Commissioners Court - Regular Meeting

Good morning again. The regular session of Commissioner's Court, Comal County, for Thursday, September 17th, is called to order at 8.30 a.m. Let the record reflect that everyone is here this morning, with the exception of Commissioner Hogg. We will begin with Action Agenda Item Number 1 to approve claims.

Judge, I move to approve the claims as presented. EFTs are $333,065.07. Regular claims are $1,349,207.93 for a total of $1,682,273. Second. There's a motion to approve claims by Commissioner Webb with a second by Commissioner Leacock. Any questions or discussion? All those in favor, please raise your right hand. Motion carries.

Item two, discuss and consider approving a proclamation recognizing September 2026 as National Preparedness Month in Comal County. Whereas National Preparedness Month is observed each September to raise awareness about the importance of preparing individuals, families, businesses, organizations, and communities for disasters and emergencies. And whereas Comel County is susceptible to a variety of hazards, including flash flooding, wildfires, severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, extreme heat, winter weather, and other emergencies that may threaten lives, property, infrastructure, and the environment. And whereas Comino County's unique geography, rapidly growing population, rural and urban communities, rivers, lakes, recreational areas, and significant number of visitors make individual and community preparedness especially important. Whereas preparedness begins before an emergency occurs by understanding local hazards, developing and practicing an emergency plan, assembling an emergency supply kit, knowing evacuation routes, safeguarding important documents, planning for pets and individuals with access and functional needs, and having multiple ways to receive official emergency information. And whereas Comal County encourages residents to register for the Regional Emergency Alert Network, REAN, and encourages individuals who may require additional assistance during an emergency to register with the State of Texas Emergency Assistant Registry, STEER. And whereas effective emergency preparedness and response depend upon strong partnerships among Comal County, its municipalities, fire and emergency medical service departments, law enforcement agencies, public health and health care organizations, school districts, utility providers, nonprofit and volunteer organizations, businesses, faith-based organizations, state and federal partners, and the public. And whereas Comal County recognizes and appreciates the dedicated agencies, first responders, emergency management professionals, volunteers, and community partners who work before, during, and after emergencies to strengthen our collective ability to protect lives and property, including municipal police departments, the Comal County Sheriff's Office, fire departments and emergency service districts, emergency medical services, public safety communications, and dispatch professionals, the Texas Division of Emergency Management, the American Red Cross, and many other agencies and organizations. Now, therefore, be it proclaimed that the Comal County Commissioner's Court hereby recognizes September 2026 as National Preparedness Month in Comal County, highlighting the critical role of emergency management and the collaborative efforts of agencies, organizations, first responders, volunteers, and community partners to protect the people of Comal County. And be it further proclaimed that the Comel County Commissioner's Court encourages all residents, businesses, organizations, and visitors to stand ready by learning about local hazards, making and practicing an emergency plan, building an emergency kit, signing up for official alerts, checking on neighbors, and taking an active role in making their families and communities safer and more resilient. Commissioners, I move to approve the proclamation read. Second. Second. Okay, so there's a motion by myself with a second by Commissioner Crownover. That is legal, correct? Thank you. Okay, any discussion? All those in favor, please raise your right hand. Motion carries. Okay, so everyone here to join us for the Emergency Preparedness Proclamation, you're welcome to come forward.

Thank you. Okay, everybody. Ready? We're going to take a few of these. Up here. Ready? One, two, three.

Thank you all very much. Appreciate all of our first responders, our CERT team, everybody for being here. Obviously, you know, emergency preparedness is not just a one-person job. It takes a team, as you can see, not only during but before an emergency or disaster is declared. So appreciate everybody being here. Appreciate all the support. We encourage, there's some QR codes up front. We encourage everybody to please make sure that you're preparing yourself, your family, your friends and neighbors. If you scan those QR codes, there's good information for signing up for our REAN, our emergency alerts, and also how to build a kit. And just be prepared. Because without our citizens, you're a first line of preparedness for us and make our jobs a lot easier. So again, thank you to all of our first responders. Thank you to Commissioner's Court and the entire county for all the support that you give us for preparedness. I appreciate it.

Thank you.

Yeah, mine's green.

Item three is discuss and consider approving a proclamation recognizing September 17th through 23rd, 2026 as Constitution Week in Comal County. Good morning.

Good morning. Whereas the Constitution of the United States of America stands as one of the great documents of human history, establishing the framework of our republic and securing the principles of liberty, justice, limited government, and the rule of law. And whereas on September the 17th, 1787, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution of the United States, entrusting to succeeding generations the solemn responsibility to preserve the blessings of liberty and the principles of self-government. And whereas September the 17th, 2026 marks the 239th anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution, a remarkable achievement that continues to serve as the foundation of our constitutional republic. And whereas the Constitution protects the fundamental rights and freedoms of the American people while establishing a system of government in which power is limited, divided, and accountable to the people. And whereas Constitution Week provides an opportunity for Americans to remember the courage and wisdom of those who framed our Constitution, to honor the generations who have defended its principles, and to reflect upon the freedoms entrusted to us as citizens, Whereas the state of Texas recognizes the importance of educating future generations about the intent, meaning, and importance of the United States Constitution. And Texas law requires public schools to provide instruction concerning the intent, meaning, and importance of the United States Constitution. And whereas the preservation of constitutional government depends not only upon the words of the Constitution, but upon an informed and engaged citizenry committed to the principles of liberty, responsibility, and self-government. And whereas the citizens of Comow County are proud participants in the American experiment in self-government and recognize that the rights and liberties we enjoy carry with them the responsibility to protect and preserve them for our children and grandchildren. And whereas Constitution Week calls upon all Americans to study the Constitution, honor the freedom it secures, and renew their commitment to the enduring principles of liberty in representative government. Now, therefore, be it proclaimed by Commissioner's Court of Comow County that September 17th through 23rd, 2026 is hereby recognized as Constitution Week in Comow County, Texas, and encourages all citizens to observe this historic occasion by learning about the Constitution of the United States, honoring those who have defended the freedoms it guarantees, and reflecting with gratitude upon the rights, liberties, and responsibilities entrusted to each generation of Americans. Judge, I move to approve this proclamation.

Second. There's a motion to approve the proclamation as read by Commissioner Webb, with a second by Commissioner Cronover. Any discussion? All those in favor, please raise your right hand. Motion carries. Anyone here to accept the proclamation can come forward.

OK, are we ready?

We're going to take a couple. Ready? One, two, three. Good morning. My name is Kathy Zamora and I am the regent of the Captain James Jack chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Thank you. I would like to extend our sincere appreciation to the Commissioners and the Kamal County for issuing this Constitution Week Proclamation. It is an honor to accept this recognition, which closely aligns with our National Society's fundamental mission of historic preservation. For well over a century, the Daughters of the American Revolution has dedicated itself to safeguarding the memory of those who fought for our independence and protecting the heritage they left behind. Acknowledging the United States Constitution is a vital extension of that preservation work. It is not merely an act of historical remembrance, but an enduring commitment to the legal and moral framework that guarantees our individual liberties and binds us together as a nation. By honoring this extraordinary document, we ensure that the legacy of freedom passed down by our generations continues to protect, guide, and inspire future generations. Thank you. We also have the preamble of the Constitution for anybody that...

Thank you. Thank you.

Good morning. My name is Chris Byrd. I have a practice of law in Boverde and happy to share with you what we've been doing in the last seven years. So we have decided to set aside this day and for the last seven years we've pulled together hand-picked, hand-selected justices, judges, both Supreme Court as well as Court of Criminal Appeals, Law enforcement, elected officials, lawmakers, senators and house reps and so forth, We pull them together and we actually go to the campuses and we spend all day with those students. We've been doing that now for seven years. So it's going to be unfolding even today. And just to give you some high-level numbers, I guess by the end of the day we will have passed out and addressed between 15,000 and 16,000 students. Today will be 2,300 alone. We will be today in seven different campuses, mostly in Comeau County, but also covering Bexar County as well as all of Blanco County. So it's been a really sort of a I guess an endeavor that we've just undertaken and thought that it was very important. I appreciate the underscoring of this day by the Commissioner's Court, and I appreciate the, I guess, additional emphasis. I think it's a very important day. There have been many of y'all, some of you even in this room, that have supported what we've been doing. So it's been very successful, obviously in the year of our 250th anniversary, doubly important. Commissioner, you were reading about self-government. I'll just leave you with this one thought. This is kind of what drives me on this endeavor, and it's my favorite quote from John Adams. He says, we have no government capable of contending with the passions of the citizenry unbridled by morality and scripture. So he speaks to self-government, and I appreciate that emphasis. So thank you again. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.

We will move into our workshop agenda now. And we'll begin with citizens' comments. Just a reminder that comments are limited to three minutes per person. If you are here to speak as part of the budget public hearing, please hold your comments until item four. Workshop agenda item one, citizens' comments. Public comments may address items of public interest and concern or a specific agenda item that are limited to three minutes per person. Is there anyone here that wishes to address the court this morning? Good morning.

So I would like to talk about the tax rate and the budget for the county. My name is Tracy Byrne, and I live in Veramendi. I want to express my concerns over the overall increase that's noted in the budget and the increase in the home appraisal stated in the public hearing notice. As a precinct chair, I feel confident to say that the people of my voting precinct are looking for a tax relief, not increases. Our state legislator and our governor have worked hard to provide every citizen with a break from taxes. And this increase in budget and home appraisals erases these discounts to every household. People are tired of renting their homes from the government. And as each of you are representatives of the people of this county, why not spend some time doging Kamau County's budget and give the people what they're seeking, relief from taxes. Break the tax rate down to the no new revenue rate and help the people to manage their budgets with less taxes. On another note, same topic. Are you aware that the postings of the recordings for the court meetings is over a month behind? And during critical times like this that we're reviewing the tax rate and the budget, it would be great if all recordings should be available in a timely manner so that people should be able to review the recordings actively, especially when the court is holding public hearings. Thank you.

Thank you.

Hi, good morning. My name is Bob Moore. I live in Veramendi. I'm here also to express my opposition to the tax rate. Kristen, I would like to say one thing. You know, when I took your government class and went to learn everything about the government that goes on in this city, one of the things that you brought up when you came in there and you talked about the appraisal district It was that you told us that you can increase the taxes by 10% because you can. I kind of feel like this is what's going on now. You can, you will, and you'll keep doing what you're doing. I disagree with it. Doug, last year we asked you not to vote for this. Had you been the one lone... holdout, it still would have passed and we asked you not to vote for it, but you did anyway. It would have passed had you voted against it, but you would have voted with your constituents. I think this is a little bit much. As I was a council member in the city of Hollywood Park back in San Antonio before I moved here six years ago, I did do budgets. The fire chief asked me if he could ask the council about requesting funds for a new fire truck. We had to visit with him for quite some time to go over his budget and ask him what the costs would be considered in comparison to over a $1 million fire truck for the city. He elected to go back and continue with the repairs on the truck, which was something that we needed, and we saved the taxpayers in that city some money. Some of this stuff on here just seems a little bit much to me after taking a look at all the numbers and everything that I reviewed that you have online. I think, in my personal opinion, when you have budgets like this, you really need to go in there and speak to these people, talk to them, sit down, even if you have to have more than one sit down with these people, and tell them, is this exactly what you need? What can you live with? I understand the economic situation now is in the toilet. You know, gas prices are through the roof, home sales are down, even though the reports for the 78132 are up in our area. I disagree. The other thing that, absolutely, I want to share with you personally, okay, is that when I went over there to protest my taxes over the county appraisal district, and spoke with this lady. I don't have her name, but I'm sure it's on file. We went round and round with the taxes on my house. I'm retired, and my wife and I live on a modest budget. And she basically lowered it $1,000. I didn't think that was fair. But then I told her, I said, okay, thank you very much, and started to walk away. And with that being said, she said, well, she said, you're going to have to handle this thing right now. And she marched me over into the hearing room to meet with the panel on this. And I was very uncomfortable with this, but it was like I was being forced to do that. And I didn't appreciate that at all, the way it was being handled there. And I just wanted to share the information with you. Thank you very much. Have a nice day.

Anyone else that would like to speak on public?

Good morning, Judge and Commissioners and general public.

I left the subject last week when we were talking about AI, and I just wanted to give you a little update on that. I don't know how many people are familiar with the situation that's really going on with AI. Big AI conglomerate buildings, as we know in data centers, are being greatly refined and made more logical and more economical, reducing electricity, reducing water consumption, and reducing the size of the buildings by 15 to 25 percent. They're also combining AI with supercomputers that the nation has at undisclosed locations, about a dozen of them. And they're syncing those with basically the thinking of anthropic, which if you don't know that name, you quickly will. They are taking AI where we were all under the impression that when AI was going to move forward, that we were going to have advancements in biochemistry and everything else. And of course, that's not happened because it's not capable of it. It doesn't have the capacity to run out the numbers that you need to do scientific data. But anyway, I wanted to let you know about that. Also, I wanted to share with you You may have picked up on my frustration with some of our political people in Austin and in Washington and encourage people to not do the way that our fathers and some of us grew up doing, and that's pushing an R or pushing a D. We need better choices. We need better vatting of anybody going into a political office. Every job that anybody goes to apply for, well, it's a resume. What is the government not? And that's kind of putting yourself behind the eight ball when you don't vet these people. Just listen to the statements made by some of the politicians today. They should be held legally accountable for things that they make in false statements. But anyway, that's all I had. I'll credit my extra time back. Take care.

Any other citizens like to address the court for public comment? Anyone else? Moving to the workshop agenda item number two, which is reports by county staff and elected officials on items of community interest. We did want to recognize yesterday was IT Professionals Day, and we have a wonderful IT crew. Thanks for all y'all do behind the scenes to make sure this all keeps going forward legally. Anyone else?

A couple of birthdays this week, Ms. Hettinger?

Yes, happy birthday, Jerry.

And I think we've got one today. I'm kind of afraid to tell her because she's a tough cookie. You got a birthday, too? Good grief. Jackie, isn't it your birthday? Or whose birthday? Yeah. Happy birthday.

Seeing no others, we'll move back into our action agenda with item number four, public hearing on proposed Comel County fiscal year 2027 budget. So commissioners, as you're aware, this has been a long process, as it is every year. I don't know how far back I want to go in highlighting the process. We met, we required our departments or asked our departments to submit their budget requests back in May. Spent a lot of time with the help of Vicki Dorsett, who's our temporary budget administrator, Meeting individually with every single department within the county, one-on-one, combing through their budget, talking about their needs, looking at their numbers, seeing where we could trim fat from years prior. We also added the emphasis on the use of special revenue funds, which do not affect the tax rate. So you'll see in this year's budget, as you've already seen when we adopted our court budget, the use and the highlight of the special revenue funds, which, again, does not affect the tax rate. additionally within the budget we'll go through this now you'll see the use of reserves and our fund balance which is something that we're proud of I'm proud of utilizing those funds again one-time expenses one-time cost using the reserves that would not impact the tax rate so here is a breakdown of the courts adopted budget Total fiscal year budget numbers are looking at $214,025,027. And again, they're highlighting the special revenues fund, the use of $4.8 million there.

I have some highlights on the budget.

Again, in order to fund this budget, we would be keeping the same tax rate as last year. 4% COLA for county employees, all county employees, including the elected officials, to account for a handful of things, certainly the economy that's been referenced. We also want to retain our employees and keep our talent here. It's very expensive with turnover and training folks. As people know, both the private and public sector training maintaining good quality employees is tough. And so we want to keep our people happy and keep them here. That is something that in all of our discussions we've talked about may not be something we can do in the future. If you're looking at our tax roll and the neighboring counties and neighboring cities, as much as people demand slowing of growth and slowing of development, that absolutely does impact the tax roll and our employees. the ability to keep taxes low when we do not have that strong increase in growth. And we see those taxable dollars over the years. So this may not be something that we can do next year. And we want to be open and upfront about that. However, we were able to add on a 2% pay adjustment for law enforcement officers. That is sheriff's office, constables, anyone within law enforcement to address a need there in retention. Next year, I do feel like we will need to address our law enforcement pay scale. So that's something that I look forward to talking about. We did add a lot of positions, but you'll see a lot of those are to support our judicial system. So that's our courts, our DA's office. We do have a new district court. We also added to our law enforcement staff to support our school district. Comal ISD requested from us nine new SROs. And so that is something that we feel obligated to provide. Another request from county retirees. In 10 years, they've not had a COLA, so we ran the math on that in providing a 3% COLA one time for retirees. Lots of technology and equipment, software, things that help us run our day-to-day operations. Certainly, replacement vehicles for law enforcement. And then we get into the capital projects with the use of one-time reserves. Again, those are one-time expenses utilizing a healthy fund balance. That number does not impact our tax rate, and so I'm really proud that we were able to identify those funds and put those towards costs that we really need to see, projects we really need to see completed here. So the jail design, tax office renovation, and then design for a Precinct 2 building. I'm sorry, did I say three?

You said two.

Two, increasing four. Gotcha. So here's a breakdown, just a comparison. You guys have seen this chart. And then a little conversation about the known revenue rate. So coming from the tax office, I'm certainly familiar with the known revenue rate and how that is the preferred rate out of Austin that we all adopt. But in reality, that is not always the... this situation that we're put in here as local government. In the past, as we've already talked about, again, we had this election not long ago where the state of Texas voted in additional exemptions for property, whether that was... having to do with Homestead or over 65, but also the business personal property tax that was exempted. And when you go through the worksheet, the 12-page worksheet that is prescribed by the Texas Comptroller's Office, that worksheet does not account for that lost revenue. And so we were in a position this year, if you look at our no new revenue rate, our voter approval rate, and the rate we're adopting, we are all within half a cent of one another. And so if you take a look at that chart, dollar amount difference between the no new revenue rate and the rate that we are adopting, it is, in the grand scheme of things, a very small number. And when you take a look at the lost revenue due to those state-required exemptions, mandated exemptions, those numbers are very close. And so... I just want to emphasize that, again, county government is an extension of the state. We do what we're told by the state. We follow state statute, and the property tax system is a statewide system that we are working really hard to ensure that we are always up to date par on that and honoring not just the law but the spirit of that law I do feel that the tax rate we're proposing to fund this budget at point three zero five zero one five is a conservative responsible tax rate to adopt for our County given the the reduced amount of growth but also this continued need for infrastructure our road repairs jail facilities that by law we are required to provide and so forth so Additional items for the budget. So these are items that, once the court approved the budget, these are items that came forth. A lot of these in this top section are cleanup items, fairly small items there. The second section is the Chapter 59 funds from the Sheriff's Office that are budgeted there. Those, again, special revenue funds do not impact the tax rate. There is a use of the Chapter 59 from Constable IV. and then the transfer for our grant funding, our matching funds. So should we go forward with adopting the budget, these are items that I would request that we consider upon adoption. This chart here highlights the use of the reserves. Again, does not impact the tax rate. One-time expenses that we identified combing through every single line of the budget. These are items that departments agreed were one-time purchases, and we were able to utilize our reserves to not further impact the tax rate. So now we will open up, officially open up the public hearing for the Comal County fiscal year 2027 budget. Is there anyone here that would like to speak? for the public hearing.

I just have a question. Everything that you just showed us there, was that on the website?

This particular slide here.

Everything that you just showed us there with all the graphs and all that stuff, was that on the public website for us to look at?

These were part of the, a lot of this data was within the proposed budget, which has been on the website.

So this was?

I would have to verify, but there are a lot of, yeah, this chart, I believe, was within the proposed budget.

I think that's in the.

Vicki? No, this chart. OK, OK, OK. So the only changes from what was online is this slide here. So these are the items that were added between our last hearing and today. These are the items that I'm proposing that we consider. In addition, these do not impact the tax rate, and they do not impact the overall budget. These are just items that we were able to.

But it was put up on the website for it to see.

Not this particular slide, no. Anyone else here to speak for the public hearing on the budget? Okay, we will close the public hearing. Move on to item number five, discuss and consider approval and adoption of the Comal County Fiscal Year 2027 budget.

So I will go back to this slide here again.

Again, commissioners, these are the items that are being considered or that I would like for you to consider before we adopt the budget for 2027. Again, the top section are cleanup items. We just want to be sure that we limit the amount of transfers for next year. We want to provide a transparent and accurate depiction of what the budget should be as much as possible.

Judge, I move for the final approval and adoption of the fiscal year 2027 Como County budget as proposed by Commissioner's Court on August 20, 2026 with the amendments as presented by Judge Hoyt. Second.

There's a motion by Commissioner Leacock with a second by Commissioner Webb to approve the 2027 fiscal year budget as final and adopted with the amendments made by Judge White. Any discussion or questions?

Yes, I think this budget really highlights our priorities and investments in public safety through the design on the jail, raises for our employees. We talk about being a family here and providing good public service, and so that demonstrates our commitment to hiring and retaining good folks to serve the public. I also want to say thank you again. I've said this several times during this process, but Losing Judge Krause and our longtime auditor put us in a real spot, and, you know, you really step up. This is courageous budget to step out and go, hey, these are the things that we stand for, and I think that you deserve credit for your commitment, and then, of course, all the effort that you all put in, you and Ms. Dorsett, and our new auditor's office. It's a learning process, and we really appreciate your efforts to engage in this, and so I do think that It sometimes missed what we actually do during the budget process, this process where people are describing telling people no or can you do without or can we do this in two years. That's exactly what we do. I have people in this room that are not very happy with me right now because we've cut stuff out of their budget. And I know that, you know, on my scale that's not very many people. On your scale it's, you know, you touch every department. And so that's exactly the process that we go through. And so when we put these numbers out there, it's not just because we picked that number out of a hat. We've worked hard to reduce this as much as we can and still take care of the things that we need to by law. And then also there's things that people demand from us. The things that we do that aren't mandated, are things that people ask us to do. Some of our programs that are the maze are our most popular programs that we have in the county. And the other ones that are shallows, of course, we're taking care of those. So I think that if folks would come in and actually examine our processes, they'd be more comfortable with them. And again, thank you for all the hard work. And I do think that this takes a stand for our employees and our law enforcement folks. And when we say that we want to invest in our people to take care of our citizens, that's what this budget does. So thank you.

Thank you. I just want to echo Commissioner Webb. I mean, you know, this budget cycle has truly been a granular process. I mean, we've been line by line with Judge and Vicki and incredibly appreciative of them and everybody, including the auditor's office, and taking time to discuss issues line by line some of these expenses, and especially the folks that, for each department. I mean, I went through, you know, we have a budget box, and everybody knows, and we roll around that box with us, and every department has submitted their budget, and we went through there and really went through and met with folks and analyzed how those expenses are, not just for this year, but also trended over the past several years, and looked at what really mattered and where we can cut and how we could manage these expenses, and And Judge has been very responsive to a lot of my concerns. And really, we've made a lot of cuts in great management decisions. And I think it really has helped the county as a whole for communication and reiterate the openness that we have. as county government and the citizens, everybody shouldn't understand that we're always available. We're always available to answer questions and work our way through and understand, help folks understand kind of the perspective that some of the things we have to address that maybe are expenses that, you know, maybe are unforeseen that we're just trying to manage the best we can. And so thank you. I appreciate it.

Well, I stole all my thunder, but I did also want to reemphasize about our employees and taking care of them, keeping the talent we have rather than having turnover, which ends up costing a lot more in the long run. So the better environment that we can provide for our employees, both from the leadership of each department on down to – you know, every single person that comes together and makes the county go, it's good to take care of them. And when we're able to attract the great talent, it's very, very important to keep them.

I'd like to say and acknowledge, and we did on one of the last slides from a prior meeting, Comal County, I've always known this, but certainly going through this process more in depth, myself, analyzing the expenses, trying to identify any waste. I'm with a lot of y'all, too. I had the mind of, OK, Doge, how do you cut? That's what we want to do. We want to be good stewards. And we're all feeling the pressure of the economy right now. Comal County is very conservative. Comal County, for years, has been good stewards of tax dollars. And you can see that over time. And when I flashed that chart a few weeks ago, showing the rate comparison to our neighbors even next door, Guadalupe County, Hayes County. And you can't compare apples to apples. But our rate is one of the lowest in the regions and one of the lowest for our size counties. And so I really feel strongly that we It's not just me. All department heads and elected officials do the best they can with what they have. It's not always a fancy building. It's not always the newest staff. And we're losing folks to the private sector. And those are just things as county government we have to deal with and adapt. But kudos to all department heads within our county who are fiscally responsible and looking out for the taxpayer in the bottom line. We make a lot happen with little. And so, again, I stand by this budget. I'm proud of it. And I think all of you should be, too. And it's something that we can feel confident. We're in a good financial position going forward. For next year, again, anticipating interest rates went up yesterday, anticipating what's coming with our economy and other challenges and the slow of growth. That could mean higher taxes. It's just a reality, and it's a system that we are part of.

Well, and kind of echoing on what you said about our tax rate compared to our neighbors within our region and county size, if you went statewide, we are consistently in about the bottom 20 if you rank the property tax of just the county. But statewide, we're consistently in the bottom 20 out of 254 counties. So that is definitely something to be proud of. We run a very tight ship around here. And, you know, it's easy to throw county government into the stereotype of other government structures and levels of government. And, you know, when people say cut, cut, cut, I mean, show me. You know, if you can see anything that we're being wasteful, bring it to our attention. And we can, you know, we... I spend a lot of time doing this, and I pride myself in being able to understand it to the point where when somebody does raise a specific question on something that I'm able to articulate the why.

One last comment. I said that last time. One last comment. Just my property tax hat from preaching it for five years. There are a lot of state mandated exemptions, and county government is included and required to abide by those exemptions. And so for anyone over 65 that has a homestead, you are able to go to the appraisal district, which, by the way, is not the county appraisal district. It's the Comal appraisal district state body. They can apply the over 65 homestead exemption, which essentially freezes your county property taxes. So regardless of how high your value goes up or low it goes or is how high the county proposes a tax rate or does not, your tax dollar amount is frozen once you turn 65. And so I see that as a wonderful benefit that assists seniors and folks that may have more financial challenges in a turbulent economy. But I just encourage all of those. This is to everyone in the county. Please visit with the appraisal district and ensure that you have the appropriate exemptions on your property so that you do not feel that ultimate tax burden. Any other discussion? So we have a motion by Commissioner Leacock and a second by Commissioner Webb. And pursuant to section 111.008 of the local government code, there must be a record vote to adopt the budget. As a result, I will ask the county clerk to call the roll.

8, precinct 1 commissioner Doug Leacock. Scott Hogg, Precinct 2 is absent. Precinct 3? Aye. Precinct 4, Jim Crownover?

Aye.

And County Judge Kristen Hoyt?

Aye.

I think we have four ayes, which makes the motion pass.

So yes. So there are four ayes, zero nays, and one absent. The motion for final approval and adoption of the fiscal year 2027 budget as modified is approved. Item six, discuss and consider ratifying the property tax revenue increase as reflected in the approved fiscal year 2027 budget.

OK.

I move to ratify the property tax revenue increase in the fiscal year 2027 Kamau County budget.

Second.

There's a motion to ratify the property tax revenue increase in the fiscal year 2027 budget by Commissioner Webb, with a second by Commissioner Leacock. Neither one. Any discussion? I do have some slides for this. Now, Because the tax rate is above the no new revenue rate, there is technically a tax increase. And so that is what this is requiring that we acknowledge. Again, as you saw, the no new revenue rate is half a cent lower than the rate that we are proposing. This was published in the paper as well as in the proposed budget, this notice here, which is required by the local government code. Any discussion? So there is a motion to ratify the property tax revenue increase in the fiscal year 2027 budget by Commissioner Webb with a second by Commissioner Leacock. All those in favor, please raise your right hand. Motion carries. Item seven, discuss and consider approval of an order setting the 2026 tax rate for Comal County. So order number 573 is the order that would set the 2026 tax rate. I just wanted to read aloud what this breakdown is. So the total Comal County tax rate will be set at 0.305015 per $100 of that evaluation consisting of 0.227976 of the general fund maintenance and operations, 0.045024 of debt service, 0.032015 of road and bridge maintenance and operations. Again, for a total tax rate of 0.305015.

Move to approve action agenda item number seven, approving order 573 and setting the 2026 tax rate. Seconded.

There's a motion to approve order number 573, setting the 2026 tax rate by Commissioner Webb with a second by Commissioner Crownover. Any questions or discussion? All those in favor, please raise your right hand. Motion carries. Item 8, discuss and consider approval of the amendment to plat of Vintage Oaks at the Vineyard, Unit 14, combining lots 1527 and 1528, establishing lot 1527R, and authorize the county judge to sign. Good morning, Judge.

Good morning. Good morning, Judge, Commissioners. We do have a large lot combination here. The Messinger family does have a complete application, and I recommend approval.

Move to approve action agenda item number 8. Second.

Motion to approve action agenda item number eight by Commissioner Leacock, with a second by Commissioner Crownover. Any discussion? All those in favor, please raise your right hand. Motion carried. Item nine, discuss and consider approval of the amendment to plat of scenic terrace section one, block one, combining lots 27, 28, and 29, establishing lot 27R, and authorize county judge to sign.

Another combination north of the lake there. We have three lots. We do have a good application. I recommend approval.

Move to approve action agenda item number nine. Second.

There's a motion to approve action agenda item number nine by Commissioner Crownover with a second by Commissioner Webb. Any questions or discussion? All those in favor, please raise your right hand. Motion carries. Item 10, discuss and consider approval of an agreement between developer and Comal County regarding construction of roads and stormwater drainage improvements at Park Village Subdivision Unit 7, an authorized county judge to sign.

Judge, Commissioner, this agreement is related to a subdivision plot we've been holding on since 2023. City of Wolverty has not given us clearance to release this surety. We do have a surety in the form of a cash deposit. We are holding that. This agreement will extend that, and we'll hold on to that until the city's given us a release. So I recommend approval.

Move to approve action agenda item number 10. Second.

There's a motion to approve action agenda item number 10 by Commissioner Leacock with a second by Commissioner Webb. Any discussion? All those in favor, please raise your right hand. Motion carries.

Thank you. Thank you.

Item 11, discuss and consider approval of an order authorizing the issuance of Comal County, Texas, Combination Tax and Revenue Certificates of Obligations, Series 2026, providing for the payment of said certificates by the levy of an ad valorem tax upon all taxable property within the county, and delegating to the county judge authority to execute certain documents relating to the sale of the certificates.

Judge and commissioners, before we dive into the proceedings outlined in Agenda 11, I just want to take a real quick moment just to highlight the efforts the county and the court has made to get us to this point thus far. I'll start off first with back in May, if you recall, the commissioner's court accepted the report for the feasibility study for the Camelot County jail expansion update. I think it's imperative that we take a look at some of the key highlights of that update to kind of frame our decision making here today. Some of the few highlights I wanted to bring up is the incarceration rate that we discussed at length. Again, I'm not going to go into too much detail, but highlighting the data that was presented to us by the consultant that provided this report. That rate at 2.3, that historically has been a rate that the county has experienced. The way I would bracket this out and present to the general public is that that rate is proportionate to our total population. And we know that population here in this area, not just the county, but this area, is going to continue to grow. So the best way you can describe that is the need for the capacity in our jail will also coincide with our rate increasing in the county. Secondly, at the time the report was concluded, the jail was at an 88% capacity used. The current jail standards for pursuant to Texas Commission on Jail Standards for safe and maintained operation is at or below 90%. I apologize. So later on in the presentation, I will provide current numbers and kind of tell the story of even the report was accepted, even currently now, how we're still close or at those current capacity rates, even with efforts made to transfer inmates out of county. This next slide and another key item I wanted to bring from the report was future housing. So in this exhibit here, this slide highlights the current capacity of jail beds at the jail facility at 583. The report that was conducted by the consultant focused on ADP, which is average daily population modeling. It also factored in some additional facility needs analysis conducted by HDR and also the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. Ultimately, what was told and what was conveyed to us is a couple of options for new jail capacity, mainly using a calculation of 274 beds and 548 housing addition will result in new jail capacity in the range of 857 to 1,131 beds. The reason why this is important is because also in that report, the court was presented several options. Two of those options that I want to highlight today highlight the maximum use based on those bid totals in that graph that was just shown in the previous slide. Apologies. Both these options presented highlight the maximum use and the maximum capacity for additional bed units in our jail facility. And if you recall back when we were having a discussion on the report, although no formal options were accepted approved, the general consensus from the court was a focus on expanding the jail facility for that maximum capacity, and also for as much of a future build out to get us to a year of 2046. So that's also something that we would need to consider, that the estimated project total costs for both those options, if you can kind of see there, would be around the mark of approximately $160 to $172 million. Fast forward, Court, to July 30. After that meeting in May, several discussion items were brought to the forefront. Ultimately, the need to move forward and move quickly on taking the findings and the information that was presented to us and finding a funding mechanism that the county can consider to make these options real and get dirt moving on the property. The court proceeded forward with a notice of issuance for certificates of obligation on the July 30th Commissioner's Court, which then started off the first domino for us to move forward with the possibility of issuing certificates of obligation as a funding mechanism for a future jail expansion. Pursuant to the notice requirements, statutorily, the county was required to post two notices in the local newspaper. One notice was posted on July 31st, and then another notice was posted on August 7th. Additionally, notice was posted on our county website for a continuous period of 46 days. This screenshot is from our homepage, and also under our news feed, if you were to click that link, it would take you to a dedicated splash page showing our notice posting requirements. Ultimately, court, I'm going to highlight a statute that we've brought up and considered several times in our discussions of the courts shall providing safe and suitable deals for the county. I provided facts or data showing the capacity numbers that was presented by the consultant when we accepted the report. On the screen before you right now is our current year average. And I want to just quickly highlight some of these numbers. So the 2026 year average number right there for current jail population is approximately at a capacity rate of 85%. And that does indicate a decrease from 88 to 85. But again, you're factoring in that around the same time we accepted the report in May, we also moved forward with the transferring of inmates out of county. To date, from May to now, the cumulative cost for the inmates being housed out of county is at $318,665. Again, that is from May to current present. That is not from year-to-date totals. And so ultimately, the last number there of 88%, that is total jail population. That is the total jail population that the Camelot County has, including current inmates at our facility and also the inmates that are now being housed out of county. Ultimately, we're still at that capacity that is close to the standards that are outlined in Texas Commission on Jail Standards to be at or below the 90% threshold. So again, court ultimately brought before you today is the order that presented that would authorize the county to allow the issuance of certificates of obligation to finance the jail expansion for the county. It officially is the next step that puts the county on track to proceed with the issuing of debt to fund the jail expansion improvement. Also, we do have members of our bond council and our financial advisor that would like to come up and make a quick little presentation and also take any questions if any of you have any.

Thank you, Marcus. Good morning.

Good morning, Judge, members of the courts. Pleasure to be here. Dwayne Westerman with Samco Capital Markets, and Nick Westerman is here as well as Stephanie Leiby from Norton Rose Fulbright. And thank you for a very thorough introduction. I want to go over a couple of quick things real briefly. Certificates of obligation are one of the few methods that a county has to finance capital improvements. They are guaranteed or they are secured by the ability of the county to levy a tax, as you just adopted today. And that makes it a very strong and a very popular investment. And the county currently has a AA1 rating from Moody's on its debt financing ability. And that is just a notch below AAA, which is the highest you can get. So it will make for a very strong credit. We've already kind of gone through some of the timeline that's involved. You've given the notice of intention. You've done the publications that were necessary. Today, we take the next step, which is to authorize the issuance of certificates of obligation. And it will move us forward from here with preparing offering documents and prepared to go out to the public and sell the certificates of obligation currently contemplated on the end of October. and the funds would be in hand in early December. So what you're doing today is to authorize the issuance of the certificates of obligation. We are establishing certain maximum parameters that we will not exceed as you go forward. The maximum principal amount, as was given in the notice of intention, is $180 million. But note that in the county's budget, it's at $155 million, and we don't anticipate issuing any more than that $155 million. The maximum maturity is February 1 of 2058. We anticipate that that payback will be shorter than that as well. And the maximum true interest rate of 6%. Again, a maximum rate. Even with what we've seen with the rates, we don't anticipate getting to that level. So your approval of these certain parameters would allow us to go forward and sell the certificates of obligation at a later date and give that final approval to certain authorized officials, county judge, and auditor.

Who to approve action agenda item number 11?

Second. There's a motion to approve action agenda item number 11 by Commissioner Webb with a second by Commissioner Cronover. Any discussion or questions?

As you can tell, I'm ready to get going. Thank you very much for your guidance on this. You know, it's kind of with a newer team, this process, your expertise and your competency is certainly appreciated. So yeah, Marcus, thank you for the presentation. I'm ready to go on this. Yeah, we've been talking about it. Let's be about it.

I'd like to highlight what Mr. Westerman said about the $155 million. That is included in our 2026 tax rate in the debt for that. So that is calculated in there. Again, we're doing a lot with this budget and with this tax rate, and a big chunk of this is included in that. So we have a motion, we have a second. All those in favor, please raise your right hand. Motion carries. Thank you for being here.

Thank you. Thank you.

Item 12, discuss and consider approval of the First Amendment to the Professional Services Agreement between Comel County and Park Hill for additional services during the schematic design phase, including site master planning and evaluation of various building location options, as further described in Exhibit A, and authorize the county judge to sign.

Judging commissioners, I'll provide a quick little update on this request. So back in May, the county entered into an architectural and engineering agreement with Park Hill for the facilities maintenance building over on the Goodwin site. After the past several months, we've gone through several consultations on the schematic design for this building and facility. What I'll show you here now is the original building location that we were proceeding forward with. As you can see, it is that new building, red rectangle behind the current Churchill Annex. After some further analysis and further evaluation, it was ultimately determined that that facility was not feasible, that location was not feasible due to construction constraints on the site. After some thorough analysis and ultimately looking into other site areas, it was determined that the final building location would be best served on our Goodwin property site. It is that gray rectangle area towards the south of the property. We felt that this new location provided a lot more flexibility. It also assists with future master planning for the site. That way, we can move forward with future improvement build-outs. No budget and additional requests are going to be added or requested at this time. We just respectfully request approval of the first amendment to the architectural engineering agreement with Park Hill.

Move to approve action agenda item number 12.

Second. There's a motion to approve action agenda item number 12 by Commissioner Leacock with a second by Commissioner Cronover. Any discussion?

All those in favor, please raise your right hand. Motion carries.

Item 13, discuss and consider approval of the Evaluation Committee to evaluate responses received for requests for qualifications for A, RFQ 2026-550, Professional Geotechnical Services Prequalification Pool, and B, RFQ 2026-560, Professional Surveying Services Prequalification Pool.

Good morning, judges and commissioners. The county received 18 responses to RFQ 2026-550 for geotechnical services and 27 responses for RFQ 2026-560 for surveying services. We are recommending the following members to evaluate their responses for geotechnical services. Assistant County Administrator Marcus Pacheco, Project Manager Jacqueline Andrada, and County Engineer Robert Boyd. And for surveying services, we are recommending Assistant County Administrator Marcus Pacheco, County Engineer Robert Boyd, and the Assistant County Engineer David Volbring.

Move to approve action agenda item number 13A and B.

Second. There's a motion to approve action agenda item number 13, A and B, by Commissioner Leacock, with a second by Commissioner Cronover. Any discussion? All those in favor, please raise your right hand. Motion carries.

Thank you.

Thank you. Item 14, discuss and consider approval of utilizing justice security funds for the purchase of ballistic shields for Constable Precinct 1. Good morning, Constable.

Good morning, Judge, Commissioners. This request is in reference to a TECOL mandate to have ballistic shields. Looking at ways to finance that, we sought to utilize justice security funds rather than taxing the general fund.

Move to approve action agenda item number 14.

Second. There's a motion to approve action agenda item number 14 by Commissioner Leacock with a second by Commissioner Cronover. Any discussion? All those in favor, please raise your right hand. Motion carries.

Thank you.

Item 15, discuss and consider approval of a line item transfer in district court from interpreter to other miscellaneous costs to provide funds for the 2026-2027 third administrative judicial region dues not originally budgeted.

Good morning. We're requesting that $14,000 be moved from an interpreter over to fund the administrative dues for the judicial region. What happened was, is apparently when I entered in that figure for the budget, it didn't save. And I failed to recognize it when the budget came out. So sorry.

We'll do approve action item number 15.

Second.

A motion to approve action agenda item number 15 by Commissioner Webb with a second by Commissioner Cronenberg. Any discussion? I hate it when that happens. All those in favor, please raise your right hand.

Motion carries. Thank you, Mr. Thomas.

Item 16, discuss and consider approval of a line item transfer and road department from contingency to capital equipment, non-capital equipment, and waste disposal to purchase a replacement monitor, office furniture, and cover waste disposal costs for the remainder of 2026.

Morning, judges and commissioners. This is kind of our contingency capital equipments for a screen we have that we do all of our electronic reviews of plats on. The non-capital equipments for an add-on to one of our desks there. And then during the flood, we had a lot of resources went towards clearing out waste from the lake that went to the landfill. And so we have to replenish that. The main thing we use for that is our dead animal drop-off. So we're recommending approval for those things.

Move to approve action agenda item number 16.

Second.

There's a motion to approve action agenda item number 16 by Commissioner Leacock with a second by Commissioner Cronover. Any discussion? All those in favor, please raise your right hand. Motion carries.

Thank you.

Thank you. So there's no need for executive session today, so this concludes our meeting. Our next regular meeting will be on Thursday, September 24th. Unless there is no objection, we are in recess at 9.37 a.m.