The Erath County Commissioner’s Court discussed redistricted precincts 2 and 4 and a proposed removal of duties from the County Treasurer’s office during a special meeting Thursday.
The meeting began in the Commissioner’s Court conference room as they teleconferenced with attorney Rolando Rios about the redistricting. Rios said that official numbers are still pending from the 2020 Census but numbers from the 2019 American Community Survey indicate a disparagement in the populations of Precincts 2 and 4.
ACS data indicated the following numbers:
Precinct 1: 10,600
Precinct 2: 8,557
Precinct 3: 10,805
Precinct 4: 11,879
Rios said these figures indicate a 31.76% deviation in Precincts 2 and 4 compared to Precincts 1 and 3 and that any deviation above 10% must be rectified according to law.
Rios provided a demonstration of a plan to get the populations level, which would shift part of Precinct 4 (extending from the intersection of Lingleville and Graham west to where Lingleville joins precinct 2, see map) to Precinct 2.
This redistricting would yield 10,116 in Precinct 2 and 10,320 in Precinct 4.
Following the redistricting discussion, the meeting took a brief recess and was resumed in the Commissioner’s Courtroom upstairs as commissioners considered appointing a County Payroll Officer and Human Resource Officer with all duties related to payroll preparation, administration and personnel administration. According to the agenda, this position would report directly to the Commissioner’s Court while the legislated duty of disbursing funds related to the payroll processes would remain with the county treasurer.
Erath County Judge Alfonso Campos item introduced discussion to the agenda item, saying it was being proposed as a way to remove extra work from Erath County Treasurer Kimberly Barrier so that she could address core duties.
On June 28, Judge Stephen Ellis delivered conditions that need to be met by Barrier although he felt there was “plenty of blame to go around” related to communication problems and the disbursement of duties.
Ellis ruled Barrier was to remain in her position as long as two conditions were met.
The first condition was that Barrier and Campos meet in-person along with a chosen County Commissioner, the county auditor, county attorney and attorneys from both sides by July 31 to settle all issues.
The second condition was for Barrier to resolve all of her main duties in a timely manner including managing bank depository accounts, insurance billings, investments and any delinquent payments authorized by the Commissioners Court.
Barrier, along with the attorneys who represented her at the trial, described the suggestion as being out of step with Jude Ellis’ ruling. Attorney Jim Elliott called it an act of “bad faith” following a June 27 meeting in which Campos and Commissioners asked Barrier what assistance she would need in fulfilling her duties.
Barrier and her counsel said she was asked if payroll and HR duties were preventing her from accomplishing duties and they had responded they were not. It was reported that bank reconciliations were taking a lot of time.
Barrier reported that HR and payroll were less invasive because she doesn’t deal with them every day, and only acts in a supervisor position for HR when her employee comes to her with questions. Barrier also announced her displeasure at county officials approaching her employee about the position before she was aware of the proposition.
Campos reported that the matter had previously been proposed as it had been on the agenda in June 2020. No action was taken at that time.
Several members of the audience signed up to speak during the meeting with concerns of how much the position would cost and where the money would come from. Campos responded that the matter of payment would have to be discussed if the position was approved. Erath Tax Assessor/Collector Jennifer Carey also asked if the position would appear on this budget or the next.
Carla Trussell said she hoped for more open communication between the county officials, saying if there are issues with Barrier, she could be brought in “as a friend” and they could be discussed.
Commissioner Dee Stephens reported it would have to be in the next budget. In the meeting, Stephens expressed his frustration of the ongoing issues, saying he wanted it to be resolved and everyone to work together.
Commissioner Jim Buck said he wanted to get bank statements reconciled (an issue that reportedly extends before Barrier took office) and thought that separating duties would make things easier on Barrier.
Commissioner Joe Brown also said he didn’t want to see payroll become a hindrance in her core legislative duties and that he would like for all of the officials to get back on the same page for the betterment of Erath County.
Commissioner Albert Ray wondered at the timing of making a transition, saying that it is the “busiest time” for HR and said he would like the group to “look at the whole big picture” of issues in the county instead of focusing on Barrier.
Buck suggested tabling the item following discussion while Ray suggested getting Barrier temporary help with reconstructing bank reconciliations to address what she had said was taking the most time away from core duties. Commissioners voted to hire an independent temporary accountant to help during a special meeting Monday.