By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Writer’s note: The writer did not attend this meeting of the court. The following roundup was produced by viewing a video of the meeting posted on the county’s official web site.
All five members of Val Verde County Commissioners Court were present.
Here’s what happened at the meeting:
State veterans organization honors assistant county veterans officer
• Members of county commissioners joined Sal Castillo, claims department director for the Texas Veterans Commission (TVC), in honoring Gloria Sanzone, assistant Val Verde County veterans service officer. Castillo told the court Sanzone was being honored for her “tremendous assistance to veterans and their families,” noting the TVC represents some 1.5 million veterans across the state. Castillo presented Sanzone with the TVC’s excellence in claims award “in recognition of her exceptional excellence and . . . steadfast dedication to serving veterans and their families.”
The award was signed by Charles Catoe, TVC director of veterans benefits, and by Castillo.
Court takes preliminary vote to maintain same property tax rate
• Commissioners court members voted 5-0 to set the 2026 county property tax rate at .4977, leaving the rate unchanged from the previous year. County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr. said the total .4977 property tax rate was comprised of a .0650 interest and sinking (I&S) rate and a .4327 maintenance and operations (M&O) rate.
The court also voted 5-0 to schedule two public hearings on the property tax rate. The first hearing will be during the court’s next regular meeting on Aug. 24 at 9:15 a.m., and the second will be during the court’s meeting on Sept. 9 at 9:15 a.m.
Notice of the court’s intention to set the rate at .4977 will be published on Friday.
Finally, the court also voted 5-0 to adopt the 2026 county property tax rate after the public hearing on Sept. 9.
Court sets notice for public hearings on proposed county budget
• Commissioners court members voted 5-0 to schedule a public hearing on the county’s proposed Fiscal Year 2026-2027 budget. The hearing will be at 9:30 a.m. during the court’s next regular meeting on Aug. 24.
Notice of the public hearing on the proposed budget will be published on Friday.
The court also voted 5-0 to schedule two budget workshops, one to be held during the court’s regular meeting on Aug. 24, and the second to be held during the court’s regular meeting on Sept. 9.
The court voted 5-0 to adopt the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 county budget during its regular meeting on Sept. 9.
Court transfers voter registration duties from tax assessor collector to county clerk
• Commissioners court members voted 4-0-1 to transfer the county’s voter registration duties from County Tax Assessor Collector Elodia “Loly” Garcia to County Clerk Teresa Esther Chapoy.
The court tabled action on the transfer until after its members met in closed session with County Attorney David Martinez. The item was revisited following executive session and was passed without comment or discussion. Commissioner Pct. 4 Gustavo “Gus” Flores abstained from the vote.
The county tax assessor collector’s office fell under scrutiny in 2025 following the publication of a preliminary election audit report by the Texas Secretary of State’s office that found defects in the county’s voter registration records and in its precinct boundary information.
The Texas Secretary of State’s office at the time placed the county tax assessor collector’s office under “administrative oversight.” Since then, Garcia has been making regular reports to commissioners court about the work she and her staff have done to correct the deficiencies found by the state.
Court sets salaries of county elected officials
• Commissioners court members voted 4-0-1 to move $5,000 from the county tax assessor collector’s office budget to the budget of the county clerk.
County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr. told the court the county clerk’s salary will be adjusted up by $5,000, and the county tax assessor collector’s salary will be adjusted down by $5,000.
Owens said the budget adjustment was being made because the court had voted to transfer the voter registration duties from the tax assessor collector’s office to the county clerk’s office.
Commissioner Pct. 4 Gustavo “Gus” Flores abstained from voting.
Court rejects county appraisal district budget
• Commissioners court members voted 5-0 to prepare a resolution rejecting the Val Verde County Appraisal District’s proposed Fiscal Year 2026-2027 budget.
County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr. assured Val Verde County Appraisal District Chief Appraiser Jackie Casanova, who was present at the meeting, that the appraisal district will be funded through the end of 2026.
The appraisal district is a separate entity from the county, and commissioners court members, as well as the governing bodies of the other taxing entities including the local, Comstock and Rocksprings school districts and the city have signaled they won’t approve the appraisal district’s budget until the appraisal district makes changes to the retirement program for its employees.
In a separate action, commissioners court voted 5-0 to request Val Verde County’s portion of the $180,000 from the Val Verde County Appraisal District reserves, an amount of approximately $54,000.
Court hears update on Lausen Lane drainage project
• Commissioners court members took no action after hearing an update on the Lausen Lane drainage project currently under construction along Lausen Lane east of U.S. Highway 90 and north of Walmart.
Commissioner Pct. 2 Juan Carlos Vazquez said the project was tested during heavy rains that fell on the area in mid-July, adding the portions of the project that have already been completed worked as they were supposed to and that no homes in the area were flooded.
Vazquez also announced construction on another aspect of the project will require the closure of a portion of Chapman Road beginning Aug. 17 and ending Aug. 20.
Vazquez told the court the entire project should be complete by mid-September.
Court again rejects commissioner’s request for streetlight
• Commissioners court members voted 2-3 on a request by Commissioner Pct. 4 Gustavo “Gus” Flores to install a single streetlight at 109 Owens Road, at the intersection with Cienegas Road, with the cost of the installation, $151.21, to be paid from the Precinct 4 operating budget.
Flores made the motion to approve the installation, with County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr. giving the second, but the three other commissioners voted against the motion.
The three commissioners have resolutely blocked Flores’ request for the installation of streetlights along a section of Cienegas Road since Flores began requesting them in February.
Court hears presentation on county self-help center
• Commissioners court members voted 5-0 to approve the final draw on the current colonia self-help center contract.
In a separate action, the court also voted 5-0 to authorize the county judge to sign the project completion report for the current colonia self-help center contract.
Robb Stevenson, director of the Val Verde County Self-Help Center, told the court the self-help center focuses on housing, carrying out reconstructions, during which a house is torn down and rebuilt, and on rehabilitation, which includes projects like roof repair, leveling, installing wheelchair ramps and replacing bathtub with a walk-in shower.
In addition, Stevenson said the self-help center also maintains a tool lending library and a computer center for colonia residents who may not have access to the internet in their homes.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com.
