1 1 2 3 KERR COUNTY COMMISSIONERS' COURT 4 Special Session 5 Monday, May 6, 2024 6 9:00 a.m. 7 Commissioners' Courtroom 8 Kerr County Courthouse 9 Kerrville, Texas 78028 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 PRESENT: ROB KELLY, Kerr County Judge ANN OVERBY, Commissioner Precinct 1 24 JONATHAN LETZ, Commissioner Precinct 3 DON HARRIS, Commissioner Precinct 4 25 2 1 I-N-D-E-X 2 NO. PAGE 3 1.1 Consider, discuss and take appropriate 3 action to accept resignation of County 4 Clerk. 5 1.2 Consider, discuss and take appropriate 4 action to appoint County Clerk. 6 1.3 Consider, discuss and take appropriate 11 7 action to approve retention of step and grade, longevity, and sick leave for Tax 8 Assessor's Office employee. 9 1.4 Consider, discuss and take appropriate 14 action to approve bond for County Clerk. 10 *** Adjournment. 15 11 *** Reporter's Certificate. 16 12 * * * * * * 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 3 1 JUDGE KELLY: Court will come to order. It 2 is Monday, May the 6th, 2024. It's 9:00 in the morning 3 and the Kerr County Commissioners' Court is in session 4 in a special meeting. And we do not have prayer and 5 pledge on special meetings, nor do we have public input, 6 so we'll move straight into the Consideration Agenda. 7 Item 1.1 is to consider, discuss and take 8 appropriate action to accept the resignation of the 9 County Clerk. 10 And I have here the letter that I received 11 from Ian Collum last Wednesday, and it's addressed to 12 me. And it says, I respectfully submit this letter as 13 my formal resignation as Kerr County Clerk effective 14 immediately. 15 Unfortunately, due to ongoing health issues 16 it is in my best interest to resign. I am incredibly 17 grateful for the opportunities that I have been given 18 throughout my employment with Kerr County. I have been 19 blessed to work in an office full of kind, capable and 20 intelligent men and women who I have the utmost respect. 21 I would not have been able to accomplish all that we did 22 without their help and guidance. 23 Please let me know of any way I can assist 24 with the transition of responsibilities to ensure that 25 it is as seamless as possible for everyone involved. 4 1 Thank you for allowing me the privilege to 2 serve. Sincerely, Ian Collum. 3 That's what brings us to this special 4 meeting today. 5 COMMISSIONER HARRIS: I'll move for approval 6 of the resignation letter. 7 JUDGE KELLY: We have a motion. 8 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Second. 9 JUDGE KELLY: And a second to accept the 10 resignation letter. 11 Just as a clarification to the public, the 12 resignation is not effective until it is accepted by the 13 Court. So even though he said effective immediately, he 14 holds over and continues to serve as the County Clerk 15 until that resignation is accepted, which the motion 16 that's just been made and seconded. 17 So with that, is there any discussion? 18 Those in favor say aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Four, 19 zero. 20 Moving on to Item 1.2 consider, discuss and 21 take appropriate action to appoint County Clerk as 22 needed here. We don't have to go to Executive Session 23 on this, do we? 24 MRS. STEBBINS: Pardon? Say that again? 25 JUDGE KELLY: Executive Session or not? 5 1 MRS. STEBBINS: No, you don't have to. If 2 you'd like to get some legal advice about the process we 3 can. 4 JUDGE KELLY: Well, okay. 5 MRS. STEBBINS: But if y'all -- I mean, 6 y'all know the process. 7 JUDGE KELLY: Well, but the public doesn't 8 know the process and it's important for them to 9 understand what we're doing. 10 MRS. STEBBINS: For appointment of the 11 County Clerk? Well, you accept the resignation and he 12 holds over until you appoint a new one. So that you 13 have on the agenda today that you can appoint a new 14 clerk, that's up to the Commissioners' Court to fulfill 15 the unexpired term. So she'll serve or he'll serve 16 until the end of the year. And then you have also on 17 the agenda to approve the bond. 18 JUDGE KELLY: Right. So we're at -- we're 19 at stage 1.2 and this is to discuss appointing a new 20 County Clerk. 21 COMMISSIONER LETZ: I'll start. 22 JUDGE KELLY: And if -- no, let me start. 23 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Okay. You go ahead. 24 JUDGE KELLY: Well, no, you go ahead and 25 start. 6 1 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Either way. 2 JUDGE KELLY: Well, I have something for Bob 3 Reeves to read but go ahead. 4 COMMISSIONER LETZ: I was going to actually 5 go over the same thing. 6 JUDGE KELLY: Then read it. 7 COMMISSIONER HARRIS: I don't want to say 8 anything. 9 COMMISSIONER LETZ: This is from Bob Reeves. 10 It's a little bit of a history of one of his employees, 11 Nadene Alford. And I think it's important for everyone 12 to understand exactly the situation and her experience. 13 And I talked to Nadene and Bob last -- last week and I 14 think the letter will be self-explanatory. 15 Nadene Alford joined Kerr County Clerk's 16 Office in 1985. She started in the Land Records. Soon 17 she was to go to expert -- 18 JUDGE KELLY: To go to expert. 19 COMMISSIONER LETZ: -- to go to expert for 20 every abstractor, land man, and realtor in the Hill 21 Country. Over the next 22 years, Nadene worked in 22 almost every department in the clerk's office, 23 including, but not limited to, probate, County Court at 24 Law, and vital records. She rose to the position of 25 Chief Deputy and served with the utmost of distinction. 7 1 In 2007, she moved to the tax office as 2 Elections Coordinator. In addition to her election 3 duties, you will often see her working the motor vehicle 4 counter when the line becomes too long. During her 5 tenure she achieved the registered election official and 6 certified election registration administrator 7 designations. That's known as CERA. The CERA 8 designation is a Master's Level achievement offered by 9 Auburn University. 10 On December 1st, 2018 she became Chief 11 Deputy of the Kerr County Tax Office. Nadene probably 12 holds the distinction of being the only person to be 13 chief deputy of two different county offices. As Chief 14 Deputy she handled the office HR duties, elections, and 15 any other duties which needed attention. 16 With 39 years of service to the County 17 Nadene could choose to set back and wait for retirement, 18 whenever that may be; however, this is not her style. 19 She is never content on only giving a day's work for a 20 day's pay. She arrives early and stays late because the 21 work needs to be finished. She is loyal to a fault to 22 the County, and to our bosses the citizens. 23 With the sudden resignation of the County 24 Clerk, there is a void in the office. She can fill that 25 void. 8 1 The selfish part of me does not want to lose 2 such a valuable teammate and friend; however, I know 3 she's needed in the Kerr County Clerk's Office. For the 4 good of the County, I totally support her appointment 5 to be the next County Clerk. 6 And I think it pretty much goes without 7 saying and the reason that I visited with Nadene and Bob 8 last week was that I -- you know, I knew how her 9 experience, she's really the only employee that we have 10 that has that kind of experience in the County Clerk's 11 office and elections that are a new part of that office. 12 So with that, I'll make a motion to appoint 13 Nadene Alford as the County Clerk to fill out the 14 unexpired term. 15 COMMISSIONER HARRIS: Second. 16 JUDGE KELLY: Got a motion and a second to 17 appoint Nadene Alford as the interim Kerr County Clerk. 18 And with that, Court is open for discussion. 19 COMMISSIONER HARRIS: We're just fortunate 20 to have somebody with that expertise, and I couldn't 21 think of a better fit myself. 22 JUDGE KELLY: Well, I think we're at a 23 unique crossroads and I want to make sure that we have 24 informed the public of the background. We moved the 25 elections from the tax office last year to the County 9 1 Clerk's office, who has the statutory obligation to 2 cover the election process. And this was an unusual 3 year for us. We had four elections this year. We had 4 the primary in March, we just had the municipal election 5 and we've got a runoff election in a couple weeks, and 6 then we've got the general election in November. 7 So the County Clerk's office, with the 8 assistance from Bob Reeves and Nadene Alford, began the 9 process of mastering the election process, which has 10 been headed by Denise Vela here in the courtroom. And 11 she's done a masterful job. Truly, a masterful job. We 12 couldn't be prouder of her. 13 What we have now is, between now and the end 14 of this year, we have two more elections. And the 15 general election in November, looks like it's going to 16 be a high-spirited contest as usual. And so it seems 17 only logical that we would task Nadene to come back and 18 help us finish out this year. Without prejudice, I 19 might add. We'll talk about that here in a minute 20 because if she chooses to go back to the tax office, we 21 want to make sure that position's going to be available 22 for her. But we need someone to help us through the end 23 of this year. 24 Now for those people -- I'm not going to go 25 into the County Attorney's presentation here, but there 10 1 will need to be an election, because Ian was the 2 Republican Party candidate that was approved at the last 3 primary election in March. And so then we'll have -- 4 have to deal with that issue. But for that time being, 5 we need an interim County Clerk. And that's the motion 6 and the second, and I think we could not be in better 7 hands than with Nadene at this point. 8 COMMISSIONER OVERBY: I agree. 9 COMMISSIONER LETZ: I kind of think it's -- 10 and I'll emphasize it again, it's not just the election 11 side that Nadene has the experience, it's that whole 12 office. And there's -- I won't say there's been, you 13 know, turnover over there, but there's some people in 14 the office that have not been there all that long and 15 are learning a lot of their jobs. And all of a sudden a 16 quick turnover, I think it's going to be a good thing 17 for that office to get that kind of experience over 18 there and everything. There's a lot of reporting that 19 needs to be done. There's -- you know, that office does 20 a lot more than I think most of the public realizes and 21 it's critical to our county government. 22 JUDGE KELLY: And vital. 23 COMMISSIONER LETZ: And vital, without a 24 doubt. And I think, you know, Nadene can go in there 25 and mentor. And there's a great staff over there, but I 11 1 think that, you know, her knowledge will help them and I 2 think it'll be a good fit. Leadership. 3 JUDGE KELLY: Well, and one thing that the 4 public probably does not know, is there are tremendous 5 responsibilities in the County Clerk's office to provide 6 reportings on a timely basis to the State, stating which 7 we lose our opportunity to receive grants, which is a 8 big part of our income at this point. And so to have 9 somebody that understands the system and understands the 10 reporting deadlines, is vital for us to be able to keep 11 wheels on the truck here. 12 So anything else? 13 COMMISSIONER OVERBY: I worked with Nadene 14 over 20 years on the Federal side, too. I don't think 15 we could find a better person. 16 JUDGE KELLY: Okay. So with that, those in 17 favor say aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Four, zero. 18 Now, full disclosure. She will take over at 19 the Kerr County Clerk's salary, which is $77,378.21, and 20 she will serve through the end of December. December 21 31, 2024. And whoever gets elected will take office in 22 January 1 of 2025. 23 So moving on to Item number 3 on the agenda, 24 which is to consider, discuss and take appropriate 25 action to approve retention of step and grade, 12 1 longevity, and sick leave for Tax Assessor's Office 2 employee. 3 And what this is, as I mentioned earlier, if 4 she serves out as the interim through the end of this 5 year and does not run for that office, and goes back 6 into the tax office, we want to hold her position so she 7 goes back in exactly where she's leaving. We don't want 8 there to be any penalty for helping us out, so -- 9 COMMISSIONER LETZ: I think it's also 10 elected officials do not get comp time, sick leave or 11 PTO. So the fact that she, you know, is not probably 12 legal for her to lose that, so basically she's resigning 13 from being a County employee and becoming an elected 14 official. And with that, we need to pay out her comp 15 time and her sick time, and the portion -- this is the 16 technicality that Nadene probably doesn't know -- the 17 portion of her PTO is under the policy, it lists PTO so 18 we can't -- Nadene has 440 hours of PTO. 19 JUDGE KELLY: That's paid time off. 20 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Paid time off. Our 21 policy, without us making a discussion, only covers 160 22 hours. So we can come back at our next meeting and make 23 that adjustment. But today, all we can do is 24 authorize -- I'll make a motion to authorize the payment 25 of 200 hours of comp time, 160 hours of paid time off, 13 1 and 600 hours of accrued sick time. 2 MRS. STEBBINS: She'll retain the sick time. 3 COMMISSIONER LETZ: You're going to retain 4 the sick time if you go back to that position or maybe 5 you have to pay it back. Whatever our policy says. 6 MRS. STEBBINS: Yeah, it -- she'll just 7 retain it if she goes back to the position. If she 8 doesn't go back to the position, it's lost. 9 COMMISSIONER LETZ: So my motion is to pay 10 200 hours of comp time and 160 hours of paid time off, 11 and the additional paid time off we'll consider at our 12 next meeting. 13 COMMISSIONER OVERBY: I'll second that 14 motion. 15 JUDGE KELLY: Okay. We've got a motion and 16 a second to approve the retention of step and grade, 17 longevity and sick leave for the tax assessor's office 18 employee as presented and explained. Any other 19 discussion? 20 COMMISSIONER LETZ: Just a comment. I just 21 don't see the Auditor here. But based on the e-mail 22 from Bob Reeves, he does not intend to fill the Chief 23 Deputy spot so the funds to pay this all will come out 24 of that line item. So there will be a budget amendment 25 at our next meeting to handle that part of it. 14 1 JUDGE KELLY: Okay. So those in favor say 2 aye. Opposed? Unanimous. 3 Now, moving on to Item 1.4 consider, discuss 4 and take appropriate action to approve the bond for the 5 County Clerk. And we have secured the bond for Nadene 6 right here. And we need a motion to approve that. 7 COMMISSIONER HARRIS: I'll move for 8 approval. 9 JUDGE KELLY: Got a motion. 10 COMMISSIONER OVERBY: I'll second. 11 JUDGE KELLY: And a second to approve the 12 bond as presented. Any discussion? Those in favor say 13 aye. Opposed? Unanimous. 14 Now, with that, I have the oath of office. 15 And, Nadene, if you'll step down front. And this is the 16 photo opportunity. Now, did you ever think this was 17 going to be what you'd be doing? I didn't think this 18 was in your wheelhouse. 19 MS. ALFORD: It's not. It's not. 20 JUDGE KELLY: If you would, please raise 21 your right hand. 22 (Nadene Alford was sworn in by Judge Kelly.) 23 COMMISSIONER LETZ: And while we're waiting, 24 just for the record, Nadene, you're a resident of 25 Precinct 3. Just so you know. 15 1 JUDGE KELLY: Okay. Well, welcome. 2 So with that, there being no other business 3 before the Court this morning, we stand adjourned. 4 * * * * * * 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 16 1 STATE OF TEXAS * 2 COUNTY OF KERR * 3 I, DEBRA ELLEN GIFFORD, Certified Shorthand 4 Reporter in and for the State of Texas, and Official 5 Court Reporter in and for Kerr County, do hereby certify 6 that the above and foregoing pages contain and comprise 7 a true and correct transcription of the proceedings had 8 in the above-entitled Special Commissioners' Court. 9 Dated this the 17th day of May, A.D. 2024. 10 11 /s/DEBRA ELLEN GIFFORD Certified Shorthand Reporter 12 No. 953 Expiration Date 04/30/2025 13 * * * * * * 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25