Erath County Commissioners held a brief meeting Monday, July 28 leaving time to continue budget discussions before a preliminary budget is adopted in mid-August.
During the meeting, Joanna Friebele, an environmentally concerned Erath County citizen, presented the court with information regarding the possibility of forming a Chapter 391 Commission in regards to the Oncor Transmission line project.
A Chapter 391 Commission is a local governmental body that can act like a coalition on residents’ behalf at a state level.
Typically, it would allow the county to partner with other counties or cities in order to have a seat at the table with Oncor or the Public Utility Commission on a regional level.
In new business, Erath County Judge Brandon Huckabee stated the county is still in the information gathering phase and would need another entity to partner with them to form the Chapter 391 Commission.
Several roadway items were discussed during the meeting including approving right-of- way permits on County Roads 458, 299 and 300.
The permits are for work being done by Brightspeed.
Approval was also given to Precinct 1 to clear fence row on CR 299 and CR 258 in order to aid with visibility for drivers.
Talk about reducing the speed limit on County Road 386 led to a public hearing being scheduled possibly on Aug. 25.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Albert Ray explained the roadway was undergoing repavement, and drivers already went 60-80 mph on the roadway.
On the road, Ray counted 38 driveways, two county road intersections and one private road intersection.
“Even if we lower the speed limit to 40-45 mph we are still going to need enforcement,” he said.
The court moved ahead with the required steps to lower the speed limit.
Approval was given to the Erath County Sheriff’s Office to travel to Franklin County Pennsylvania if they are awarded a free Freightline truck from the LESO Program.
If awarded, this vehicle could serve as the county’s mobile command unit.
Sheriff Matt Coates reported the vehicle was in good shape with only about 60,000 miles on it.
“If we get it, we shouldn’t have any problems getting it here,” he said. Precinct 3 Commissioner Sherman Edwards inquired if the county had anyone with a CDL who could drive it back, and Coates responded that one of his deputies did.
Fire Marshal Tommy Shelton responded that the drought index was still only 306 so there was no need to institute a burn ban.
After a closed executive session where no action was taken Judge Huckabee began talks on the budget.
“I want to get your thoughts,” he said. “Kent [Reeves, County Auditor] and I have been working together since our last budget workshop getting all that put into spreadsheets to bring back to you guys. The one final piece we need to discuss is payroll options.”
Huckabee asked the commissioners what they would like to see in payroll and for department heads to speak up.
Precinct 1 Commissioner Dee Stephens asked for options to be presented including what it would take to institute across the board raises anywhere from 2% to 5%.
“Just like I’ve said every year for the past seven years, I would like to see a flat dollar amount because if you do a percentage, the higher paid ones get paid more and the lower ones get paid less,” Ray said. “I’d like to see straight across the board, everyone gets the same dollar amount. The cost of living costs the same for everyone.”
Edwards said the county did need to look at raises for employees but also future capital needs for the county such as criminal justice centers and other projects.
“If we don’t start now, we won’t have them in the future,” he said. “Of course salaries need to be taken into account but our future needs to be looked at.”
Huckabee said he would put together a range of percentage increases and a dollar amount for the commissioners to look at during the Aug. 11 meeting.
Department head requests included EMS Director Cary Jackson requesting a 5% raise for his employees as well as taking a look at starting certificate pay for EMS. One example would be paramedics that get critical care certification.
“They are showing drive and commitment to better themselves and our department,” Huckabee said. “It wouldn’t be very many people but it rewards those who have gone and done it.”
Coates stated that a cost of living raise would be great but they weren’t asking for huge raises because they were asking for additional positions. A raise for nonlaw enforcement positions such as the department’s office personnel has also been requested.
“We pay about the same now as surrounding counties and are at state average,” he said.
Subdivision Jason Gardner also petitioned for raises for himself and personnel in his office.
“I think there is a lot more there than any of us anticipated in regards to this position,” he said.
Gardner said other counties are paying $80,000 up to six figure salaries and he was not asking for that.
Huckabee requested Gardner bring back numbers quickly so they could put into the preliminary budget work.
“I think we’ve had some really good discussions about budget and we are going to continue this,” Huckabee said.
A proposed budget must be turned in by the county judge by Aug. 15 and the tax rate and budget will be officially adopted by mid-September.