Commissioners Court - Regular Meeting

Good to see a full courtroom this morning. Good morning. Good to see everybody here today. I want to welcome you all. I want to welcome you all to the Tuesday, September 1st, 2026 meeting of the Denton County Commissioner's Court. We're glad to have you all with us this morning. And for those of you all who are watching online, welcome. We're glad to have you tuning in. At this time, I'd like to welcome for our invocation Ms. Donna Brumley. She's going to lead us in our invocation and our pledge as we led by Kevin Carr. And I want to remind everybody to please turn off your cell phones. If you'll please stand.

Good morning. Good morning. Dear Heavenly Father, as we gather together, we thank you for your endless goodness to us. We thank you for all the skills and talents you have given us and for everyone who is part of this team. We pray that you will provide us with great wisdom and insight as we discuss our work plans and make decisions about the future. We open our hearts to you now and invite your spirit to be present amongst us. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

Please join me in the pledge of the U.S. flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. To Texas. Honor the Texas flag. I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state, under God, one and indivisible.

I tried to cut off a little bit there today.

Well, thank you, Donna, and thank you, Kevin. At this time, I'd like to welcome several people for our public comments forum. So I want to remind you that our public comments are limited to three minutes, and I will be happy to set the timer. And our first public comment this morning is from Jane Schultz. Jane, how do I pronounce your last name? I don't want to butcher it. Huh?

Scholes. Scholes. Muscle Scholes.

All right, Scholes. All right. I like it. Okay, go right ahead. Good to see you again.

It's good to see all of you.

Good morning, everyone.

So first I want to thank the four of you who met personally with me and other supporters of countywide Election Day voting over the last year or so. Yes. To discuss the issue. The four of you listened to us. You responded thoughtfully. You voiced no security concerns about countywide election day voting, and you agreed that it's a problem that so many people are turned away from polling locations. These were cordial conversations. But it was clear that you're not willing to buck the Republican Party insiders who support the current system. Interestingly, the one commissioner who refused to meet with us and who is not here today was the only outspoken opponent of countywide Election Day voting. And she didn't make it out of her primary last spring. I think it's an interesting political comment. I also want to thank Republican Party Chair Melinda Preston, who's here today, for taking the time to talk personally with me about this issue a while back. And I really appreciate her courage in publicly stating her reasons for blocking countywide Election Day voting here. something that her predecessor refused to do. Now, when I talk to voters about this issue, they often ask me why the Republican Party here opposes countywide Election Day voting. Easy to answer. I just repeat the reasons Ms. Preston has given right here in this room, and I've found that they actually make a very strong argument for vote centers. When I finish that conversation, people sign the petition, or they show up here. Her most convincing argument is that we can't switch to countywide election day voting because once we do, it will be impossible to get back to the old assigned precinct system. And I have to say, she's right about that. 100 Texas counties with 87% of the state's voters already have countywide election day voting. And when the Republican party forced a few of those counties, including Dallas to revert to the old precinct based system for the March 3rd primary last year, Confusion and chaos ensued. Voters were angry. Lawsuits got filed. At least one party official lost his job. It's no surprise. Voters who have it like countywide Election Day voting, and they hate being forced back to the outdated system we still use. But unhappily, while all this has gone on over the past two and a half years, no action has been taken. In that time, something like 30,000 legally registered Denton County voters have been turned away from at least one polling place just because they showed up at the wrong place to vote. And it's about to get worse. The number of voters who suffer from this policy, ranging from inconvenience and anger to downright disenfranchisement, is about to jump dramatically on November 3rd, when Denton County voters are likely to turn out in record numbers. So today I have handed over to you a petition signed by about 1,800 Denton County voters calling for countywide Election Day voting, vote centers. Now these folks are from all over the county as you can see because the petition is organized by the signer's place of residence. We understand that by law no petition can force you to take action but this reinforces that our current system is not popular with voters and the people of Denton County are ready for a change. Give us that change. Countywide Election Day voting. Voting centers now.

Thank you, Ms. Jane.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. All right. And then Mr. Del Frey does not wish to speak. I appreciate your comments. Those will be registered. We do have a few more people registered to speak about vote centers. Stephanie Draper. Stephanie Draper.

Here she's coming. All right. Yeah, she's going against the flow.

Good morning.

Good morning. Good to see you.

Good to see you all again.

Go ahead.

My name is Stephanie Draper and I have been a resident for Denton County for over 20 years. I have raised my children here. I worked here. I've served as an election judge. I also am a candidate for Denton County County commissioner precinct four. Today I'm here to speak about something that should matter to everyone. Access to voting. Denton County is growing, and our election system must grow with our community. The residents have spoken. We have numbers showing support for countywide polling centers, and I have those numbers deserve serious consideration. Texas law provides for countywide polling places programs under Texas Election Code section 43.007. participating counties can establish countywide polling places for election day. We have the legal framework to consider this option. And right now access matters more than ever. More than 1.2 million Texas voters are currently on the state suspension list because questions have been raised about their registration address. These voters have not been removed from the voting rolls But they have still, they still can't vote, but they need to make sure they take care of where their residents are at. That should make all of us stop and think. We should be able to have countywide centers everywhere for our working class people, for the elderly, for the children that are going to our universities out here. When election day on November 3rd happens, we don't want to have the same problem having to turn away people from being able to go and vote. That is their right to vote. In Denton County, we have been voting on election day and that's it. We need to change that. We need to move with what's going on now. Denton County is growing. We need to make sure that everyone has the right to have access to vote. So please consider having county-wide voting on election day for everyone. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Draper.

Thank you, Ms. Draper. I appreciate you being here.

Next is Ms. Delia Parker-Mims. Are you here, Delia? I didn't see her. Is she here? Delia Parker-Mims, are you with us this morning? Okay. Next, I'll proceed forward to Melinda Preston is with us this morning. Good morning.

Good morning, Judge and Commissioners. My name is Melinda Preston. I am the chair of the Denton County Republican Party. In Denton County, we have voting centers during early voting, which means you can vote at any location of your choice. But on Election Day, we have precinct voting, and I believe that this is important for our communities. Of the 254 counties in Texas, 154 continue to use precinct-based voting on Election Day. And I have many people who've come to me, other counties, who wish that they had never gone to voting centers. Unfortunately, them trying to change it, it's a very difficult process and we've talked about that before. Dallas tried to go back to precinct voting and it was a mess because people were used to voting on election day anywhere they wanted. One concern with voting centers is that there are fewer locations available on election day. That could mean longer lines and longer waits. When people have jobs, children responsibilities are limited time, a long wait can become a real barrier. Some may simply leave without voting with precinct voting. You vote in your neighborhood. There are more locations and they are closer to where you live. This is especially important to me because of my sister. She has severe epilepsy and cannot drive with precinct voting. She can walk to her neighborhood polling location and cast her vote. It's just down the street. That is what accessibility looks like to me. I believe this gives us the best of both worlds and helps meet the needs of the community. And there is another benefit that often gets overlooked, community. You get to see your neighbors. I worked the polls on election day and I genuinely enjoy seeing people from our neighborhood interact, visit, and particularly in the process together. The thing about today is the average American spends no more than 35 minutes communicating with other humans outside of work. We've got to get back to community. We've got to get back to touching your neighbors, talking to your neighbors, knowing your neighbors. I believe that that is very, very important. Community matters, learning from one another matters, staying connected matters. Every few weeks, people have come to protest precinct voting. I respect everyone's right to speak and participate, but I would encourage you to stay, listen to your fellow citizens, and hear everything that is being discussed before leaving. This is one of the most important meetings of the month. It's something I look forward to. I get to hear what is going on in our county. I get to see the incredible things that are happening. I get to hear what you guys are doing. I get to hear what the Sheriff's Department is doing. I get to hear updates on community events, things that are going on. And they are coming just for a period of time to listen to a couple of people and then listening. And that's disappointing. As a community, we need to be engaged. And I am thankful for everybody who has stayed. Thank you for staying and engaging in this process. This is an important process that we all need to be a part of. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right. Next is Mr. Don McDaniel. And our next speaker, I will say you filled this out in red ink, but we don't have a name. So if you want to. Whoever you are on Crest Meadow, you're going to be up next. Okay, good. Good to see you. I think we rode in the elevator this morning. All right, go ahead, Don. Good to see you, buddy.

Good to see you. good morning commissioners my name is don mcdaniel and i am a proud resident of denton county lived here for the better part of three decades now i have recently put in an application to serve on the esd board i am a big believer in serving my community i have done that in many ways and continue to do that i'm a former councilman in flower mound now proud resident of lantana after my kids went to school we decided it was down time to downsize and so we moved to flower mound north they're in Lantana, and I am continually looking for ways to give back to my community, and this opportunity presented itself, and I have put my application in, and I would gladly ask for your support in appointing me to ESD board. Thank you very much. Perfect, good, thank you, Don. Thank you, sir. I appreciate your prior service to the town as well.

All right, let me pause that. Okay, good morning, how are you? If you'll please state your name.

My name is Amy Long-Manuel, Long-Manuel. Sorry, I didn't realize. I must have missed that place to put my name on it.

It's okay. It's okay. We're glad to have you, Amy. Let me go ahead and restart the timer here. Go right ahead. Good morning.

I've lived in Denton County since 1998 and Texas my entire life. I've been working elections here as a clerk, an alternate, and a judge since 2004, more than two decades. And one thing I can tell you, Every general election, when we have something big on the ballot, especially in a midterm or a presidential year, come the end of the day, you have a line. And there's going to be a bunch of people in that line that because we do precinct voting are in the wrong location and they will tell you, but this is where I voted last time. But it changes because we do this precincts voting. And what we do is then we disenfranchise them by making them vote provisionally, which then slows down the closing of the polls because those provisional votes take a long time. So we just need to do what most of the major counties in this state have done already, which is go to voting centers on election day as well. so we don't disenfranchise a bunch of people and we can close our polls much more quickly. That's all I have to say on the matter.

Thank you, ma'am. Perfect. Good. Thank you so much. And thank you for working the elections. We always need our election workers. All right. Donna, I don't believe we have any more people registered to speak. Am I correct? There's no other misleads. All right. Good. Well, thank you all for being here today. Next is... I want to call forward Pam Gutierrez. Pam, are you? There you are. We were just. Good morning. Good morning. Anyone that you have with you today, we'd love to have you all come forward. Hello, Diane. Good to see you.

I'm going to have our local outreach to suicide coordinator speak today. Perfect. On behalf of the center.

Perfect. Good. Good morning.

Good morning. Hi, everyone. My name is Sehar Iqbal. As Pam mentioned, I am the local outreach to suicide survivors team coordinator for Denton County. First of all, I want to thank you all for being here and taking the time to discuss a topic that touches so many lives. Suicide can be difficult to talk about, so I appreciate the courage and dedication that our community has taken to advocate for suicide prevention and support. In the last year, in 2025 in Denton County, 99 people took their own lives. And this year, as of yesterday, that number has reached 83. Suicidality is not an issue that discriminates by class, race, or sex. Anyone in our community may be affected by suicidality or suicide loss at any time. I urge you to remember that these numbers are not just statistics. Each of those numbers is a life. Dr. Frank Gamble, who founded the LOSS teams, has reported that for every suicide death, about 135 people are impacted. And that's what our team tries to support. While prevention is difficult, it is not out of our hands. Prevention is not just one moment in a person's life. It is the culmination of community support. By having these conversations and openly discussing suicide without blame or shame or discrimination, we allow people the opportunity to come forward and to ask for help. By showing up for each other and by connecting those in need with resources and by being unafraid to discuss these difficult topics, that is how we build a culture of suicide prevention. And this is not a task that any one person can undertake alone. It is by working as a community that we promote wellness, and destigmatize the topic of suicide. The work that we do here today and every day is how we build an environment where people feel safe to be open and vulnerable about their struggles and feel safe to ask for help. Thank you.

Thank you. All right. Pam, did you have anyone else wishing to speak? In advance. Okay. All right. Good. All right. Good. Thank you. Well, you did a great job. Both of you. All right. This is a, Court proclamation recognizing September as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and whereas suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States and has a profound impact on individuals, families, and communities across the nation, including Denton County. And whereas according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 48,000 people died by suicide in the United States in 2024. Countless others have struggled with suicidal thoughts or behaviors, whereas every life lost to suicide is one too many, and prevention requires successful mental health care, community support, education, reduction of stigma surrounding mental illness and suicide. Whereas the month of September is nationally recognized as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness, educate the public, and promote proactive prevention strategies to help save lives. And whereas local organizations, mental health professionals, crisis centers, schools, faith communities and concerned citizens throughout Denton County are working tirelessly to support those in crisis, provide resources and foster hope. And whereas it is critical that we as a community encourage open conversations about mental health, reach out to those who may be struggling and work together to create a culture where seeking help is a sign of strength. And now, therefore, be it resolved, the Denton County Commissioner's Court does hereby proclaim September as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month in Denton County, Texas, and calls upon all citizens, government agencies, public and private institutions, businesses, and schools to increase awareness and understanding of mental health, reduce the stigma, and support those who are affected by suicide. done in open court this the first day of september twenty twenty six upon a motion by the chair second by commissioner mitchell so i just want to say thank y'all for being here thank you for the good work that you do uh... although this is on our this is the reason we pass these proclamations is that it brings awareness to this conversation that needs to be had but it's something y'all deal with every day and i i appreciate uh... the prevention efforts that y'all worked so diligently to promote. And I also want to thank y'all for dealing with the families and those left behind in such a thoughtful and caring way and physically wrapping your arms around them and figuratively and literally in helping those families and the survivors left behind. And so I also want to say thank you because it's good and noble work that y'all do, and it's all times of the hours, day and night, that y'all are there for the residents here in Titney County. So I just want to say thank y'all. I know that the Commissioner's Court rests better knowing that y'all are there to love and nurture the individuals that are dealing with this. So thank y'all so much. Does anyone want to add anything?

Judge?

Yes, ma'am.

To echo the judge, I agree. Also, I'm so glad that now we talk about suicide in the past it was a stigma and people didn't discuss it but now we're out front letting people know that you don't have to be ashamed because one of your family members committed suicide and that there is health we're now seeing that it is a part of a mental health problem and where's the commissioner's court i can say that we are all on board we're trying to help with mental health here in Denton County. So I want to thank you for all that you do. Thank you for encouraging people to come forward when they have a problem, because if someone in your family has committed suicide, you're feeling guilty, and we want to take that guilt away. And the only way we can take that guilt away is make sure that people know that it's not you, that it's not a stigma, and it's not always bad, but it's a mental health problem. And we need to do all we can as a county and as citizens this county to encourage citizens and people to know that there is help, and there are people willing to give them help. So I want to thank you all for all that you do, and just keep working, and thank you. I know it's a tough job dealing with mental health. Pam, I don't know how you've done it for all these many years, and then you've brought on everybody else that's helping also, but I want to appreciate the work that you do. Some of us can't do it. Some of us won't do it, but thank you for doing it. I appreciate you.

All right. Anyone else? Well, again, thank you, and I just want to encourage the public that may be watching, it's important to check on your strong friends. You know, people are busy working, business leaders, community leaders working, and very busy and occupied. And I think it's just important to check in on people. Texts are wonderful, but it's nothing like a phone call or in person, just to swing by and say hi to somebody and tell them that you love them and just see how they're doing. And I think just picking up the phone, I think we all get little leadings and God speaks to us in different ways. But if God places someone on your heart or mind, I think it's important to follow that leading and just pick up the phone and call them. because you might be the only person that's doing that. And so I would just encourage everybody to kind of follow that practice, you know, and just kind of love one another. You know, we lost Dolly Parton last week. And that was one of the things that she was so known for was being kind to one another. Be kind. Being kind to one another. And I think that really kindness goes a long way. And I think we could all follow her good role model in that regard. And then checking in on people and just being kind and loving. And I think that we could all be part. of a suicide prevention program if we do that. So thank you all for being here. And we have a motion and a second. Any other comments? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Thank you for what you all do. all right let's go back to our consent agenda members are there any items you'd like to pull out the consent agenda we have a motion to approve it as presented We have a motion by Commissioner Mitchell, second by Commissioner Williams. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. Your name is there. Consent agenda today consists of item 2A, approval of the order making appointments and any appropriate action. Item 2B is approval of allowing the Denton Arts and Jazz Festival to use three forts and one generator for their annual 2026 annual event. Item 2C is approval of budget and request 2026 429 for facilities management to transfer $20,000 from plumbing supplies to electrical supplies to fund additional electrical supplies needed for routine repairs and maintenance. Item 2D is approval of budget. Amendment request 2026430 for facilities management to transfer $40,000 from architect fees to landscape expense to allocate funding for additional irrigation repairs due to extreme heat. Item 2E is approval of budget. May request 2026431 for facilities management to transfer $69,803 from HVAC supplies to landscape service contracts to allocate additional funding for contracted landscape maintenance for the remainder of the fiscal year. All right, next is item 5A, approval of bill reports, payments from CSCD, community corrections, TAIP, sheriff's training, VIT interest and DA forfeiture funds are presented for recording purposes only. Mr. May.

Thank you, Judge. I have no changes today. Recommend approval as presented.

Motion for approval as presented. Motion by Commissioner Falconer. Second by Commissioner Mitchell. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. Next is item 5B, approval of the jail commissary annual audit report for fiscal year 2025. Moved and approved.

Second. Second.

The motion by Commissioner Williams, second by Commissioner Falconer. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Next is item 6A, approval of renewal of ITB 252876, limestone rock asphalt grade one type D to Vulcan construction materials LLC. Motion by Commissioner Mitchell. Second. Second by Commissioner Williams. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Next is item 6B, approval of the Renewal of ITB 252878 Cold Mix Asphaltic Pavement CMAP to Eurovia Atlantic Coast LLC DBA Sun Mount Paving Company. Motion by Commissioner Falconer. Second by Commissioner Williams. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Next is... Item 6C, approval to declare miscellaneous furniture, equipment, and supplies as surplus to average as in place in online auction 262931 to be held September 2026. Motion by Commissioner Mitchell, second by Commissioner Falconer. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Next is 6D. Approval of purchase of auto general liability insurance coverage from the Texas Association of Counties risk management for fiscal year 2027. Second. Motion by Commissioner Williams. Second by Commissioner Falconer. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Next is 6E. Approval to purchase an additional 150 Cisco Thousand Eyes licenses for Cisco Enterprise Agreement through Presidio Network Solutions Group, LLC. For $125,180 over 44 months through the Texas Department of Information Resources, DIR, cooperative contract DIR, CPO 5347. Second. Motion by Commissioner Mitchell. Second by Commissioner Falconer. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Next is item 14. 6F, approval of purchase of property insurance of the Texas Association of Counties risk management pool for fiscal year 2027. Motion by Commissioner Falconer, second by Commissioner Williams. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Next is item 7A, a report for miscellaneous equipment and software services presented for recording purposes only. Next is item 7B, approval of budget. I may request 2026425 for the Sheriff's Office to transfer within county vehicles $12,147 from unappropriated contingency to various spend categories to cover the cost of law enforcement vehicles that were approved as part of the fiscal year 2026 budget. Moved and approved. Motion by Commissioner Williams, second by Commissioner Mitchell. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Next is 7C, approval of budget. Member request 2026428. For sheriff's facilities, a transfer of $32,859 from law enforcement facility and $9,276 from county jail from various lines to miscellaneous building maintenance for a combined total of $42,135. The transfer will provide funding for necessary repairs and maintenance. Motion by Commissioner Mitchell, second by Commissioner Falconer. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Next is item 7D. Approval of budget, I may request 2026433 for the auditor's office to transfer $55,293,625 from revenue bond proceeds and $1,754,568 from revenue bond premium for a total transfer of $57,048. $57,048,193 to various debt services expenditure categories to allocate funding to amend the budget for PI bonds refunding for fiscal year 2026. Does the chair move for approval? Second. Second by Commissioner Falconer. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Thank you, Jeff, for all your... Good efforts on that. Nexus 7E, approval of budget request 2026434 for probate court administration to transfer $67,400 from unappropriated contingency to psychological services to cover mandated psychiatric services for the remainder of the fiscal year.

Moved and approved.

Motion by Commissioner Falconer, seconded by Commissioner Williams. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Next is 7F, approval of budget. May request 2026435 for the Sheriff's Administration to transfer $18,332 within technology capital and $81,604 within technology capital to technology equipment for a total transfer of $99,936 to cover the cost of an upgrade for the Sheriff's Training Room and any appropriate action.

Move to approve.

Motion by Commissioner Williams, second by Commissioner Mitchell. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Next is item 7G, approval of budget. May I request 2026436 for Sheriff's Operations to transfer $23,547 within capital equipment to cover the cost of three drones. Chair moved for approval. Second by Commissioner Falconer. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Bless you. Thank you. Next is item 8A, report from Human resource requiring hiring actions of elected officials. This is presented for recording purposes only. Mr. Hernandez.

Judge, commissions, good morning. We have one new hire in Constable Prison 5, one new hire in Constable Prison 6, one promotion in the county clerk, three new hires in adult probation, two new hires in juvenile probation, one promotion in the sheriff's office, and one promotion in the tax office. That's it for this week.

Perfect. Good. Thank you. Next is item 8B, approval of reallocating funding to 10 full-time detention officer 1 positions. Pay grade 104 currently budgeted at zero for fiscal year 2026 and any appropriate action will support ongoing hiring efforts. of enhanced staffing levels at the Denton County Jail.

Move to approve. Second.

Motion by Commissioner Williams, second by Commissioner Falconer. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Next, we have several insurance items here. We'll go ahead and take the first one. It's 8C, approval of the proposed active full-time employee medical premiums. There's three options, one, two, and three, along with proposed active full-time employee and retiree dental and vision premiums for fiscal year 2027. Gustavo, do you want to?

Yes, good morning again. This is the time of the year that I come before you asking you for approval of the 2027 benefit plan rates. But before I get into that, one thing that I wanted to ask or to mention is I want employees to remember that we have not had any insurance increases since 2019. At the same time, the county has increase our raises on an average of 5% a year. That, if you start counting since 2019 to today, is close to 45% increases, with no insurance increases at all. The Commissioner's Court has tasked me with making sure that employees get the best benefits possible at the most affordable price. As everybody knows, insurance goes up every year. We have met with the consultants and I want to thank not only the court for what you have done for us, I also want to thank the benefits committee. We have met with consultants and the consultants presented with us with several recommendations. One of those, and I think it's option A, is a 3% increase to the insurance premiums to employees. Option B, which is the one that Human Resources is recommending, is a 5% increase to insurance premiums. And option C is an 8% increase to insurance premiums.

Judge, can I ask a question?

Yes, please, sir.

Option B, what is that per average or per employee dollar-wise? What will that mean for their out-of-pocket?

So I did an exercise, and the worst-case scenario for an employee on the PPO plan with family, the increase on a yearly basis is $475. A year. A year.

A year.

OK. Assuming that the court approves the raise of 5% for 2027, an employee making $40,000 a year with a 5% increase, the raise equals to $2,000. If you take the 475, the employee will see on their paycheck a $1,525 increase a year. Of course, the higher you are, the raise will show more.

What's the total premium that's going up across our insurance? So if the county did not charge that back to our employees, what's the total cost that we're having to cover?

It would be $247,000, more or less.

$247,000 is what the county would have to cover to keep insurance policies exactly where they are?

Yes, sir.

Okay, so why would we, I mean, I'm not, $250,000 is $250,000, but we do a lot of stuff around here and drop millions every day. So my question would be, are we starting to instill this so we can get on a path of, at some point employees realize it's not always going to be stay the same that we're needing to increase slowly. Cause obviously we've been, the County itself has taken on all these increases over the last, since 2019. Correct. Uh, which by the way, just so all the employees know every year, there's an increase to us as employees, as the County, as the taxpayer, there's an increase to the taxpayer, but we have not passed those on to the employee over the years.

And other entities have.

Absolutely, yeah. So, yeah, I'm just trying to make sure to lay this out so everybody understands.

The modest.

Yes, the modest increase that we're asking for our employee to kick in. And I appreciate, Gustavo, you saying about all the increases we've done as an employer throughout the last six, seven years, what we've been able to do for the employee versus others. the small increase that it will cost them as far as the impact of the insurance, which, don't get me wrong, I mean, you know, that's still an increase for anybody is out of their pocket, but at the end of the day, I think that this county has done a fabulous job with taking care of its employees over the last, you know, since, let's say, 2019. Commissioner, if I could add.

Yeah, please. So, if you, because it's been basically seven years since the last increase in a premium to the employee. The CPI alone, Consumer Price Index, over that seven years is way over 20% more. And medical costs have gone up more than the average inflation. So any of our, and I'm not proposing one of the three, five, or eight, but any of those are significant. And I would never recommend that we're trying to always keep the employee having to cover every bit of that increase. I think it's good that when we can, we help cover that, but I think when you look at how much things have gone up, a very modest increase makes sense.

And this is a very difficult thing to me, because as an employee, I don't want to get a rating curse. Sure, no. At the same time, you guys have task me with making sure we are going to be sustainable and we are going to be able to afford insurance to the employees.

Yeah, no, which I can appreciate what you're saying. All five of us have to go through the same thing. So, I mean, you know, I'm the one that's sitting in the top of that deal where I've got a family on it. So, and that's part of life. We're very fortunate that we have the insurance we do because it is fabulous, actually. The insurance that we have here, folks, is absolutely excellent. So, I appreciate you answering those few questions.

And I just want to thank you, Gustavo, for your hard work on that because we have given raises since 2019, and at some point we're going to have to raise what the employees are paying. And if we do it gradually, it won't be such a hard hit. So I appreciate your dedication into making sure of that. You know, insurance is tough. I'm still paying insurance from last year. And so it's just, I mean, it's tough, and it's hard when it hit us tough, but I'm so glad the county and the county commissioners have thought about what the employees are going through also, and that we have to raise it gradually and not, you know, give them a hit all at once. But at some point in time, we're going to have to raise it, and I think this is the year that we have to do it.

Yeah, and Judge, real quick, one more thing. I'm sorry, Ryan, did I cut you off? No, you did not. Absolutely not. I just recalled one other thing I wanted to say. I think it's imperative to state that, yes, you're getting a possible 5% increase on your pay, but the 5% that we're talking about adding for insurance is not equal. Does that make sense? It's not like we're giving you 5% over here as a raise, but we're going to take it right back on insurance. So I want to make it very clear that it's not a wash. You're still getting an increase in your salary over the small increase that we're going to need to make on your insurance.

And finally, I just want to assure the court and the county employees that in the future, like we have always done, I really put a lot of effort into making sure we don't have to adjust rates if we don't have to. So even though we are thinking that we may need to be doing increases, small increases here and there, if there is not going to be a need to do it, I will be the first one to provide you with that information. Thank you. Thank you, Judge. That's all I've got.

That's good. Okay. Do we have a motion for one of the options?

I say a motion for the B option.

All right. We have a motion by Commissioner Williams on option B. Do we have a second?

I'll second.

Second by Commissioner Mitchell. Any other discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Thank you. Next is item 8D, which is approval to maintain the same employer's seed money contribution for employees enrolled in a high deductible health plan, HDHP, paired with a health savings account, HSA, for plan year 2027 as presented in any appropriate action.

Move to approve. Oh, I'm sorry.

We have a motion. I'll second, but then see if I have some discussion. We have a motion by Commissioner.

Can you take it back?

No, no. You can only modify it.

A motion by Commissioner Williams, second by Commissioner Falkner. Please proceed.

So, especially since we just talked about increasing the premium, I'm just suggesting the high deductible plan, we have to raise... the deductible to a certain amount that the government requires. And so it's going up this year.

It's a very modest increase, but it's going up.

It's going up. And the other thing that I hear is that a high deductible plan, I believe, I'm a geek on these things. I do lots of spreadsheets, and I have lots of conversations with Gustavo. Most people, not all, but most people would be better off financially in the high deductible plan. Um, and what I'd like to do is I'd like to say we ought to increase the seed money a little bit here. Um, I think it helps because one of the problems that people have with going to it is they're like, well, I'm going to have to like, because it's hard. I'm gonna have to be out of pocket on the first, you know, like when I go to my doctor and it's not a copay or whatever, but if you, the seed money is really a nice thing that we do. Because if you take that seed money, that first, I'm sorry, tell us how much our seed money is right now. It's 750 and 15.

Employees is 750, families is 1500.

So even as an individual, the first $750 isn't out of pocket. And I'm just suggesting, I think it might be nice. We're gonna have a little bit of a benefit on the 5%. PPO is harder to, you can't do these monies, you have co-pays, but I just, I think that might be a nice thing to help people to potentially do the math and say, hey, this plan I think actually would be better for someone. What's your proposal? I would probably say go to 750, go to 1,002. But, I mean, I'd be open to even just a more modest. I'm open to that as well.

Well, if you do 250 on each, you could do 1,000 and 1,750 would be the same. Be 250 on each side. Does that make sense? Because right now it's 750 and 1,500. If you add a 250 to the single, it would be 1,000. And then you'd add a 250.

Make it $1,750, $1,000, $1,750.

I'm good with $1,000 and $2,000.

Right now, we double it for the family, right? But I'm okay. I don't think there's anything that says it has to double.

No.

So I'm okay with that, too.

The only rule is it has to be approved by the court.

What are you going to do for the PPOs, I mean?

The PPO system is a copay-based program.

Yeah, everybody can't do the high deductible.

Yeah, they can't, but if you do, in real, there are some instances where, but if you do the math, because of the, and by the way, the other thing that's really nice is the, The seed money goes into your HSA. It's tax-free.

Tax-free, yeah.

Okay, versus the money that when we give you a raise is tax-free.

It is your account, so when you leave, you take it with you.

You take it with you. And if Most people, if they will do the high deductible plan, will actually save money because the high deductible plan is less expensive. So if you do the math, the problem is that people are, what I hear and what I'm sure it is, is they look at it and they're like, oh, but if all I do is go to my doctor a couple of times, I have a copay on this one. But if you add up how much more you're paying in premiums, and then if you look at the seed money option, I would argue that I've done it. I've done lots of options. Most people, I have a hard time finding a way to make the PPO plan better. And I've spent a lot of time on it.

Most people can't do PPO, can they? Excuse me? Can everyone do PPOs?

You can do either one. We get to choose which plan we get into every year.

Can every employee do PPO?

Yeah, they can, yeah.

Some of them have to do.

No, I mean, it's our choice. Every employee can choose either one. Which plan we get into.

Let me ask you this.

Oh, go ahead. I apologize.

Go ahead. I was just curious, what's the percentage of the plans here within the county? I'm just asking who's on what, you know, percentage-wise.

I don't have percentage, but I can tell you that we have around 1,300 employees out on the PPO. And 400 employees are on the ID.com.

Okay, so a quarter basically. And it's about a quarter.

60, 70% somewhere in there.

Yeah, okay. And let me ask you from your opinion, and this is opinion because you guys deal with it, why do most people do the PPO then?

to following commissioner falconer's comments uh one thing that we do every every every wednesday when we do open a new employer orientation we kind of do an exercise of this is how much you pay in premiums for each plan and this is how much your auto packet is going to be and But we hear all the time is, oh, I just want to know that I paid $30, $25. I don't even know. They're deductible.

No, they're copay. Copay, I'm sorry. They're copay every time they go to the doctor.

That is what people want to see is I want to spend $25 and I don't care about anything else. When you are on the high deductible plan, until you don't hit that deductible, you may be paying for the same visit $200 versus $25. I get it.

Except with the seed money, if you're, it's zero for those first few. And if you do the math, because the amount of premium that you pay is significantly higher over the year. It's really hard. And all I'm saying is that we have to raise the deductible because the government's making us. And I just think it'd be great to increase that seed money a little bit. To make the math easier, because I really do believe that that a lot of employees would come out in a lot better situation if they go out.

Would you like to amend the motion to 1,000 and 2,000? Yes, sir.

So I'm going to amend my motion to 1,000 and 2,000. We have a

I want you to explain to the people who are doing the PPO why it would be better, and you don't have to do it now, to do the high deductible. And does Social Security or anything play into that?

So when you are 65 or older, you cannot get a HSA contribution. So the seed money cannot be applied to the regular HSA account. You cannot get the limited purpose. Once you hit 65, the regulation is you cannot get seed money. The government doesn't care about your seed money.

That's where I'm going with this.

So get hired before 65.

That's right. So there are many employees that are still working that are older than 65 that basically are forced to stay on the PPO plan because the concerns of the out-of-pocket expense.

And that's what I was asking.

You all know.

The thing is PPO plan has been in place forever, and most people are used to it. And I always tell people, if you cannot afford $150 going to the doctor, stay with the PPO plan. Because if you go paycheck by paycheck, the high deductible is not the way to go. I understand the seed money is there, but some peace of mind is also important. And some employees don't see it that way. And I have talked to people even from TAG, our insurance, insurance company, and they are like, I just don't want to deal with not knowing how much I have to pay. I want to make sure I have my copay, and I'm done. So that, someday we will be able to change that mind, but at the same time, I don't want you guys to come to me and say, you made me change to the high deductible plan, and now I cannot afford anything. So that's the reason that some employees don't go to. That's fair. That's understandable.

It's the reason. I just, if you actually, they are paying because of the premiums. They're paying a lot more. And I would rather, on average, and I, financial literacy is a big thing for me. And I want us to really, we can't tell you, you need to make your choice between PPO and the high deductible. But I'd really like for people to understand that in many cases, in many cases, at the end of the year, you would have saved a lot of money if you're not deductible.

And thank you to Mr. Gonzalez for the comment that he just made to me. People don't realize that we have a maximum out-of-pocket a year. That's right. So regardless of which plan you are in,

Yeah, that's the same.

The amount of money, the maximum amount of money is going to be very similar. We will get into that in the next two items, I believe, in which we are talking about the maximum amount of packets.

All right. Any other discussion? All right. We have a revised motion for 1,000 and 2,000. Is that correct?

Yes, sir. All right.

Any other thoughts or comments? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Next is Item 8E, approval of the plan changes outlined below to the county's group benefits plan for plan year 2027. Gustavo.

Judge, commissioners, this was a very painful deal with the PPC. Many agencies were looking in different directions, and we finally pulled it through. And I am going to go one by one, so we can discuss if you have any questions. For the PPO plan, the deductible is going up after 10 years of no increases from $500 to $625, an increase of $125 a year. That is for employee only. For employee and family, it's a $250 increase. So the deductible for employee with family goes up to $1,250. The PPO out-of-pocket max. His employee only is going from $3,000 to $3,125. Employee and family goes from $6,000 to $6,250. So, like we were talking about on the previous item, the maximum exposure for the employee is going to be 60 to 50 if you have family or 31-25 if you are employee only. That's the maximum exposure. commissioners court to increase the flexible spending account limit from 3300 to 3400 that is the IRS regulation that is an employee only selection the IRS tells us that we can increase it so I'm just asking you to approve that increase there is no financial impact to anybody on that aspect and a new item that I We review with the PBC is to add the family marriage therapy services when you have a mental health or substance abuse issue. Today, you can get that service for individual but not for family. So we are just asking the court to approve that change. High deductible health plan going up from 1700 to 1750. maximum for employee only, employee and family going from $3,400 to $3,500. I deduct all out-of-pocket expense for employee only $3,050 to $3,100, and the out-of-pocket expense going from $6,100 to $6,200. If you look back, it would be very similar to what the PPO maximum out-of-pocket is. And the IRS also allows for the health savings account contribution to go up for individuals from $4,400 to $4,500, families $8,750 to $9,000, and there is a catch-up contribution of $1,000 that we are asking you to approve. We do this on a regular basis. I want to mention that even though the increase on the HSA goes up because of the seed money, People need to make sure that they don't exceed that maximum. And that's pretty much it.

All right. Do we have a motion?

Move to approve. Second.

A motion by Commissioner Williams, second by Commissioner Falconer. Any discussion? All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Gustavo, I want to thank you and the office for all your efforts as we went through that this summer. With the PEBC, lots of meetings. I will tell you, all the counties are really grappling with the cost of insurance. I mean, we're part of our cooperative, and it's been quite an interesting summer. I will just leave it at that.

Well, Judge, I apologize, but I want to say I think that Denton County is one of the better counties to work for when it comes to the way we handle our insurance. That's for sure. especially if you think about some of our surrounding counties and the lack of, if you will. And so anyway, thank you again to HR and everybody that was involved.

You bet. All right. Next is 8F, approval of part-time employee medical premiums, godfathered employees working less than 30 hours a week in COBRA premiums for plan year 2027. Gustavo, do you have a comment about that?

Yeah, the only comment is we have one part-time employee that the commissioner's court

grandfather in back in 2015 and basically the rates for the part-time employees half of what the full-time okay whole premium is sure all right chair move for approval second by commissioner mitchell any discussion all in favor say aye aye opposed motion carries unanimously next is 8g approval of retiree medical insurance premiums for plan year 2027 and i know that we had several different options there and the chair removed that those be at the same 5% as for the full-time employees.

Second.

We have a second by Commissioner Falconer. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Next is item 10A, consideration of approval with conditions or disapproval with the Davidson Prairie final plot. This is lots 1 through 18, block 1. This is 22.373 acres located in Commissioner Precinct 1.

Move to approve.

Motion by Commissioner Williams, second by Commissioner Falconer. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Next is item 10B, approval of a request to hold a public hearing at 9 a.m. on September 29, 2026 for consideration of the approval. Approval with conditions or disapproval with the Intermodal Logistics Center West replat. This is lots 2 through 4, 2R through 4R block A. Block 1XR, Block 1, this is 251.935 acres located in Commissioner Precinct 4.

Move to approve.

Motion by Commissioner Mitchell, second by Commissioner Williams. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously.

Judge, I have one thing for you. Gustavo had something he needed for 8G. Correct.

I apologize. Judge, I'm sorry. I understand the 5% as the same. Did we vote on this one? Yes.

Okay, go ahead. We'll return to 8G.

We do not want to do increases for the people on the Medicare plans. That needs to stay the same because we have locked, the rates have locked so we don't need to do increases for them.

Do we need to modify our motion then? Okay. Yeah.

Yeah, because we just approved everything at 5%.

Oh, got it.

Well, there was other options that had different percentages as far as the retirees, and I was just making sure that it was the same percentage as for the full-time employees. It was not more.

And that would be for the under 65 employees. Okay.

So we'll have the motion reflected that it's for the under 65. Okay. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you for the housekeeping. I think we can clean it up on the court order. Is everyone in agreement?

Yes, sir.

Perfect. Good. Thank you for your help. Next is 10 C approval of a request to hold a public hearing at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, September 22nd, 2026 for the consideration of approval, approval with conditions or. disapproval for a special use permit LRR07260004 in the Lake Ray Roberts Planning and Zoning District located in Commissioner Precinct 1. Move to approve. Motion by Commissioner Williams, second by Commissioner Falconer. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Next is item 10D, approval request to hold a public hearing at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, September 22, 2026 for the consideration of approval, approval with conditions or disapproval of a special use permit LRR07260003 in the Lake Ray Roberts plan in the zoning district. This is located in Commissioner Precinct 1. Move to approve. Thank you. Motion by Commissioner Williams, second by Commissioner Falconer. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Next is item 12A, approval of the 2026-2027 Aaron Local Agreement for the use of the Denton County Radio Communication System for the Town of Crossroads Police Department and the Oak Point Department of Public Safety. Move to approve. Motion by Commissioner Williams, second by Commissioner Mitchell. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Next is item 12B. Approval of the 2026-2027 Interlocal Agreement for Shared Governance Communications and Dispatch Services System for the Town of Crossroads Police Department and Oak Point Department of Public Safety. Approved. Motion by Commissioner Williams, second by Commissioner Falconer. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Next is 12C. Approval of the Food Services Contract Renewal between Denton County, Texas and Trinity Food Services Group Incorporated. As the food service management contractor for the Denton County Jail and the Denton County Juvenile Detention Center, including a 2% price increase related to the CPI and any appropriate action. Motion by Commissioner Falconer, second by Commissioner Mitchell. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. Approval of interlocal cooperation agreement for the usage of the Denton County Sheriff's Office firearms training facility in any appropriate action. Approved. Motion by Commissioner Williams, second by Commissioner Falconer. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Next is 12E, approval of the purchase of a single-duty weapon by Denton County Sheriff's Office Deputy Debbie Hunter following her honorable retirement on October 30, 2026. Motion by Commissioner Mitchell. The Chair will second. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. We will do these appointments later. Let's go to 13E, approval of mutual aid agreement between Denton County and the Town of Flower Mound to establish disaster response and recovery support capabilities during emergencies and disasters. The Chair move for approval. Second by Commissioner Mitchell. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Next, let's go to item 17, which is community updates. Members, let's do any community updates. We'll start with Commissioner Precinct 1.

Thank you, Judge. I want to congratulate Miss 2026, Miss Teen, North Texas, and Rodeo. Congratulations to Owens Middle School 7th grader, Kenzie Laster, who was named 2026 Miss Teen, North Texas, Fair, and Rodeo First Runner-Up. Also, congratulations to Pilot Point and Aubrey ISD. Both districts have earned an A, Superior Achievement Rating, in the School Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas. So that's actually phenomenal. And we have a board member upon us, Jody Gonzalez, obviously, for Aubrey. And so he and obviously the board did a great job. That's all I've got, Judge.

Commissioner Falconer?

Thank you, Judge. First, I just wanted to mention that I attended the Texas Association of Counties Risk Management Pool board meeting last week. That's where you were. We knew you were here. You got a note. It's good. Just for the people watching or listening, the Texas Association of Counties created this many years ago, and it's a great way for counties to get their insurance through the TAC because all counties have a large percentage of public safety employees and those kind of things. And private insurers just don't know how to insure that, so the rates were crazy high and all that kind of thing. And basically, we pool together. That's why it's called a risk management pool. and it benefits every county, and I think it's a great thing that we're able to participate in. But in precinct two, there's a couple of congratulations here in Frisco ISD. Congratulations to Spears Elementary Teacher Carter Forsong, who was featured as an alumni spotlight in the UT Dallas Athletics. She's a former softball player. who uses her lessons that she learned on the field to influence her work in the classroom, and this is her 17th year teaching. And in Carrollton at Creekview, Carrollton Farmers Branch ISD Creekview High School, congratulations to Creekview because they celebrate the grand opening of their new fire academy and space. This is where this facility will allow the students to get some real hands-on training as future firefighters, and I think that's great. We can always use that. We're going to be hiring a lot of firefighters, so that's a great thing. Then just a few events happening in the colony. They have their SNAP application assistance from the Tarrant Area Food Bank. That's on the 10th from 1 to 4 at the library. coffee with the mayor in Frisco on the 11th 8 to 9 at the library community room and then community cleanup and bluebonnet planting that's a fifth from 8 to 10 and that's at Monarch View Park and then in Carrollton have their snap and benefits application held at on the 8th from 10 to noon at the Josie ranch library and And then the pooch pool party that happens every year at the Rosemead Rainforest Aquatic Complex on the 12th from 10 to 2. This is when we're closing the pool down for the season, and you get to bring your dog to go splash around in the pools before they close it. So it's always fun. Are you going to be there, Bobby?

I don't think so.

Okay. For the pool?

I don't do pools.

No pools, no dogs. Or bridges.

That's two strikes.

That's all I got.

Too stressful. That's two strikes.

All right, Commissioner Mitchell.

Denton County Precinct 3. Excuse me for a moment. Let me get Precinct 4 down here. Okay, Denton County Precinct 3. Current prep and popcorn on September 4th at 7 to 9 p.m. Thank you. At the Commons at Agora, the City of Corinth is partnering with the Denton County Office of Emergency Management for an emergency preparedness movie night, prep and popcorn, featuring the perfect storm. Also, movie in the park in Flower Mound from 4 to 7.30 p.m. on Spinks Road, Heritage Park. Bring a blanket or long launcher. Enjoy a movie under the night sky. Louisville Police Department is having an open house on September 3rd. 5 p.m. to 8.30 p.m. at the Till McFadden Public Safety Center. This is an opportunity to meet officers, ask questions, and learn how the department trains. On September the 5th, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Layla is coming to enjoy a Saturday nature walk. And on September the 5th, also in Louisville, at the Bill Weaver Arena, Let's Get Western Bull Bash. This event has the elite Pro Bull Riders team. in September the 6th, also is at the Bill Weaver Arena. Also, I ask that you would be in prayer for our own Bill Lawrence. He lost his wife, and I don't have any... General directions or anything, but be in prayer for him. Bill was a former mayor of Holland Village and he serves as I didn't County 911 on I didn't County 911 board. Also come and join us on Sunday, September the 6th. We do the freedom walk. We meet. On the bridge, red, white, and blue Freedom Walk on the southbound Louisville Lake pedestrian bridge, please meet at 6.30 p.m. City south of the bridge, meet at Doubletree Ranch Park in Holland Village. City north of the bridge, meet at Oak Drive at the southbound I-35 service road. This is always a fun event where a lot of elected officials and a lot of citizens come together and just have a great time and talking and laughing And thinking about 9-11 and praising our wonderful state of Texas.

Perfect. Good. Thank you.

Also, Precinct 4. Argyle Home and Garden Show, September 5th, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Robeson Ranch Clubhouse. Justin Farmer's Market, September 12th, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Seeley Avenue. And Chrome, we're having a live at 50 West, September 12th, 7 p.m. Ponder, our volunteer fire department community spaghetti dinner, September 1st, 5 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. I believe that must be tonight. Come out and enjoy a meal with community members and support the Ponder Fire Department. Cost is $5 per plate. You can't get spaghetti anywhere for $5. The Great Coral Cost Show, second annual, is also in Ponder, and that's going to be on September 5th, 11 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. Community shout-outs. Congratulations to Drake Hope of Argyle and Sebastian Castillo of Justin, who made the USA Baseball 2026 U18 National Team roster. They are both now able to play at the World Baseball Softball Confederation, America's U18 Pan American Championship in Santo Domingo, Dominica Republic from October 22nd through 29th. And I believe that's all she has also.

Perfect. Thank you, Commissioner. I would like to remind the public that tomorrow on September 2nd at Texas Health Presbyterian on Long Prairie Road there in Flower Mound, Carter Blood Care is going to be there with their donation bus. So we'd love to have you there from 7 to 1.30 at Carter Blood Care. So you can call them and schedule an appointment. But I bet they'd also take a walk-in at Texas Health Presbyterian in Flower Mound. I just want to remind the the public as well, that the Denton County office will be closed on Monday, September 7th, an observative Labor Day, and we will not have court on the September the 8th. Before we go to executive session, we have Judge Rita with us today from Texas Association of Counties. Judge, do you want to come up and say hi to anyone? Rita is our representative from TAC to Denton County and many other counties up here. It's good to have you here, Judge. It was good to see you last week at the legislative conference.

I was about to say thank you all for joining us for the TAC legislative conference last week. A great conference. Covered a lot of things that were really pertinent, even more so than we expected them to be. And we also appreciate the support of Denton County in many capacities to Texas Association of Counties, including your own county treasurer, who's our TAC board president, Cindy Brown.

That's right. Good. Well, thank you for being here. And I know we'll visit after court here in just a little bit. But thank you for being here. All right. Let's go.

Judge, I've got one thing. I apologize. I can't believe I forgot this.

Your anniversary?

No. Amber's birthday. I don't forget those two. Somebody will remember it. Those two I do not mess up. Okay, you're smart. This is a pretty important one as well. Not quite that, but very important. But my wonderful assistant, Capricia, her birthday was Sunday, and I want to wish her a happy birthday. She does a fabulous job for my office. I'm very fortunate, very lucky, but happy birthday to her. Happy belated, Capricia. That's right. So thank you, Judge. Let's give her a hand. Yes, that's all I got.

We won't sing. I'm over here on cough drops, so we're not going to lead us in a song. Thank you, Judge. Happy birthday. Next is our executive session. We've got a few items here. The first is item 15A, Texas Government Code 551074581, personnel matters affecting a county advisory body. Closed means to liberate the employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline, or dismissal of a member of the advisory body with a Denton Main Street Advisory Board. Next is 15B, Texas Government Code 5510745A1. Personnel matters affecting the county advisory body, county meeting to deliberate the employment, employment evaluation, reassignment duties, dismissal of the member of advisory body with the Denton County Development District Number 4. Number 15C is Texas Government Code 5510745A1. Personal matters affecting the county advisory body. Closed means deliberate the appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline, or dismissal of a member of an advisory body with the Denton County Emergency Services District 1. 15D, Texas Government Code 551074581. Personal matters affecting the county advisory body. County means deliberate the appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline, or dismissal of a member of an advisory body. with the Denton County Merchant Services District number 2 and 15E under Texas Government Code 551072, deliberation regarding real property closely and deliberate the purchase, exchange, lease, or value of real property in deliberation in an open meeting that would have a detrimental effect on the position of a governmental body in negotiations with a third person. And it is 1023, and we're in executive session.

You need to sign this one. Yeah, I'll just...

All right, it is 1140, and we have reconvened from executive session. There will be no action on 15A. There will be no action. Let's proceed to 13B, which is also 15B, which is approval of an appointment to the Denton County Development District No. 4 Board. I believe Commissioner Mitchell has a motion.

Judge, I move we appoint Jean Hillier, replacing Peggy Krueger, and reappoint Bob Phillips and Julia Smith.

Christine second so we have a motion by Commissioner Mitchell the chair will second any discussion all in favor say aye aye any opposed motion carries unanimously next let's go to 15 C 13 C well we've got we got 13 C and 15 C here which is the approval appointment of the Denton County emergency services district number district number one board

Judge, I move we appoint Don McDaniel to the Denton County Emergency Service District 1 board.

And the chair will second. So we have a motion by Commissioner Mitchell, second by the chair. Is there any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Thank you, Don, for your willingness to serve. Next is 13D and 15D, which is approval of the appointment of the Denton County Emergency Services District 2 board. Go ahead.

Judge, I move we appoint Mark Papey to the Denton County Emergency Service District 2 Board.

All right, we have a motion by Commissioner Mitchell. The chair will second. Any other discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Did we get everything done?

Oh, yeah.

What did you say?

13E. 13E. 13E.

13E, what did you say? Oh, I'm sorry. Thank you. There'll be no action on 15E. Thank you, the real estate. There'll be no action on 15E today. All right. Hearing no other action before the court, we are adjourned. Thank you.