City of Kerrville and Kerr County. Commissioner 6 Nicholson? 7 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: Again, the -- myself 8 and the County Attorney, Assistant City Attorney, and the 9 City Manager have met on this contract. And first I want to 10 clear up what could have been a misunderstanding earlier. 11 There was some question about whether or not the City had 12 adopted a new Chapter 18 of their Code of Ordinances, and 13 they have not. So, the purpose and the enforcement issues 14 in this contract are essentially the same as they have been 15 in the past; that we will enforce the Rabies Control Act, 16 Chapter 18 of the City, excluding certain enumerated 17 provisions there, and the Texas Health and Safety Code. It 18 goes on to exclude enforcement of zoning regulations. If we 19 turn to Page 3, that's item 5.C.8. County's not responsible 20 for collection of dead animals within the City. And then 21 Part 6 specifically describes the amount the City will pay 22 for county services and the formula for coming up with that 23 amount. That's $122,496.40, which includes the $6,000 24 administrative number. I move that we approve the Animal 25 Control contract -- 9-19-05 34 1 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Second. 2 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: -- with City of 3 Kerrville. 4 JUDGE TINLEY: Motion made and seconded for 5 approval. Any question or discussion? 6 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Question. In a prior 7 discussion with you, there was the issue of -- of revenue 8 that was generated at the facility being split. Is that in 9 here? 10 JUDGE TINLEY: Yes. 11 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: It's in here. The 12 amount they're going to pay is net. 13 COMMISSIONER LETZ: It is a net number? 14 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: Yes. We gave up -- 15 sorry, I should have mentioned that. We gave up half of it. 16 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Right. 17 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: And that seems fair 18 to me. 19 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Okay. 20 JUDGE TINLEY: Yeah. The -- I was asked to 21 give that information to Council at their meeting last 22 Tuesday. I furnished it to them the next morning, and the 23 number as I've computed is the previous gross amount we gave 24 them, less half the revenue, and it comes out on the money. 25 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Okay, good. 9-19-05 35 1 JUDGE TINLEY: Any further question or 2 discussion on the motion? All in favor of the motion, 3 signify by raising your right hand. 4 (The motion carried by unanimous vote.) 5 JUDGE TINLEY: All opposed, same sign. 6 (No response.) 7 JUDGE TINLEY: That motion does carry. Thank 8 you. Let's go to Item 3, if we might. Consider, discuss, 9 and take appropriate action on the revision of plat for 10 Mosty Pecan Grove. 11 MS. HARDIN: I put this on the agenda for 12 last week. The wording was not correct. I did not have 13 another drawing to give you gentlemen, but I'd be glad to 14 answer any questions, if you have any. 15 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: We've all seen the 16 drawing, and it doesn't -- I might refresh the Court's 17 memory. It does increase the right-of-way on J.J. Lane from 18 30 feet to 40 feet; is that correct? 19 MS. HARDIN: That's correct. 20 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: All the way up and 21 down from Highway 27 to the -- to the pump tract at the 22 bottom. 23 MS. HARDIN: Yes, sir. 24 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: I would offer 25 approval of -- for the revision of plat for Mosty Pecan 9-19-05 36 1 Grove, Volume 7, 295 -- Page 295, Precinct 2. 2 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: Second. 3 JUDGE TINLEY: Motion made and seconded for 4 approval of the agenda item. Any question or discussion? 5 All in favor of that motion, signify by raising your right 6 hand. 7 (The motion carried by unanimous vote.) 8 JUDGE TINLEY: All opposed, same sign. 9 (No response.) 10 JUDGE TINLEY: The motion does carry. The 11 next item on the agenda is to consider, discuss, and take 12 appropriate action on procedures for the paying and 13 reporting of costs or charges incurred or expenditures 14 involving penalties, fees, interest, or other costs 15 associated with late payment or other administrative system 16 failures. Commissioner Nicholson. 17 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: This is back on here 18 because the last meeting, the agenda item wasn't complete. 19 We've talked about a lot -- I think we all know what we're 20 trying to do here, to -- to bring some accountability to 21 unbudgeted and unapproved expenditures. So, I'm going to 22 move we adopt a court order requiring that costs or charges 23 incurred or expenditures involving penalties, fees, 24 interest, or other costs associated with late payment or 25 other administrative system failures be reported to the Kerr 9-19-05 37 1 County Auditor and the Commissioners Court. 2 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Second. 3 JUDGE TINLEY: Motion made and seconded for 4 the court order as designated. Any question or discussion? 5 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: I have a question. 6 Who actually does that reporting? The County Treasurer? 7 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: In this instant 8 case, we're -- in 2002, it occurred three times. The County 9 Treasurer and the County Judge received a notice from the 10 State that they were being incurred, so yes, I would think 11 the -- the person responsible for the function would report 12 it to the Auditor and/or the Commissioners Court. 13 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: And come in, like, on 14 a regular Commissioners Court and report it live and 15 unrehearsed, as opposed to a memo-type issue? 16 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: The advantages of 17 that, Commissioner, it would give the Auditor and/or the 18 Court an opportunity to intervene to -- to try to put 19 something in place to stop the occurrences. 20 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: I'm with you. 21 JUDGE TINLEY: Any further question or 22 discussion on the motion? All in favor of the motion, 23 signify by raising your right hand. 24 (The motion carried by unanimous vote.) 25 JUDGE TINLEY: All opposed, same sign. 9-19-05 38 1 (No response.) 2 JUDGE TINLEY: That motion does carry. Let's 3 move to Item 5, if we might. Consider, discuss, and take 4 appropriate action on authorizing the Kerrville Area Chamber 5 of Commerce to coordinate Kerr County sesquicentennial 6 celebration in combination and consultation with Kerr County 7 Commissioners Court, the Kerr County Historical Commission, 8 and representatives of the several cities and towns within 9 the county. 10 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: So moved. 11 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Second. 12 JUDGE TINLEY: Motion made and seconded for 13 approval of the agenda item. Any question or discussion? 14 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Judge, where -- in the 15 back of my mind, I'm thinking that there's going to be a 16 function in 2006 in the month of March. 17 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: April. 18 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: April? 19 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: We designated some 20 dates in the month of April. Right? 21 COMMISSIONER LETZ: And I believe it was -- 22 April was chosen because that's when the -- was it the 23 centennial? 24 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: That's tracked back 25 to the centennial. When we did the centennial was in April. 9-19-05 39 1 COMMISSIONER LETZ: For weather reasons, 2 primarily. 3 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Somebody had a memory 4 that went back 50 years. Do you believe that? 5 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: No. Cool. Cool. I'm 6 ready; I'm getting started here. 7 JUDGE TINLEY: It occurs to me that you're 8 trying to get a jump on it, Commissioner. 9 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Yeah, I'm going to do 10 my part. It talks about the Commissioners Court being 11 involved; I'm going to quit shaving. 12 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: You should be in good 13 shape by April. 14 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Yeah. 15 JUDGE TINLEY: Any further question or 16 discussion on the motion? All in favor of the motion, 17 signify by raising your right hand. 18 (The motion carried by unanimous vote.) 19 JUDGE TINLEY: All opposed, same sign. 20 (No response.) 21 JUDGE TINLEY: The motion does carry. We 22 have one executive session item. Mr. County Attorney, do 23 you think it'll take much more than about five minutes if 24 we -- 25 MR. EMERSON: No, sir. 9-19-05 40 1 JUDGE TINLEY: -- can do that right quick? 2 Why don't we go ahead and get that disposed of right quick. 3 We will go out of open or public session at 9:55, and we 4 will shortly go into closed session. 5 (Discussion off the record.) 6 (The open session was closed at 9:55 a.m., and an Executive Session was held, the 7 transcript of which is contained in a separate document.) 8 - - - - - - - - - - 9 JUDGE TINLEY: Okay, it is 10:04, and we will 10 come back into open or public session in the special 11 Commissioners Court meeting. Is there anything further to 12 be offered at the meeting? Hearing nothing, I will adjourn 13 that special Commissioners Court meeting. 14 (The regular Commissioners Court meeting was adjourned at 10:04 a.m., and a public 15 hearing was held in open court, as follows:) 16 P U B L I C H E A R I N G 17 JUDGE TINLEY: I will now call to order a 18 public hearing on the proposed Fiscal Year 2005-2006 tax 19 rate for Kerr County, as posted on the special Commissioners 20 Court agenda for this date, Monday, September 19th, 2005, 21 for 10 a.m. It is a few minutes past that. I apologize for 22 being somewhat tardy getting started, but the -- the public 23 hearing is now open, and if there's any member of the public 24 that wishes to be heard with regard to the proposed Fiscal 25 Year 2005-2006 tax rate for Kerr County, please feel 9-19-05 41 1 privileged to come forward. And when you come forward, if 2 you'll give your name and address so that the reporter can 3 take it down. 4 MS. RACKLEY: Before -- before I come 5 forward, I've come really prepared. If there's a reporter 6 in the room, I've got stuff for him, too. I have evidence. 7 I don't do things without evidence. That's what forensic 8 auditors do, you know. 9 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: How are you? Thank 10 you very much. 11 MR. BENHAM: Ma'am, there's a reporter there. 12 (Discussion off the record.) 13 JUDGE TINLEY: Give your name, please, and 14 your address. 15 MS. RACKLEY: I will. Shirley Rackley, and 16 Rackley is spelled R-a-c-k-l-e-y. I live at 455 Pike's Peak 17 Road South, Kerrville, Texas. And I'm going to pretty well 18 stick to this paper and keep it as brief as possible. I'm 19 not certain we need a tax increase; however, I do recognize 20 that we need money to operate all the departments, you know, 21 especially the Sheriff's Department, the Road department and 22 so forth. But if our tax base really was increased to 23 10 percent, as it was stated in the newspapers, then you 24 wouldn't have to -- to increase the taxpayers of this county 25 and further burden them. There's -- we don't have industry 9-19-05 42 1 here; that's in one of the -- the things to support the tax 2 base. But what it does is, it just makes some of the 3 seniors pay more and have a bigger burden. And some of the 4 people haven't had tax increases in 10 and 20 years, but I 5 didn't bring those. I only brought the ones that I could 6 absolutely prove in the last five years, they did not get a 7 10 percent increase. And one of them -- one of the 8 appraisers, he got an 18,900-and-some-dollar homestead 9 exemption, when a homestead exemption, everybody knows, is 10 $3,000. So, that's about what I have to say. You know, I 11 don't think there's any more needs to be said. I've got it 12 all in writing. 13 JUDGE TINLEY: Okay. 14 MS. RACKLEY: I do think we need to -- to 15 investigate the appraisal process and the appraisal 16 department. I do think they need to be replaced. 17 JUDGE TINLEY: Thank you, ma'am. We 18 appreciate your comments, and we appreciate you providing us 19 with this information. 20 MS. RACKLEY: Thank you. 21 JUDGE TINLEY: Is there any other member of 22 the public that wishes to be heard with respect to the 23 proposed Fiscal Year 2005-2006 tax rate for Kerr County? 24 MR. BENHAM: Yes. 25 JUDGE TINLEY: Mr. Benham? 9-19-05 43 1 MR. BENHAM: Thank you, Your Honor. Once 2 again, for the record, I'm Joseph Benham; I live at 522 3 Rolling Green, Kerrville. I'm in Commissioner Williams' 4 precinct. I support this action. My taxes went up this 5 year. Since I'm a senior citizen, I gather they won't go up 6 in the future, but the appraisal -- the appraisal on the 7 house where we live went up significantly. We were able to 8 get an adjustment on the value of the land, because we 9 showed them that our lot was the smallest one on our street 10 and had the highest assessment, so they agreed that that had 11 been an error, and they did give us a reduction in the value 12 of the land. However, the assessment on the improvements 13 went up significantly. So, I am not -- I want -- I'm 14 bringing that up because I want to make it clear, this tax 15 increase will apply to me, not just people who are younger. 16 I am satisfied that you gentlemen and the people who work 17 for you have done a very thorough job of assessing the needs 18 of the county and have come up with a figure which is high 19 enough to keep the wolf at least at bay temporarily, but 20 would not invite the expense and ill feeling, frankly, of a 21 rollback election. And, therefore, I am -- I am comfortable 22 with the work you folks have put in on this, and I do -- I 23 do support this increase. Thank you. 24 JUDGE TINLEY: Thank you, Mr. Benham, for 25 your comments. Is there any other member of the public that 9-19-05 44 1 wishes to be heard? Please come forward, sir. Give your 2 name and address. 3 MR. HOLSTER: Yes, sir. My name is Ross 4 Holster; I live at 832 Earl Garrett Street here in 5 Kerrville. I'd just like to -- if you would just listen 6 just a few minutes, to make my views known from the senior 7 view. I'm 74 years old, and I started working when I was 12 8 years old. I started paying taxes and Social Security when 9 I was 14. My taxes now in Kerrville -- I moved here in 10 1992. Even with all my exemptions, my taxes are more than 11 double, and I depend on Social Security quite a bit. I have 12 a little bit of other income, not very much. I have trouble 13 maintaining my house. If it wasn't for my exemptions, I 14 couldn't stay in this house. And it seems to me like 15 seniors might be getting a kind of an unfair portion of the 16 blame for this budget. Not only from Commissioners Court, 17 from Daily Times; they had a write-up, too. And my 18 appraisal went up. I talked to the Appraisal Board. I was 19 informed I already had all the exemptions I deserved, that 20 they couldn't do anything for me. Well, that's all well and 21 good. If they need the money that bad, I'll try to figure 22 out some way to get it. 23 But I would like it understood from my point 24 of view, or from me personally and my wife; every dollar 25 that goes out, we have to budget somewhere else for that 9-19-05 45 1 dollar, the same as you people do. So this is a -- it's not 2 a tit-for-tat. Actually, I think the tax is too high to 3 start with. I have to make my taxes in payments, and when 4 you have to make them in payments, they're too high. And I 5 know you need money to run the government, but I do think 6 there's some place that can be cut. I don't know where at; 7 I'm not -- I'm not that familiar with your operations. But 8 I'm sure something can be done to relieve the people of this 9 county; not only the seniors, but the young people too. 10 And, really, about the average wage in Kerrville -- a 11 $10-an-hour job in Kerrville is a pretty good job, so most 12 of your employees and the people in government are really -- 13 their salaries are pretty good, I think. That's from my 14 point of view only. I thank you for listening to me. 15 Appreciate it. 16 JUDGE TINLEY: Thank you, Mr. Holster. We 17 appreciate your comments. Is there any other member of the 18 public that wishes to be heard with respect to the proposed 19 Fiscal Year 2005-2006 tax rate for Kerr County? Anyone else 20 who wishes to be heard? Seeing no one else coming forward 21 or otherwise seeking to gain my attention to be heard, I 22 will close the public hearing on the proposed Fiscal Year 23 2005-2006 tax rate for Kerr County. I appreciate y'all 24 being here, and there will be another public hearing, as I'm 25 sure your notice indicated, this coming Friday. I believe 9-19-05 46 1 that's at 10 a.m. Is that correct, Ms. Mitchell? 2 MS. MITCHELL: Yes. 3 JUDGE TINLEY: Friday, the 23rd, at 10 a.m. 4 So, if any of you folks wish to be heard again, you have the 5 privilege of being heard again. Or if anyone makes inquiry 6 of you that wants to be heard, we'll be happy to hear them 7 at that date and time also. Again, thank you for being 8 here. That'll conclude the business of the court today. 9 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: I have a question, 10 Judge, before you adjourn. 11 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: I have some 12 discussion about tax rate that I want to get involved in. 13 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Discussion or comments 14 isn't public hearing. 15 JUDGE TINLEY: I'm not sure we can engage -- 16 the Court can engage in any discussion about the tax rate 17 today. The only thing concerning the tax rate today was the 18 public hearing, and that -- and that part has been closed, 19 as indicated. 20 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: Okay. Time's 21 running out. I've got a list of cost reductions that I want 22 to address that could amount to several hundred thousand 23 dollars. When am I going to get the opportunity to do that, 24 Your Honor? 25 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Well, we need to have 9-19-05 47 1 a -- there'll be a -- 2 JUDGE TINLEY: We will have the budget up for 3 adoption on the 26th, I believe. 4 MS. MITCHELL: Yes. 5 JUDGE TINLEY: That's on the agenda for the 6 26th. And there will be another public hearing on the 23rd. 7 COMMISSIONER LETZ: The -- 8 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: My question had to do 9 with process also. Your Honor, I know there's no more 10 action to be taken place today, but if we were to find some 11 ability to move some more funds to the library line, that 12 would take place on the 26th when we have the budget again 13 up for final review and adoption? 14 JUDGE TINLEY: Yes. 15 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Okay. 16 JUDGE TINLEY: Yes. 17 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: That was my question. 18 JUDGE TINLEY: Statute provides that -- that 19 the Court can make any adjustments to the budget that they 20 think are warranted or necessary under the law, I believe 21 what the language is. And -- 22 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Okay, thank you. 23 That was my question. 24 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Judge, I have a 25 question. Is the regular Commissioners Court -- or the 9-19-05 48 1 special called Commissioners Court meeting still open? 2 JUDGE TINLEY: No, we adjourned that. 3 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: It's adjourned? 4 JUDGE TINLEY: That -- that meeting is 5 adjourned. 6 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Is there any -- is 7 there any way you can take comments from an elected 8 official? 9 JUDGE TINLEY: I don't think so, 10 Commissioner. 11 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Okay. 12 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Well, we have on our -- 13 next Monday is our regular -- or our special regular 14 Commissioners Court meeting. (Laughter.) 15 JUDGE TINLEY: Regularly scheduled. 16 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Full-time part-time. 17 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Yeah. So, I mean, 18 anything can be put on that agenda still. We can discuss 19 any of these items next Monday. 20 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Okay. 21 COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: Okay. 22 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: I've got one more 23 question. I have in my little book that we have a 24 10 o'clock meeting tomorrow as well. Did that get scratched 25 and moved to Friday? 9-19-05 49 1 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: I think so. This 2 Friday, the 23rd. 3 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Nothing? 4 JUDGE TINLEY: I don't show it, Commissioner. 5 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: We're going to skip a 6 day of meeting? 7 COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: We'll miss each 8 other, right? 9 COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Well, not exactly. 10 JUDGE TINLEY: Thank you. 11 (The Commissioners Court Public Hearing was adjourned at 10:15 a.m.) 12 - - - - - - - - - - 13 STATE OF TEXAS | 14 COUNTY OF KERR | 15 The above and foregoing is a true and complete 16 transcription of my stenotype notes taken in my capacity as 17 County Clerk of the Commissioners Court of Kerr County, 18 Texas, at the time and place heretofore set forth. 19 DATED at Kerrville, Texas, this 23rd day of September, 20 2005. 21 22 23 JANNETT PIEPER, Kerr County Clerk 24 BY: _________________________________ Kathy Banik, Deputy County Clerk 25 Certified Shorthand Reporter 9-19-05