By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
All five members of commissioners court were present.
Here’s what happened at the meeting:
Auditor’s office establishes anonymous fraud tip line
• Commissioners court members heard a presentation by the county auditor’s office to establish a fraud, waste and abuse anonymous hotline to allow citizens to report instances
of suspected fraud, waste and abuse. Aaron Cash, an internal auditor for the county auditor’s office, made a presentation about the tip line to the court. He said the tip line can be found on the county auditor’s page on the county web site and includes a QR code citizens can scan to access a form on which they can provide as much information as they feel comfortable giving. He said citizens can use the form or email tips directly to the
county auditor’s office, though he said the email option is not anonymous. The court took no action following the presentation.
Court hears information on child safety seat program
• Justice of the Peace Pct. 2 Randel Dissler introduced Paloma Sanchez and Araceli Mendez of the Texas Department of State Health Services and their child safety seat distribution and education program. Dissler said all of the justices of the peace met with the county attorney to initiate a program to educate local parents about the importance of using a certified child safety seat when transporting their children by vehicle. The program also offers free child safety seats to parents who can’t afford them. Sanchez told the court she plans to offer a class during Child Passenger Safety Week, Sept. 21-27, at the Amistad Boulevard fire station. County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr. asked the two women to consider classes in each county precinct at sites like the county community center, the Tony Faz county annex and in Comstock.
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Court approves agreement for capital murder cases
• Commissioners court members voted 5-0 to approve an interlocal agreement between the county and the Regional Public Defender in Lubbock, Texas, for criminal defense services in capital murder cases at an annual cost to the county of $15,177.
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Court holds public hearing on proposed county tax rate
• Commissioners court held a public hearing at 9:15 a.m. on the proposed county property tax rate for the coming year. County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr. opened the hearing at 9:15 a.m. and said the proposed county property tax rate for the coming year had been presented two weeks ago at $0.4977, which includes the road and bridge tax of $0.0187. He asked if anyone present at the meeting would like to speak for or against the proposed rate. No one asked to speak, and Owens closed the public hearing. The court took no action following the public hearing.
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Court sets elected officials’ salaries
• Commissioners court members voted 5-0 to set the county’s elected officials’ salaries for Fiscal Year 2025-2026, which begins Oct. 1 and ends Sept. 30, 2026. County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr. said he has not “received a single response, either good or bad, from any elected official” regarding the salaries.
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Court approves release of funds for sports complex
• Commissioners court members voted 5-0 to approve a request for the release of $2,062,500 in funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the Val Verde Community Recreation Expansion Project Robert “Bob” Chavira Sports Complex to be located at 720 E. De La Rosa St. Included in the sports complex will be youth soccer, baseball, softball and football fields, as well as volleyball courts, concession stands with restrooms, playgrounds with pavilions and a parking lot. County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr. noted the county has borrowed an additional $2 million toward the construction of the sports complex and told the court, “This project is moving forward.”
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Court appoints member to County Appraisal District
• Commissioners court members voted 5-0 to appoint Valeriano Cadena Jr. to serve as one of the county’s representatives on the Val Verde County Appraisal District Board of Directors. County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr. noted the court had previously voted to appoint Robert “Bobby” Hernandez to the appraisal board, but told the court that because Hernandez is an active-duty police officer with the Del Rio Police Department, he would not be able to serve on the board. Cadena is a certified appraiser who owns and operates Cadena Appraisal Services in Del Rio.
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Court holds budget hearing on proposed county budget
• Commissioners court held a public hearing on the proposed Fiscal Year 2025-2026 county budget. County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr. opened the hearing at 9:30 a.m. After saying the hearing provided an opportunity for members of the public to voice their concerns on the proposed budget, Owens said the budget was filed Aug. 15, then told the court and audience, “It is not . . . a balanced budget; it is a structurally sound budget.” No one commented on the budget, and the judge closed the hearing. The court took no action following the hearing.
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Court holds workshop on proposed county budget
• Commissioners court held a workshop on the county’s proposed Fiscal Year 2025-2026 budget. County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr. made several comments about the budget before asking the commissioners for their input. The court unanimously passed two actions during the budget work session: Approving $36,000 in funding for CASA of Val Verde, to be paid in installments of $3,000 per month and contingent on the group coming before the court every quarter to give a report on their work and approving a freeze on all hotel occupancy tax (HOT) funding requests until the county develops a policy governing how organizations apply for HOT monies and report back to the county on how they spent the money.
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Court authorizes sheriff to apply for warrants grant
• Commissioners court members voted 5-0 to authorize Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez to apply for and accept the Operation Lone Star (OLS) Projects Grant. Martinez told the court “there are about 8,000 warrants out there with relation to Operation Lone Star” and said the grant will address the issues related to those warrants. Martinez said the grant will be for $2.3 million for a year. The sheriff said the 8,000 warrants are from 14 Texas counties participating in the program.
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Court hears update from tax assessor collector
• Commissioners court heard an update from County Tax Assessor Collector Elodia “Loly” Garcia, whose office was recommended for “administrative oversight” by the Texas Secretary of State in a preliminary audit report the state filed in late July. Garcia told the court she has been working on problems identified in the state’s report. Garcia said she and her staff have been conducting fieldwork related to addresses on the county’s voter registration rolls, as well as on developing a policy manual.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com
