Commissioners Court - Regular Meeting

Hola, El Paso! From July to August, El Paso County engaged with our residents to address their needs and prepare for the future. See what El Paso County has going on this summer. El Paso County's Public Works Department held weekly information and feedback sessions at Azcárate Park. These meetings concern the proposed improvements to the park and changes to the lakes at Azcárate. The sessions allowed residents to see concepts of what is planned and to provide their input on what they want, including their preferences for the large and small lakes at Azcárate. El Paso County is dedicated to include the public throughout the completion of this critical project. The El Paso County Community Services Office of New Americans recently hosted a large-scale community listening session and resource fair as part of the Gateways for Growth Technical Assistance Grant awarded to El Paso County. The event brought together 60 attendees representing 40 partner organizations, including non-profit organizations, interfaith, educational institutions, local governments, and health care providers. The event featured an interactive format designed to encourage meaningful dialogue and collaboration. Rather than a traditional conference setup, participants engaged in facilitated small group discussions, shared ideas and recommendations, and networked with organizations working to strengthen our community. Feedback gathered during the listening session will help inform the development of El Paso County's Welcoming Strategic Plan, a community-driven roadmap that will identify priorities and strategies to make our region more welcoming, inclusive, and connected. Seven years ago, our community changed because of a horrible tragedy. To honor the victims of August 3rd, 2019 Walmart shooting, community leaders, victims' families, and residents gathered at the Azcárdate Park Healing Garden on August 2nd to hold a vigil in their honor. The event included a prayer service, moment of silence, reading of names and release of white doves. El Paso County remains committed to provide a space in the Healing Garden for our community to meditate, reflect and honor our lost community members. The Commissioner's Court and El Paso County Hospital District held a joint special session meeting to discuss the 2027 tax rate for the county's public hospital. The hospital district oversees University Medical Center, El Paso Children's Hospital, and El Paso Health. Hospital administration proposed a no new revenue tax rate of 0.236904 for fiscal year 2027. If this rate is approved later this month, this would mean that the portion of your property taxes dedicated to our county hospital would not increase. Hospital board members and county commissioners approve the proposed rate and the court is scheduled to adopt it towards the end of August. That does it for this edition of County Connects. Stay tuned and make sure to stay connected with El Paso County. Every day, El Paso County works to improve the quality of life for our residents. Sometimes that work happens here at home. Sometimes it takes us across Texas, across the nation, and around the world. County leaders advocate for infrastructure, public safety, veteran services, transportation, and mental health priorities important to our residents. Through legislative meetings, funding requests, and various policy discussions, your county is working to ensure El Paso's voice is heard. Strong partnerships help bring resources, expertise, and opportunities back to El Paso County. Through collaborative efforts with our state and federal partners, our position on critical matters can be shared and heard by those making decisions at the highest levels. Participation in organizations such as the National Association of Counties, Texas Association of Counties, and other professional networks also allows county leaders to learn from successful programs across the country and bring innovative ideas back home. El Paso County's commitment to economic growth extends far beyond our borders. Throughout the year, elected officials and staff travel across Texas, the United States, and internationally to promote El Paso as a premier destination for business investment and expansion. These efforts allow us to build relationships with industry leaders, showcase our region's unique advantages, and compete for new jobs and economic opportunities. The true measure of success is not where we travel to, but what we brought home. At the midpoint of 2026, our grant portfolio remained strong and productive. To date, we have applied for a total of 50 funding opportunities, with 21 awards secured, resulting in more than $15.6 million in grant funding awarded. Every trip represents one purpose, serving the people of El Paso County. Whether advocating in Austin, collaborating in Washington, or building partnerships across borders, our mission remains the same, creating opportunities, delivering services, and building a stronger future for our community. Hola, El Paso! From July to August, El Paso County engaged with our residents to address their needs and prepare for the future. See what El Paso County has going on this summer. El Paso County's Public Works Department held weekly information and feedback sessions at Azcárate Park. These meetings concern the proposed improvements to the park and changes to the lakes at Azcárate. The sessions allowed residents to see concepts of what is planned and to provide their input on what they want, including their preferences for the large and small lakes at Azcárate. El Paso County is dedicated to include the public throughout the completion of this critical project. The El Paso County Community Services Office of New Americans recently hosted a large-scale community listening session and resource fair as part of the Gateways for Growth Technical Assistance Grant awarded to El Paso County. The event brought together 60 attendees representing 40 partner organizations, including nonprofit organizations, interfaith, educational institutions, local governments, and healthcare providers. The event featured an interactive format designed to encourage meaningful dialogue and collaboration. Rather than a traditional conference setup, participants engaged in facilitated small group discussions, shared ideas and recommendations, and networked with organizations working to strengthen our community. Feedback gathered during the listening session will help inform the development of El Paso County's Welcoming Strategic Plan, a community-driven roadmap that will identify priorities and strategies to make our region more welcoming, inclusive, and connected. Seven years ago, our community changed because of a horrible tragedy. To honor the victims of August 3rd, 2019 Walmart shooting, community leaders, victims' families, and residents gathered at the Azcárdate Park Healing Garden on August 2nd to hold a vigil in their honor. The event included a prayer service, moment of silence, reading of names, and release of white doves. El Paso County remains committed to provide a space in the Healing Garden for our community to meditate, reflect, and honor our lost community members. The Commissioner's Court and El Paso County Hospital District held a joint special session meeting to discuss the 2027 tax rate for the county's public hospital. The hospital district oversees University Medical Center, El Paso Children's Hospital, and El Paso Health. Hospital administration proposed a no new revenue tax rate of 0.236904 for fiscal year 2027.

Live from El Paso County, Texas, the Veterans Capital of the USA. From inside the Alicia Chacon Commissioners Courtroom of the Enrique Moreno County Courthouse, you are watching the El Paso County Commissioners Court Meeting.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Today is Monday, August 17th, 2026. Commissioner's Court is meeting in regular open session. Commissioner Olguin, would you like to introduce this morning's pledge person?

Yes, good morning, everyone. So today we will be led in the Pledge of Allegiance by Mr. Ray Borrego of the San Elisario Veterans Association. Mr. Borrego, welcome and thank you for being here with us.

Welcome, Ray. Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance.

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. Texas Pledge. Under the Texas flag, I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, and state under God, one and indivisible,

Thank you, Mr. Borrego.

If you ever have a chance, go down to Saneli and to his Veterans Museum. He's an amazing, amazing veteran. Thank you, Ray.

Next, we'll receive an invocation from Pastor Anthony Bedoya with Calvary Chapel Sun City.

Welcome.

Good morning, Judge and Commissioners. I pray all of you had a restful weekend.

Let's pray.

Father God, we humbly come before your throne to give you thanks and praise. First off, Lord, thank you for waking us up this morning and blessing us with another day. That alone is a precious gift. And again, thank you for that. Thank you, Lord, for the shoes that cover our feet. Thank you for the clothes that you provided to cover our bodies. Thank you for our health. Thank you most of all, Father God and Jesus, for the ultimate sacrifice you both made on the cross for us. You paid the price for something you didn't commit. You placed our sin on you so that we could enter heaven. You suffered horribly for us. Thank you for the unconditional love you give us faithfully. That is true love. Thank you for the peace, protection, and provision you always provide. Your mercy and your grace. Thank you for your faithfulness. Even when we aren't faithful, you always remain faithful. we can't thank you enough help us live appreciative of that sacrifice you made for us and help us obey your word john 14 15 says if you love me keep my commandments help us live for you and die to self help us be christ-centered instead of self-centered Lord, I also ask that you bless Judge Samaniego, Commissioner Butler, Commissioner Stout, Commissioner Coronado, and Commissioner Holguin with wisdom and discernment. Help them work as a team and make decisions that will benefit El Paso and the county employees. Help them with the decisions they need to make based on what you would want and what would bring you honor and glory. I pray this court would put you above all things and focus on what you want for our community and not worry or focus on anything else. I pray they will be fair and honest. Lord, I ask that your Holy Spirit join us here in this courthouse today and every day. I pray you will fill this room with your presence and you are always welcome here. Father God, I also wanna pray for our county employees and elected officials and our courthouse security. Please keep us all safe throughout the year. Help us all get along and I pray as always that our elected officials would remain humble. They have their positions only because of you. Please remind them that they are to remain humble and are here to save the constituents of El Paso, not the other way around. Remind them that what you give, you can also take away. I also pray that our elected officials treat the staff with great respect and treat them fairly and be kind and appreciative of them. And Lord, I pray that you would remind employees to be appreciative of their jobs and not complain or take their jobs for granted, but to give it their all daily as we are all blessed to have our jobs. And Lord, I pray for our nation, that our nation and all of us would focus on you and your ways. According to the Bible, you are the only answer to the issues. and the division facing this nation and this world. I pray all would put their pride and egos aside and surrender to you. I pray all would put their faith in you and you alone. Not a political party like I prayed in the past, but in you. As I've stated, our hope should not be on an elephant or a donkey, but on the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. John 3, 16 through 17 says, For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. That is true love. Thank you that you are a God of second, third, fourth chances. Thank you for being a loving God. Help this nation once again turn back to you. God bless El Paso, God bless Texas, and God bless America. And God bless our President Trump. We love you, Lord. And again, thank you. In Jesus' mighty name, I pray. Amen.

Thank you, Pastor. What a great way to start the week. Thank you for your words. God bless you all.

Have a great week. Thank you.

Judge, do you have some opening remarks for us this morning?

Yeah, thank you so much. On behalf of myself and our commissioners, we welcome you. I'm sure you feel the energy. It's going to get better, I can assure you. And, you know, we've got so many veterans here today, and, of course, being the Veterans Capital of the USA, it's such a great honor to have them here. There's one of the items that they'll be here to support, and just... Here in the pastor, of all the things we've got, we've got a pretty heavy, we go from great resolutions to some business that really impacts our community. So we thank them for that. I want to give thanks to, we had a blood drive that was sponsored by my office. And we had 186 that participated, which I think impacts 586. patients going forward. But we also, the really neat thing about the blood drive was that we had 26 new donors, which means they're now being introduced to the importance of giving blood. The other thing I'd like to offer you and make sure that you visit, right around the lobby, we've got a beautiful, beautiful exhibition. of indigenous pictures. She's very well known. She's well known. Her name is Mariana Yanez, if you want to check her out. But she does some beautiful photography. And the way she does that, she actually lives with the tribes for some time. She said something really beautiful last time, and that was the fact that she says, you cannot take a picture of someone like that. You have to earn that picture. And when you see someone that has earned that right to be photographed, and it's amazing. It'll be, unfortunately, we were thinking it'd be a little longer. It'll be until September the 11th. And I'm trying my best to see, working with the mayor, to see if we could place it at the airport because I think people really need to see where we come, the theme is roots and where we come from and how close we are to the indigenous and how grateful we should be for how they've taken care of the land, how they focus on life and so forth. very appreciative of that and I'm going to pass it on to Commissioner but before that I also want to thank Public Works we were able to it's pretty difficult because they're beautiful frames and they're delicate and Public Works put together the display and I told everyone whatever you think is going to happen it's going to be a little bit better so if you see is we now have permanent displays that we could provide art and one of the things that was so symbolic of having it at the courthouse and I think more and more things are going to be happening the blood drive having art here at the courthouse because symbolically you know we're part of the entire entire county and so this is a great place to to be able to to have access to art and to other things here here at the courthouse so Commissioner Butler

Thank you very much, Judge. I wanted to take a few minutes this morning to thank a couple of groups of people that responded to the heavy rains and flooding that happened, particularly in East El Paso over the weekend. Precinct 1 had a few inches of rainfall. We saw Mother Nature's power on Saturday. We had lots of people without electricity for a few hours on Saturday into Sunday. So I wanted to thank our utility workers, El Paso Electric. They were outside in my neighborhood at all hours of Saturday night trying to restore power to people who were affected by power outages. I want to thank our first responders, our ESD, and our sheriff's office for making sure that people were safe while navigating flooded streets. And then I especially want to thank our public works department, road and bridges. Even this morning, I saw them out on the roads, our county roads, pumping water off of the severely flooded streets. So thank you, public works department, and all of our public servants for doing everything you can to keep our community safe. Thank you.

Thank you for that, Commissioner. Well, once again, thank you. We're wishing all of you an amazing Monday, but just a beautiful week in itself. So we thank you for being here today.

Thank you, Judge. Item number four is the consent agenda composed of items 4A through 4X. We do have two items that we'd like to bring up to the court for attention. Item number 4I, we do have a correction per the county judge's office. The item should read, Pursuant to Texas Health and Safety Code Section 122.001 and for the purpose of improving employee morale, approve and ratify the purchase in the amount of $825 and distribution of t-shirts for the two-day blood drive co-hosted by the El Paso County Judge's Office and by Talent. Funds are available in General Fund, County Judge, Public Purpose, Operations, Expense General. Opinion number 13087. Also, item number 4N, we would like to request this item be deleted for the county administration department. There was a technical error on the agenda program and the item is not visible on the agenda. We would like to delete this item. Are there any other items members of the court or public would like to pull for individual discussion?

Hearing none, I'm going to move to approve, Cesar.

Thank you, Judge. We have a motion to approve from Judge Samaniego. We have a second from Commissioner Coronado. The voting is open. Thank you, Commissioner Butler. Commissioner Stowell, thank you. Motion carries. Item number five, resolutions. I'd like to jump ahead to item number 5D. approve and adopt a resolution recognizing Dr. Tiffany Tajiri and the official debut of That's So El Paso music video as a celebration of the people, culture, military, heritage, and community spirit that define El Paso County, Texas. Thank you.

Dr. Tiffany, I love to say Dr. Tiffany because there's that formality about her and then there's this incredible. I'm gonna go ahead and read the resolution first and then you'll come right after that. That way we can get the vote done and complete.

So thank you so much.

Like I said, it's quite an honor because she really represents and has a tremendous love for El Paso. And guess what? She's a veteran. Can you imagine that? Thank you. Whereas El Paso proudly holds a distinction as a veteran's capital United States of America and uniquely situated at the intersection of two countries, three states and three cities stands as a symbol of resilience, diversity, service and unity. Whereas music and movement are universal languages that transcend cultural and generational boundaries, bringing people together while promoting wellness, understanding, and community connection. Whereas Dr. Tiffany Tajeri, a United States Air Force veteran, Board-certified clinical psychologist, author, speaker, performing artist, and founder of Freedom Rhythm has dedicated her career to inspiring resilience, self-expression, and community well-being through psychology, music, movement, and education. Whereas Dr. Tiffany Chidori created the original song and music video that sold El Paso as a tribute to the people of El Paso celebrating the city's rich culture, military heritage, iconic landmarks, diverse communities, and the spirit that makes the borderland unlike any other place in America. whereas the music video features local veterans, artists, musicians, dancers, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and community members while highlighting freedom rhythm, whose free community classes promote mental wellness, joyful movement, and meaningful connection throughout El Paso. where the official debut of That's So El Paso music video celebrates the collaboration, volunteerism, creativity, and civic pride that continues to strengthen and unite the borderland. And where El Paso County recognizes, commends Dr. Tiffany, along with the many veterans, artists, performers, businesses, nonprofit organizations, volunteers, and community partners whose collaboration, dedication, and generosity make this meaningful tribute to El Paso possible. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the El Paso County Judge and Commissioner's Court hereby recognizes the official debut of That's So El Paso music video as a celebration of the people, culture, military heritage, and community spirit that defines El Paso. Signed the 17th day of August, 2026.

We have a motion from Judge Samaniego and a second from Commissioner Holguin. The voting is open.

Motion carries. Also want to recognize our Grammy Award winner, Roger Argenis, here in the audience. You mind standing up, please? and a great friend. And now, Dr. Tiffany, we'll hear from you and your performance.

It's an honor and a privilege, Judge. Thank you. You almost stole the show from me, if I'm honest. So whenever you're ready, you can go ahead and cue it, and we'll begin.

Aye-aye, aye-aye, aye-aye. She's the heart of the desert, a diamond in the rough She's called the Sun City, but she's been through tough stuff The star on the mountain shines hope from above Because we built this city on grit and love Fueled on Chico's tacos after water's nights Let's go to Scenic Drive to see the city lights Three states and two countries that shine so bright That's my El Paso, what a sight Oh my god. Mexico's heartbeat and the tense of the sun Our Cheetos drenched in nacho cheese Struggles for the best until we're weak in the knees The sunsets burn with colors bold A masterpiece, the heavens hold The cross on the mountain is now Cristo Rey Forever guiding us all the way Come on, let's take a drive, come on, let's take a drive Only the 9-1-5, only the 9-1-5 Pass on, pass on The culture, the city, the values, right The people, the dreams, their hearts are bright The blood, the sweat, the tears, the sight Come on, let's take a drive. From Glory Road to Utah Nights, that's four plus five. Sipping margaritas at Ellen Chase While listening to the mariachis It's the dark that always rise The star still shines across our skies We are family and we're so strong Let's lift our voices and sing a song It's so impossible It's so impossible It's so impossible It's so impossible It's so impossible It's so impossible It's so impossible It's so impossible It's so impossible Isn't that amazing?

Especially the aye-aye. That got me right off to start. So thank you so much for, I mean, this is such a, I mean, what a privilege to have you. And she's been in the county. She's done things for the veterans nonstop. And so very, very, very proud of her. Roger, would you mind saying a few words on behalf of?

Yeah.

Good morning. So I'm Roger. I got to work with Dr. Tiffany on this music video. And I'm just just really proud and just really excited to have been involved in being a part of it. When she reached out to me, it was, you know, we wanted to kind of she she introduced a song, you know, that's all passed on. It was like trying to find a way to. highlight and showcase. She really wanted to really, we call it a love letter to El Paso. That's what she was trying to accomplish. And it was just really a really neat process because we had never done anything like that before. I had never done anything like that before as far as bringing El Paso together, bringing the different people the different things that make El Paso, El Paso. So we really wanted to highlight that. And it was just a great honor for me to work with Dr. Tiffany. I really admire her vision and her movement with everything that she does for the community. So for me, it was just a no-brainer to just get involved and try to do something cool with her.

Also, for you, both of us putting this on the map and the quality, if you saw the quality of the video, it was just amazing. I mean, it's just a beautiful video. that's gonna highlight and break away a lot of our narratives of who we are, because it shows who we really are, not who people think that we are. So once again, thank you so much, and we'd love to take a picture with all of you, thank you.

Also wanted to give a shout out to Ian Summers. He's the one who did the filming of the video. He really got the vision and really brought it to life. So that was really, really amazing. Again, also showcasing the videographers, the movie makers here in El Paso. So yeah.

Oh, thank you so much for saying that. Thank you.

Item number 5A from resolutions. Approve and adopt a resolution recognizing the Cowan Stingrays swim team for their outstanding achievements during the 2026 summer competitive season and their role as ambassadors for El Paso County, Texas.

Such a pleasure to have such young people involved in sports and also putting us on the map, so I'll read the resolution. Whereas the Cowan Stingray Swim Team exemplified unparalleled teamwork, dedication, tenacity, and resilience throughout the 2026 Summer League competitive season. And whereas the team solidified their excellence by securing top three finishes across age group six to 12 at the Texas Amateur Athletic Federation Regionals, earning 12 coveted spots and whereas the stingrays proudly carried the spirit of El Paso, Texas to the state level competition competing with distinction against the best teams from every region and whereas this co-ed team of 56 athletes spanning ages 4 to 16 demonstrated not only athletic prowess but also leadership, sportsmanship, integrity, and unwavering team pride, both in and out of the pool. And as many of these exceptional student athletes further distinguished themselves by participating in school swimming programs and other community initiatives. With the Cowan Stingray swim team and their coaches have become a source of immense pride of the Gus and Goldie program and the broader El Paso community, elevating the county's reputation for excellence in youth athletics, whereas El Paso County extends its deepest appreciation to the student athletes, coaching staff, and families whose steadfast support and dedication fueled the remarkable season. Now, therefore, be resolved that the El Paso County Judge and Commissioner's Court recognizes and congratulates the Cowan Stingray Swim Team for their outstanding achievements during the 2026 summer competitive season, their unwavering commitment to excellence, and their role as ambassadors of Teamwork El Paso Pride. Signed, the 17th day of August, 2026.

We have a motion to approve from Judge Samaniego and a second from Commissioner Butler. The voting is open. Motion carries. Welcome.

Welcome.

Thank you. Good morning, Judge Samaniego and commissioners. First of all, thank you for the opportunity of giving recognition to these little ones. Unfortunately, the entire team couldn't be here, being school time and whatnot. But these little ones did have the opportunity to come here. As you can see, they're very young. They start from the age of four to the age of 11. And we have older children. The amount of work that they put in during the summer for the team is something to be proud of. The parents, we work hard so that our kids can be there on time. so that they're able to experience what teamwork and individual support as is swimming. They help them not only in their sport, but outside of that. It is such a way for them to grow into a strong commitment, values, that I think it's important that our community joins this type of sports. And like us, that we have the opportunity to go outside of El Paso and represent El Paso in a much bigger and broader scene. And they absolutely had fun. So thank you again for this recognition. And I give the mic to my- Thank you. Welcome.

Good morning. Judge Samaniego and Commissioners, my name is Alejandra Vaquera and I'm one of the parents of the team and I wrote something a little down because I get a little bit nervous but I just wanted to take a moment to say how incredibly proud I am of our stingray team and all of our amazing swimmers. These kids have worked so hard not just in the pool but with their time, dedication, discipline and commitment. They have pushed themselves, supported one another, and learned that sometimes the biggest victory isn't just winning a race, but showing up. Giving it your all and never giving up. This season, our Stingrays had the opportunity to compete at the championship level, and we're especially proud that our swimmers made it all the way to TAF State Games of Texas in College Station. That is an incredible accomplishment, and for me, this recognition is especially meaningful because I get to stand here as not only a proud parent, a Stingray parent, but as a mom of three Stingrays. Watching my babies grow, compete, and challenge themselves has been one of the greatest joys for our family. They have each worked hard in their own way and seeing them cheer each other on and celebrate each other's victories has made this experience even more special. And I have to give a special shout out to my youngest, Alexandra. At only four years of age, she's not only the youngest member of our Stingrays team here in El Paso, but she had the incredible opportunity to represent us at the Taft State competition as the youngest in the entire competition. As her mom, I don't think I will ever forget watching my tiny little girl stand alongside all of these amazing athletes and represent our team and our city. It reminded me that there is no age too young to dream big, work hard, and be part of something bigger than yourself. but behind every one of these swimmers, as Nancy said, is a coach, a parent, a grandparent, and a family member who has spent countless hours at practices, meets, traveling, cheering from the stands. and helping these kids chase their goals. Our kids may be young, but they are already learning lessons that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. Hard work, teamwork, perseverance, and being themselves, believing in themselves. To all of our Stingray swimmers, we are so proud of you guys. Keep working hard, keep cheering each other on, and most importantly, keep having fun and loving what you do. Congratulations to our stingrays, our coaches, and all our families. You have made El Paso incredibly proud. And thank you again, judge and commissioners, for recognizing our kids today.

Well, thank you for.

Thank you, ghosting rays. Thank you so much.

Thank you. We are so proud of you and you know some of you that learned how to swim at the age of 15 and they're already in competition. It gives you a sense of an understanding. I also want to thank you. I happen to have known Mr. Cowan And thank you for continuing to making him, I remember how hard he worked. I was actually a lifeguard at a Washington swimming pool and I got to meet him there and everything he did to have that. So thank you for that as well. But thank you and I hope all of you young people understand how important and how successful you are and like I've always said, make sure that you help other kids that don't have the talents and the abilities and the opportunities that you have. Look for them, help them because part of what God gave you is to share and to help others be successful. So we're very, very proud of the parents and of course the coaches and so we thank you once again and we'd love to take a picture with all of you and continue to put us on the map, okay? Yes. Thank you.

you

Item number 5B, approve and adopt a resolution recognizing Cristian Alvarado for his outstanding achievements in martial arts and soccer, his representation of El Paso on national and international stages, and his commitment to inspiring future generations of athletes in El Paso County, Texas.

Well, thank you. Mr. Sanchez, thank you so much. If you don't recognize him, he's from Cathedral, the principal there at Cathedral, and we're very, very proud of him as well. So I'll read the resolution, and then we'll... Whereas Christian Alvarado was born in El Paso, Texas March 17, 2009 and has demonstrated exceptional determination, discipline and passion for sports becoming an inspiration of the borderland community and future generation of athletes. Whereas Christian Alvarado began his athletic journey in martial arts at the age of three displaying extraordinary talent and commitment from an early age. Whereas at just four years old, he earned his first world championship in Buffalo, New York, marking the beginning of an outstanding competitive career. And whereas by the age of eight, Christian had become a 20-time world champion in martial arts and proudly represented his country as part of the national team competing in Ireland, where he earned a silver medal on the international stage. At the age of nine, Christian began his soccer journey quickly developing exceptional technical ability, determination, leadership and perseverance while competing at a high level with local clubs. At age 14 years old, he signed with a local BVB franchise and was selected to participate in the prestigious two-week training camp in Germany, further demonstrating his potential as an elite soccer player. Whereas at the age of 15, Christian achieved one of the greatest milestones by signing his first semi-professional soccer contract, competing at the national level as one of the youngest players in the league. And where at age 16 years old, he continued his remarkable development by signing his second semi-professional contract with Irish FC, proudly representing El Paso while continuing his pursuit of excellence. At age 17, Christian reached another historic milestone by being selected to travel to London, England to participate in an international professional soccer tryout where his talent and dedication earned him selection to continue his professional soccer journey. Of course, Christian Alvarado serves as an outstanding role model of young athletes throughout El Paso and the borderland, providing that dedication, discipline, and perseverance can transform dreams into reality. Now, therefore, it be resolved that the El Paso County Judge and Commissioner's Court hereby recognize Christian Alvarado for his extraordinary accomplishments, strong work ethic, and commitment to excellence in both martial arts and soccer. Be it further resolved that the El Paso County Judge and Commission Court expresses sincere appreciation and congratulations to Christian Alvarado for proudly representing his family, his community, the El Paso County, the state of Texas, and the United States through his athletic achievement while inspiring future generations to pursue excellence both and off the field. Signed this 17th day of August 2026.

We have a motion to approve from Judge Samaniego and a second from Commissioner Butler. The voting is open. Motion carries.

How amazing was that rendition? Oh my goodness. Mr. Sanchez.

Good morning, Judge Samaniego, Commissioner Butler, Commissioner Stout, Commissioner Olguin, and Commissioner Coronado. On behalf of Cathedral High School, I'd like to extend our sincere gratitude to the County Commissioner Court for honoring our school and recognizing one of our outstanding students. We are deeply grateful for your support and for taking your time to celebrate the accomplishments of our Cathedral community. Your recognition of Cristiano is especially meaningful and serves as an encouragement to all of our young men to live out the values of faith, service, leadership, and excellence. As a Catholic Lasallian school, we believe in forming young men who use their gifts to serve others and to make a positive difference in their communities. We are proud of Christian Alvarado and thankful that the County Commissioner Court has chosen to recognize his accomplishments. Last year Cathedral High School celebrated its 100 years of serving the El Paso community. This year Cathedral will celebrate its 100th graduating class. In 1927, Cathedral held its first graduation and had seven students. This year, the class of 2027 will graduate 127 students. We thank you for your partnership, your encouragement, and your continued commitment to recognizing the achievements of our young people in our community. We are honored by this recognition and grateful for your support of Cathedral Catholic High School. Thank you, and may God bless you and the work you do in the service to our community.

Well, thank you for everything that you do as well. Mr. Sanchez is the very proud brother of Aaron Sanchez, the Master Chef that you see all the time. That's his brother, a very proud brother that you have. Thank you so much. Christian, you want to tell us a little about yourself? This is quite an amazing journey that you've taken.

Yes, sir. Thank you. I just want to say thank you all. It's a great honor to be here and it's a great honor to represent my country and especially my city. I'm just so thankful to represent Cathedral as well, my teams. I just want to go forward and represent everything, everybody, my family, my friends, my team. Everybody, it means a lot to me to be here at this moment. I just want to thank God. God's the reason why I'm here to this day. I pray every day to tell him thank you, that I love him and everything. It means a lot to me, especially for my parents, for my mom, for my dad. This means a lot to me, and I'm here not just for myself, but to represent everybody as well. So I just want to say thank you, and thank God for everything.

Do you want to have Woodworth here? Anybody?

Please. Judge Samaniego, thank you so much. Thank you everybody for the opportunity. We have the opportunity to work together before and it's a great honor to have this athlete, a great student from Cathedral. Thank you so much for this great recognition. Thank you.

I'd just like to say we really appreciate the recognition. Thank you. Thank you so much.

Don't you get the feeling that you haven't seen anything yet? I think this gentleman is going to be amazing. You can see his discipline, his commitment to El Paso and his love for El Paso. And you know what makes it even more beautiful? When he gave thanks to God. That was very moving for a young adult. Thank you.

Thank you, sir.

Item number 5C, approve and adopt a resolution recognizing the Delgado family for eight decades of contributions to professional wrestling, their dedication to mentoring future generations, service to the community, and their enduring legacy of promoting the cultural heritage and pride of El Paso County, Texas.

So it's my honor, and you'll see what I mean by this incredible, incredible family. Whereas in June 2026, El Paso County Commissioner's Court recognized and celebrated the rich history, cultural significance, and enduring tradition of Lucha Libre, honoring its lasting impact as a symbol of heritage, athleticism, and community pride through the borderland region. where El Paso is home to some of the nation's most respected wrestling families, such as the Delgado family, whose remarkable legacy includes more than 80 years and four generations of professional wrestlers, beginning with Don Fernando Delgado, known professionally as Dr. X, who launched the family's wrestling tradition in 1945, followed by the second generation consisting of Miguel A. Delgado, El Cobarde Uno, who debuted in 1965, Francisco J. Delgado, El Cobarde II, who debuted in 1970, and Raul Delgado, El Legendario, who debuted in 1972. The third generation represented by Francisco J. Delgado, Jr., Hijo del Cobarde, who debuted in 1990. and El Impostor, who debuted in 1995 in the fourth generation, which continues his proud tradition through El Cobarde Jr., El Impostor Jr., Midas, El Legendario Jr., Avatar, El Dragon, and Caos. whereas the Delgado family has proudly represented the borderland throughout Mexico, the United States, Guatemala, and Japan, competing in some of the sport's most prestigious arenas and organizations, including AAA Worldwide, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, National Wrestling Alliance, UWA, sharing the ring with some professional wrestlers most legendary figures including El Santo, Blue Diamond, Máscaras, Canek, Perro Aguayo, Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio Jr. Whereas beyond their accomplishments in the ring, the Delgado family has remained committed to serving the Borderlands community by mentoring aspiring wrestlers, preserving the culture tradition of lucha libre, and creating opportunities for local talent to succeed both locally and internationally. With Francisco Javier Delgado Jr., known professionally as Hijo del Cobarde, continues a family's legacy as creative director of God of the Ring, where it develops local wrestling talent and leads charitable fundraising events benefiting organizations, including El Paso Children's Hospital, children with disabilities, breast cancer awareness initiatives, youth athletic programs, local schools, and the El Paso County Sheriff's Office. Whereas over more than eight decades, the Delgado family has elevated the borderlands reputation through excellence, sportsmanship, community service, and cultural preservation, ensuring that the proud tradition of Lucha Libre continues to inspire future generations. Now, therefore, it be resolved that the El Paso County Judge and Commissioner's Court hereby recognize and honor the Delgado family for their contributions to professional wrestling, commitment to mentoring future generations of athletes, their dedicated service to the community, their legacy of promoting the cultural heritage, pride, and unity that continues to define our region. Signed the 17th day of August 2026.

We have a motion to approve from Judge Samaniego and a second from Commissioner Coronado. The voting is open. Motion carries.

uh buenos dias For this recognition to the family, since we represent this border for many years, as the judge said, 80 years of history. They say it's easy, but it's 80 very difficult years that we are part of this culture. We were the initiators of the free struggle at an international level. We are very happy. My father, my grandfather, my uncles were born in Ciudad Juarez and later our third and fourth generation came here from El Paso. We are young people who came from schools like La Bui, La Paso High, Isleta and we represent El Paso also in Olympic wrestling, what we call here wrestling. y dos de nosotros fuimos campeones de distrito y de estado en 1989. Ah. Ah. Hoy en día en presente año nosotros estamos tratando de inculcarle a los jóvenes lo que es el deporte, ya que la lucha libre, para la gente que no sabe, la lucha libre mexicana nació en El Paso, Texas. From here, it was the first time that there was a wrestling event and the people of Mexico came, observed it and took it to Mexico City. That's why there is what we call the Cathedral of the Free Wrestling Arena Mexico. It is thanks to El Paso because it was born here and we want to preserve that culture by transmitting it to today's young people.

Thank you. Would you like to say something?

Hello, everyone. Thank you for having us here today. It's an honor that you recognize not only my grandpa, my dad, my brother, but the whole family. It's been like my uncles, my cousins, everybody. It's been 80 years of wrestling. Wrestling has been our whole life. And now that my grandpa and my dad, even though they don't wrestle anymore, they continue the legacy by creating God of the Ring, which is a company of professional wrestling that continues supporting the El Paso community and new upcoming local talent, which hopefully they can rise and be bigger and represent El Paso all over the world, including my brother. It's a pleasure being here today. And you're not only recognizing just the family or their career, but also all the help that they bring to the community. You're recognizing a grandpa, both grandpas, a dad, and hopefully soon to be a grandpa of four grandkids. And we want to continue this legacy, hopefully bringing that fifth generation into the wrestling as well. It's a world of respect, a world of hardship, a world of love, not just for the Lucha Libre, but also for the fans, the community fans that have literally grown with me since I was little. We have fans that have seen my dad throughout these years and grown with me and now continue being part of this legacy and continue just to really be part of El Paso community supporting all these type of charities as well. And this future sports, not only because we don't only support wrestling, but we also support all types of sports, T-ball, baseball, football, the bands, cheerleading, everything. So thank you so much for this recognition.

Oh, that's so kind of you. What a great promoter. What a beautiful promoter.

um hello everyone i just want to say uh thank you for this recognition for my family and not just for my family but for lucha libre in general um yeah thank you thank you as you can as you can see they're no longer wrestling but wouldn't you like to look like that

incredible but you know i people don't realize the collateral impact that the family has in the charities and the things they do i've gotten involved with them and it's amazing how much they want to do for their community and as you could see uh with their beautiful uh daughter and son following up and continuing this legacy. But we're trying very hard to sort of revive La Lucha Libre because it originated here. It's part of our culture. And I think that El Paso would benefit by really bringing that sport back up again. And obviously the Coliseum would be an ideal place because it's so iconic. And it's had some of the most incredible wrestling matches. And so very proud of what you do, but so proud of what you do for our community. And we thank you for every, you know, just God bless each and every one of you for what you continue to do and have the courage and the passion to help us out. And once again, you're a beautiful promoter. So I hope you continue to promote your family. Thank you.

Item number 5E, approve and adopt a resolution recognizing the Job Corps graduating class of 2026.

I'm sure butler.

Thank you, Judge and Commissioners. It is my honor to bring forward this resolution today in support of Job Corps and their graduating class. As you may remember, Job Corps has a special place in my heart. My mom was a counselor at Job Corps for many years, many years ago, and really believed in the mission of Job Corps to lift up the youth in our community. So I'll go ahead and read the resolution, and then we'll hear from our guests.

Thank you.

Whereas the youth of our nation are among our greatest assets, and investing in their education, technical skills, and professional development strengthens our workforce, economy, and communities. And whereas the David L Carrasco Job Corps Center has proudly served the El Paso community for 56 years, providing tuition-free academic education, career technical training, and workforce development opportunities to young adults throughout El Paso and the surrounding region. and whereas the David L. Carrasco Job Corps Center empowers students to earn a high school diploma or high school equivalency credential, obtain industry recognized certifications, develop career readiness skills, and prepare for meaningful employment in high demand industries through hands-on technical training. And whereas, beyond the classroom, the David O. Carrasco Job Corps Center provides students with a supportive environment that promotes personal growth, leadership, responsibility, and lifelong success while preparing them to become productive members of the workforce and their communities. And whereas graduates continue to receive valuable support through career counseling, job placement assistance, transition services, relocation guidance, and advanced training opportunities, helping them successfully enter the workforce or pursue continued education. And whereas the 2026 graduating class of the David O. Carrasco Job Corps Center consists of 225 future professionals who have demonstrated perseverance, dedication, and a commitment to achieving their educational and career goals. And whereas the County of El Paso proudly recognizes the accomplishments of the 2026 graduating class and commends the faculty, staff, families, and community partners whose continued support has helped these graduates prepare for successful futures. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the El Paso County Judge and Commissioner's Court hereby recognize August 20th as David L. Carrasco Job Corps Graduation Day, signed the 17th day of August, 2026.

We have a motion to approve from Commissioner Butler, a second from Judge Samaniego. The voting is open. MOTION CARRIES.

GOOD MORNING, JUDGE. GOOD MORNING, COMMISSIONERS. THANK YOU FOR THE INVITATION. MY NAME IS ARTURO AGUILAR. I'M THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY LIAISON FOR THE DAVID L. CARRASCO JOB CORE CENTER. I'M ALSO THE SERGEANT AT ARMS FOR THE SOCORO TEXAS VETERANS GROUP IN THE BACK. NICE SEEING YOU GUYS. THANK YOU FOR ALWAYS ADVOCATING FOR JOB CORE. YOU KNOW, WITHOUT JOB CORE, a lot of stories that are now written somewhere would have not happened. Thank you for always being there for us. Thank you for always being there for our students. This is something that despite us almost closing last year, We were still able to manage to graduate the amount of students that were graduating this year. So thank you for advocating for us. And what I would like to do, if it's okay with the judge and with the commissioners, is have our students introduce themselves. Absolutely. So you can see who they are, where they're from. Absolutely. I'll start with, and these are our student government association, okay? And without further ado. Thank you.

Hello, my name is Nick Elliott Velosco Gallardo. I'm the student government president. I've lived in Clint my whole life, from Surratt all the way to Clint High School. I lived in New York for four years off of a scholarship studying political science, legal studies, and business. I came back to El Paso to take care of my grandfather. Between that three year period, I didn't know what was next for me, so I gave Job Corps a shot, gave me the opportunity to study HVAC. I'm almost done in October. I won't be part of this graduating class, but I'll be part of the next graduating class. I'm very honored to be up here and to speak on behalf of this year's graduating class because they really deserve the world, and they've worked hard for it. Thank you. Felicidades. Thank you.

Good morning. Good morning. My name is Hillary. I'm a student at Job Corps. I'm currently studying rehab technician, hence the scrubs. But I'm really grateful for this opportunity to stand up here with you guys. I came from Los Angeles, California, and El Paso Job Corps was there when I needed it. And so I'm really grateful for Job Corps for giving me this opportunity to stand in front of you guys. I'm the student government vice president. I really enjoy being at Job Corps. It's given me so many opportunities. I found myself here because I went to college and I didn't know what I wanted to do I kind of was lost, and I'm happy that it got me where I needed to be, and now I also won't be a part of this graduating class, but I'll be a part of the next one. So I just want you guys to know that Job Corps has really given everything to everyone there. Thank you. Congratulations, Felicidades. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Good morning. My name is Jesse Green. I graduated from Piper High School, Kansas City, Kansas. I came from there because my dad's military. That's why I'm here. I've been in Job Corps since February. I've obtained my driver's license. I actually finished my first vacation, which is the automotive program. And then now I'm currently studying HVAC. Job Corps did give me a chance. It gave me a chance to become a better person and to have a better chance at life. After when I graduate from Job Corps, I plan to be successful and I will be successful.

Oh, thank you. Congratulations.

Good morning, Judge. My name is Jonathan Flores. I am 17 years old, and I'm the Chief of Justice of David L. Carrasco Job Corps. Steven, I'm a little bit nervous, so I don't know what really to say. And I'm a Spanish speaker, so if you don't really understand me, I apologize from the first sign. I choose Job Corps because it's a great support to reach my goals. Even there, I get my Penn Foster High School diploma, and I'm a student there in the HVAC career. One things about Jokers, I really appreciate them about choose me, let me be here and choose me for be the Chief of Justice. When I finish the job, I want to go to the airport because I want to be an airplane pilot and job is a great sport to let me be there too because unfortunately my family is in Ciudad Juarez. I live in Ciudad Juarez and unfortunately I don't have any family here, but I have the support of them and I want to, I want to reach my goals and I want to help my family and everybody. I always try to give the best for everyone. As you have just seen, I've seen a lot of students that have been terminated. And I don't want anyone being terminated because I want the best for everyone. I want everyone to have a change in their lives. And unfortunately, some of them, they don't want to make a change in their lives. They just want to have a party or have fun. They don't want to see their goals or the future. I don't know what's happening in their life or what they are thinking about, but always that I have the FFP, that is the fact-finding words, I always try to let them have their second opportunity to they can really have a second opportunity because everybody deserves to have another opportunity. And unfortunately, I see them, they don't want to. But I try to defend everybody so they can really have a second opportunity and reach their goals as I really want. So, thank you.

Welcome.

Thank you for having us. My name is Christy Vaillant, the executive assistant, and I proudly represent the David L. Carrasco Job Corps campus. I also have the privilege of putting our graduation ceremony together. It takes me a few months to do that. And part of that coordination is getting our students that have already completed the program to come back into the campus and get fitted for their caps and gowns that we provide for them and their photos and invitations for their family. But when they come in, the pride that I see in their faces that they've completed this program, the changes that they have made in their lives and that are now successful working contributors to our community and our society is just beyond, it's why I do what I do. And I'm so proud of our students and the pride that they have in the careers that they've chosen. So thank you again, judge and commissioners for always supporting our program and for honoring us today. Thank you.

Thank you so much. I can tell you the amount of lives that have been changed because of the program and individuals like yourself. When I was a probation officer, I had a really strong connection, but something's in the air with Job Corps. About a month ago, I got a call from David, Dr. Carrasco, who is at School of Divinity, and they're going to do a movie about Dr. Carrasco and the Job Corps Center. Then I get this phone call, someone found a banner mural, like 18 by 18, beautiful mural that was done by the youth of Job Corps. It has right in the middle, it says that it was done by, Pando I believe is the muralist, and then he had the youth from the Job Corps that actually printed that so I mean painted that and then we're gonna take that and we're gonna help him be able to restore it so we're hoping that somehow some way we could get it back to you and you could see this was in 1998 I think it was the mural was made at that time and we were able to find the muralist, and it was so exciting. I feel like something's in the air about Job Corps, because I've been getting all of these, and then I've got Commissioner Butler bringing this incredible resolution, so I think hopefully we'll make some great things happen and recognize Job Corps for what they've done, and obviously just support it. It has to continue. So many lives were changed, and you've seen right here just these young individuals talking about their own successes. So, Commissioner Butler, thank you so much. Great, beautiful resolution. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Aguilar, Ms. Valle, for being here and continuing to make sure that we're able to celebrate Job Corps alongside you every year. Thank you to each of the students for sharing your stories with us and your accomplishments. And we look forward to seeing you again. And please know that El Paso is here to support you. And thank you. We're so proud to have Job Corps here in El Paso. Thank you. Let's go ahead and take a photo.

Item number 5F, approve and adopt a resolution recognizing the Border Youth Athletic Association, Horizon Elite 14 and under, Little League All-Star Team for their historic accomplishments during the 2026 season.

Thank you, Judge. So we've recognized a lot of incredible student athletes this morning and of course a family, the legacy of a family involved in a very important athletic field here in our community. And so we're getting ready to recognize another incredible group of athletes. And I know that the students couldn't be here with us today, but I think that they're gonna be appearing by video, so hopefully they're getting connected. But I know that we do have George Gaspard, the president of the Border Youth Association with us. And oh, some of the students I think were able to make it wonderful. Well, I'm gonna go ahead and read the resolution while y'all make your way up. whereas the border youth athletic association byaa horizon elite 14u little league all-star team proudly represented horizon city and el paso county during the 2026 summer baseball season and whereas the team captured the district 37 championship in pecos texas marking the inaugural district championship for the program And whereas the team advanced to Lubbock, Texas, where they earned the Section 1 Championship through outstanding teamwork, sportsmanship, and determination. And whereas the team competed in Abilene, Texas, against the best teams in the state, and became the first Horizon City team to win the 14U West State Championship. And whereas the team's achievement also made them the first team from El Paso to be headed to regionals, establishing a historic milestone for the community and bringing pride throughout El Paso County. And whereas throughout their championship journey, these young athletes demonstrated resilience, discipline, leadership, and exemplary sportsmanship while representing Horizon City, El Paso County, and the Border Youth Athletic Association. Now, therefore, be it resolved by the El Paso County Judge and Commissioner's Court, we hereby recognize and congratulate the Border Youth Athletic Association, BYAA, Horizon Elite 14U Little League All-Star Team for their historic accomplishments during the 2026 season and commend the players, coaches, families, volunteers, and all those who support contributed to this extraordinary achievement. Signed this 17th day of August, 2026.

We have a motion to approve from Commissioner Ollin and a second from Judge Samaniego. The voting is open. Motion carries.

Congratulations.

Good afternoon, or is it afternoon? Judge Samaniego and the Commissioner's Court. My name is George Gaspar, and I'm the president and chairman of the board for El Paso Border Youth Athletic Association. Over the last seven years, I've been with the organization, and three years ago, I took over the organization as my mentor and the founder, Dr. Duane Abood, retired from the organization. My biggest project was to bring Little League baseball to the region. Reason being is that I felt that there was a lot of talent. And Little League, the largest youth baseball organization in the world, I felt that these boys could show what the region has. As I started the process, I realized that Little League bringing them to the region was extremely difficult because of all the rules, regulations that accompany such a prestigious organization. Three years ago, I was able to accomplish that feat and bring it to the region. We have been successful over our first three years, but not as successful as this team has been. Not only did they win the tournament here locally, but they went on to District 37, where they won the district championship, then moved on to Lubbock, winning the sectional championship, then to Abilene, where they won the first state championship in District 37. District 37 was formed in... District 37 was formed in 2005 when Permian Basin exploded and they became a powerhouse in the West Texas region. These boys went out there, they brought their determination, ended up winning the state championship. That's the first time not only in the county, but in the district of West Texas. They represented West Texas in the regional tournament, and they were just two games away from making the World Series in Michigan. So these boys still have a couple years of eligibility, meaning you will see them here soon, hopefully again, hoisting a championship banner. Not only did they bring out Paso local recognition, but they brought a community together as the live streams going brought a lot of attention. These boys brought a lot of recognition, not only locally, but nationally as they made national TV. So with that, I'd like to thank you guys for the recognition that these boys deserve. their heart, their determination, they never gave up, and they fought to the last out. Congratulations, boys. I'm very proud of what you guys did, what you guys did to represent the organization, the city, the county, and just the region in general. Thank you, thank you for the recognition.

Amazing, amazing. You wanna introduce yourselves, please?

Hello, my name is Jerry Campa. Hello, my name is Alberto Garcia. Hello, my name is Mattel Garcia. Hello, my name is Michael Zuniga. Hello, and my name is Isaiah Machado.

Good morning. Good morning, head coach, Raimundo Valdez.

Oh my goodness, thank you so much. I hope each and every one of you, you really feel what you've done and what you've accomplished. And when you said they still have some time left over, we want to see you here, okay? We want to see you back here. It's not over. And it's not over. So thank you very much for what you do. Commissioner Holguin, today we highlighted and we're showing the kind of talent and skills here in El Paso, unbelievable. And you're part of that elite group. So thank you. Commissioner Holguin?

Thank you, Judge. Yes, it's phenomenal how many incredible student athletes El Paso County produces, and you all are definitely in that group. And I have no doubt that next year we'll be celebrating you all bringing home the national championship. So good luck.

The World Series.

Thank you.

If we could have you come up for a photo.

Yes. Thanks.

Item number six is public comment. We do have several speakers this morning, Judge. I'd like to get started with Mr. Sammy Carrejo. And I'd just like to remind speakers in public comment that public comment is limited to five minutes. Everybody will be timed. Thank you.

Welcome.

I know. I'm a veteran, too. My knees and back are hurting and all that stuff. But anyway, thank you guys for having me here. For everybody watching on YouTube, my name is Sammy with the Sammy C Show. Everybody here already knows me, but I would like to introduce myself to everybody else. Why am I here today? I'm here today to talk about my favorite topic, money. We all need money. How we spend it is the question here, okay? Today in... when we passed the agenda items, I noticed something. You guys passed authorizing the purchase of rifle-resistant components for 24 vehicles for the El Paso County Sheriff's Office using tips, and a total amount of 250,000, seven, I'm sorry, 250,276.40. Now you guys know why I don't like to read. Where's that going to? That's going to 24 vehicles. Now, we can all agree that officer safety is important, right? Can we not? Absolutely. We have to make sure that our officers are safe. Here's a question. Where are those 24 vehicles coming from? Where are they coming from? The Chevy dealer. There are 24 Chevy Z71s. And you say, okay, and Sammy? What's the point behind that? Well, historically, the county of El Paso has been buying vehicles from who? Ford. Now people don't know, but the Sammy C Show started back in 2004. I was under a different name. But how did it come up? I was a fleet assistant manager at Dick Poe Dodge. I was involved in the controversial purchase of the first six Dodge Chargers with the police department. Who purchased those? Chief Richard Wiles. As I was promoted to assistant fleet internet sales manager, I took over the account. I met with Richard Wiles. Now, the boss or the person above me, the fleet manager, approved six vehicles with V6 engines. When I took over, I met with Richard Wiles as the chief. V6? Are you out of your mind? He goes, what do you mean am I out of your mind? I said, that's a substandard vehicle. I pulled out a white paper by Daimler Chrysler Corporation letting him know that the V6 engine was not recommended for the police intruder unit. But yet, Richard Wild said, ha, ha, ha, ha. No big deal. It has the horsepower, didn't have the torque. And guess what? Ask any police officer who was there back between 2006, 2010, and they will tell you that those V6 engines were horrible. The city of El Paso did not purchase anymore. Why? Because they did not purchase the right vehicle. Now, how did Dick Poe get that contract? How? Richard Junior and Richard Wilds had a connection. What they did is they submitted V6 engines where everybody else in the state of Texas submitted V8s. That's how they were able to win. And of course, local dealers get certain incentives when they're comparing to other contracts. Now, my question is, where was the, I'm sorry, Mr. Coronado, can you get off your phone, please? This is not the first time it's happened. It happens often. Every other person here, with all the respect, is paying attention. They're wow.

Not on my phone, sir. You don't have direct questions at me during this interlude.

You're here to address the entire court, okay? Mr. Coronado, that wasn't a question. That was actually in order, Mr. Coronado. And during public comment, you're not authorized to answer any of my questions either. So anyway, moving forward. The RFP, RFQ process, where did it go? The county has been buying these vehicles for Ford since 1990. Why did we switch to Chevy? That is the question. Who authorized it? The next question, the vehicles they're replacing, they are Ford Explorer V6 SUVs. Now they're going to Chevy. Now, we all know, well, anybody in the car industry knows that Ford has very aggressive fleet sales. That's why they're number one in the whole country. Why would we move to Chevy? That's the next question. But of course, Sheriff Oscar Garte, what does he drive? Chevy Tahoe Z71. Sounds like a beautiful truck, right? If you take a look, it has a lot of the upgrades on it. It's not your typical police. 30 seconds. Oh, shoot. Don't I have five minutes? Man, I talk a lot. Anyway, question is, why did we go to Chevy Z71's four-wheel drives? They have cost more per unit. It's about $90,000 plus $10,000 for the glass. Why do we need bulletproof glass on all of our vehicles? Do we have shootouts here? No. Oscar Huerta is saying it is officer safety, but yet he's spending money like crazy. He had a golf tournament. That is tone deaf. We don't have money for everything, but yet he is spending like crazy. Do me a favor, please look into that purchasing of the Chevy vehicles. Thank you guys so much. Mr. Coronado, stay off your phone.

Our next speaker is County Attorney Christina Sanchez.

Good morning, good morning County Judge, good morning Commissioners. I'm here today, there's an item on your agenda to discuss the budget. And I'm respectfully asking this court in solidarity with the vote that you all, the tough vote that you all had to take last week to exclude myself, exempt myself from the 4% pay increase that was provided to the elected officials. Of course, I'm only here speaking for myself for all of the same reasons I think that had been stated earlier. And I also want to say this. El Paso County, I have been an 18 year plus employee of El Paso County, has been a wonderful organization to work with. It has been good. I've seen and worked with several courts throughout my time here, being very good stewards of the budget and how we move forward. For me, what was very important to me this year was to ensure that our county employees, right, the people that work behind the scenes, day in, day out, do not get face time in front of the camera, were considered to at least get a cost of living increase, if not a pay increase. And it looks like the court has been committed to doing that for them. It was so much my commitment to ensure that those employees would receive that pay, COLA, and their step. That I wanted to ensure that when this commissioner's court and of course led by our county team who also worked so diligently and hard behind the scenes. It was very important to me that I met my 2% reduction of the budget for my own office and that we did that. And I let the individuals in my office know that we were going to do this so that we could ensure that those pay increases were done. As your county attorney, right, I have my charge as a prosecutor, as a lawyer, as a legal advisor to the court and to all of our county departments. But I also know that I just don't wear a legal hat. I am not just a lawyer. I am not just an attorney. I am also an administrator for this organization and for the office that I have been so privileged to have been elected to serve. And so for me, it also means ensuring that I have a balanced budget. And for me, that is just as important to ensure and to show the public that yes, we can be good at our jobs. I think I have a wonderful team of lawyers that lead this office and that assist me in all of the all of the issues that we have gone through this year. And I think what we will continue to go through, but that we also do it as good stores of taxpayers dollars. And so to me, that was of utmost importance. And also, again, it might not be much of a deduction, but at least it is in solidarity with this court. And so I appreciate every single one of you who have had to make those tough decisions. And I hope that as you continue on with this budget, cycle that you will keep in mind those employees. I know a final vote hasn't been taken, but really our county employees who are not going to be up here to advocate for themselves in a lot of ways that they are really the backbone of this county and that we depend on them so much. So thank you for that consideration.

Thank you for being such a great role model. Thank you.

We had Mr. Brian Kennedy signed up to speak for items 4S and 4T. We did contact Mr. Kennedy this morning, but he is no longer requesting to provide public comment. The last item for public comment that I have was submitted by Elizabeth Crawford. I'd like to read in her comments. She begins, good morning, Judge Samaniego and commissioners. I would like to read off some of the ideas and slogans we in Texas have been hearing recently. God is non-binary. God is pro-choice because he gave Mary the right to choose if she wanted to carry baby Jesus. You can choose death by injection with dignity. These are just a few of the slogans and ideologies that have come across our path lately here in Texas. I would like to focus on this other end of the pro-life fight. In addition to death being carried out by abortion, death being carried out by assisted suicide. As we know, there are various methods of this. Sadly, as of August 5th, New York has joined the group of other states which endorse so-called mercy killing. As time passes, there are more and more horror stories coming out in relation to assisted suicides and so-called euthanasia. What are supposedly medical cocktails to put people to sleep and gently lead this life in reality are often preventing people from outward reactions with their limbs while inwardly they are suffering excruciating pain and at times vomiting and losing control of bodily functions. Case after case is emerging in Western Europe and Canada of elderly people who don't have their mental faculties anymore and who are being coerced into signing for MAID, so-called medical aid in dying. And with the industry that is turning into something worse than a horror movie, cases are turning up in the US in which patients designated for organ donation are not truly dead, but are waking up as they are on the operating table to extract their organs. Once we dismiss the idea that God alone has the rights to give and take life, there are no guardrails left. To be clear, a pro-life position does not mean that a person must use every possible available intervention to try and extend his or her life. There is certainly freedom to say no to extreme extraordinary measures to try to prolong life, if one prefers that. But for sure, what are referred to as active euthanasia and assisted suicides are condemned by the Lord with the simple command, thou shall not murder. One of the characters I really love in the Hebrew Scriptures is King David, the writer of the beautiful Shepherd Psalm 23. As we know from the book of 1 Samuel, David spent many months running away from wicked King Saul. King Saul eventually got severely wounded in battle, yet when King Saul's armor-bearer came tell david uh that at the king's request he had dealt the king the final blow to kill him david was furious it was it shows us that no matter how wicked a ruler may be we still must respect that ruler as god's choice for his sovereign purposes unclear as those purposes may seem to us furthermore david's anger shows that even if someone is near death that to actively take a step with the intent to hurry or hasten the death is still murder in the eyes of the Creator. The whole assisted suicide discussion also involves application of another of the Ten Commandments. Honor thy father and thy mother. A large number of cases of the elderly applying for medical aid and dying are sadly people who have not sufficient financial means and don't want to be a burden to their children. I have appreciated watching the respect for the elderly that often exists in Hispanic culture and specifically here in El Paso. It is a tragedy to watch in other states as this principle of respect for parents and grandparents among Latino and Asian and European neighborhoods gets undermined among the youth so quickly by an attempt to be more like mainstream American culture. The Lord Jesus is the ultimate example of showing parental respect as he, being God in the flesh, was perfect in showing honor, both as a child and right up to his time on the cross. Any decent society must be marked by respect of the parents instead of a desire to dispose of them before they become a burden. Thank you for the opportunity to share, and I hope you have a very good day. End of comment. And that completes all of our public comment for this morning, Judge.

Thank you. We'll go to 7B, Cesar?

Yes, sir. Item number 7B from Commissioner's Court. Approve and authorize the designation of unallocated fiscal year 2026 neighborhood improvement program funding in an amount not to exceed $54,648.80 for the completion of the Tornillo Veterans Memorial. The fiscal year 2025 neighborhood improvement program selected project. Funds are available in general fund, neighborhood improvement program, cap out renovations. I'm sorry, Commissioner. We also have three members of the public wanting to speak in public comment for this.

Okay. Thank you so much, Cesar. If I could just provide a very brief introduction and then pass it over to our staff for their presentation that they have. First of all, I want to thank all of our veterans who are here. Thank you for joining us. I know many of you came from communities that are further away, Tornillo, Faven, Socorro, San Elisario. Thank you so much for being here this morning, and thank you for your support for this item. Just to give a little bit of background, so the Neighborhood Improvement Program, which this court has funded for the past several years, allows neighborhood-led initiatives to be funded. And the creation of these neighborhood associations has been such a wonderful development for our communities, especially our communities that are further out into the county and sometimes don't have as much of a connection with the county as other areas do. So last year's Neighborhood Improvement Program project that was funded was the Torneo Veterans. And I believe Miguel has a video just so everyone can see. This was the ribbon cutting for our Veterans Memorial in Torneo that was done in conjunction with the Torneo Neighborhood Association and the Alumni Association as well. And we were very, very proud to have played a part in being able to bring this memorial to life. Unfortunately, there was not enough funding available to complete the entire memorial, so as you can see, the cubes referencing the different branches of military service are all there, but there are also supposed to be flags with flag poles, but there was just simply not enough funding available for that, and I believe you'll see a photo in the presentation in just a little bit. So this year when we approved the Neighborhood Improvement Program project, the cost of that project actually left a little bit of funding left over. So what today's request is, Judge, is asking that that little bit of funding that was left over from this year's approved project be used to complete the Tornillo Memorial, which was last year's project. So with that, I'm gonna go ahead and pass the microphone over. And I wanna thank you and everyone in the Planning and Development Department not just for work on preparing for today's item, but for all of the work that you do with our neighborhood associations for this program. Thank you.

Thank you for the presentation, Commissioner Hogan. You're welcome. Good morning, judge and commissioners. My name is Daniela Lujan, and I'm here today representing the Planning and Development Department from El Paso County. We would like to introduce a proposed budget allocation under the fiscal year 2026 neighborhood improvement program. The neighborhood improvement programs, as you already know, supports a small scale community identified and cost better improvements that are achievable within the available budget and within a limited timeframe.

Thank you.

So the fiscal year 2026 budget was approved for a total of $125,000 to be dedicated to the neighborhood improvement program. On June 8 of this year, the court approved the use of a portion of those funds, specifically $70,351 for the installation of the streetlights along Emerald Pass Avenue. This will leave us with the remaining balance of $54,648 available for additional neighborhood improvement projects. We would like to request approval to allocate the remaining funds towards completing outstanding work associated within the prior year's neighborhood improvement project at the Tornillo Veterans Memorial. The proposed scope of work will include the installation of several essential components at the memorial, which are one United States flag and one Texas flagpole, six military branch flagpoles, concrete footings for each of these flagpoles, and seven solar lighting fixtures to eliminate each of the installed poles. In addition, the project can be delivered exactly as envisioned in the renderings and consistent with the minimal amenity standards of the Neighborhood Improvement Program. This is one of the renderings that was completed last year for last year's project. And as you can see, we are missing the flag poles and the lighting. Our department has reviewed the remaining fiscal year 2026 balance and confirms that this proposed scope can be fully completed within the available $54,648 since the total project cost will be $50,402. At this time, we respectfully request the court's consideration and approval to allocate the remaining fiscal year 2026 neighborhood improvement program funds to complete the Tornillo Veterans Memorial flagpole enhancements. I am available to answer any questions. Judge.

Commissioner Butler. Yes, Commissioner Butler.

If it's okay with Commissioner Orguina, I'd like to make a motion to approve. Thank you, Commissioner.

Oh, we do have public comment. I'll second the motion, but if we could hear public comment. Thank you, Daniela.

We have Mr. Mario Aguirre first up, and he'll be followed by Carlos Miguel Rivera.

Welcome.

Good morning County Judge, Commissioners. Good morning and thank you for this opportunity here today. Thank you all. And before I start, I want to kind of basically present you all with our Tornillo hat. So maybe you already have one. That is the Veterans Capital of the USA. But this one here is Tornillo. There you go. that we presented out and passed out to our Torneo veterans during our ribbon-cutting ceremony there. It was great. It was really, really great. But first, I want to thank you all for your great support to the veteran community and approving the original funding that made it possible for us to construct our Torneo Veterans Memorial. THANK YOU FOR THAT. THAT IS A VERY NICE MONUMENT, AND IT'S NOT COMPLETE, BUT ONCE WE GET THIS COMPLETED, IT WILL STAND OUT PERFECTLY WHERE IT'S AT, THE LOCATION OF IT. IT'S TREMENDOUS. IT'S A BEAUTIFUL SITE. AND THANKS TO ALL THE VETERANS FOR BEING HERE TODAY FOR THEIR SUPPORT. THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF SUPPORT THROUGHOUT THE VETERANS COMMUNITY THROUGH THE EL PASO COUNTY. THERE'S REALLY BEEN A LOT OF SUPPORT. THE GROUNDBREAKING TOOK PLACE BACK IN APRIL OF THIS YEAR. The event was a success. It had a great turnout. Members of the community, folks from out of town were very pleased, impressed, and excited at what Torneo had accomplished, the Veterans Memorial. Real nice. There was a lot of positive energy on that day. You could feel it. Folks were very excited and impressed of the accomplishment. that it was a good feeling just to see the folks displaying their gratitude when the veterans' names were exposed, being remembered and honored. It is a beautiful ceremony, and it's just, when he's there and you're talking about that, it just hits you in the heart. As a veteran, it's right here. Beautiful. Yes, okay, as you all know, our memorial is not finished yet. We do have those. They just discussed about the flag. So once again, we are here asking for additional funding for us to complete our memorial. We need these funds. The funds will pay for the flag, flag poles and the flags, and the lighting system. In order for us to honor our fellow veterans correctly, it is imperative that we complete the memorial. We need that. We need that. It's very special thanks to veterans of El Paso County. We had more, but they had to leave because of prior commitments, some appointments, and what have you. We keep VA hospital very busy. Members of the Torneo Neighborhood Association, we're here. I am currently the president of the Neighborhood Association. Torneo veterans, there's some Torneo veterans. Some of them had to leave. the veterans there for Tornillo. Members of the community, we do have members of the community in Tornillo, they're also there helping us and supporting us in what we need to do. Thank you, Commissioner O'Ginn, for your support and attention that you have provided to the small town of Tornillo. You've provided a lot of attention, and I can tell you, I can go back all the way to Commissioner Rogelio Sanchez. And as you, Commissioner Holguin, I have seen a lot of projects taking place in Tornillo, and a lot more than what has happened in the previous years. Well, we thank you for that. We appreciate that very much. And of course, I also want to thank Javier Paz. He's a gentleman that is always there for us, helping us answer questions. At any time of day, he's there. He's been a lot of help to the community. Thank you for that. Thank you.

30 seconds.

Excuse me? 30 seconds. Oh. With the assistance and dedication of all these individuals, the Tornillo Veterans Memorial became a reality and was brought to life. Please continue with your dedication and support to our military veterans, and we will keep the message alive in honoring our fallen heroes. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Please help us in approving these funds and get these flags in place, because when we raise those flags up, I personally as an Army veteran, and I know that all these veterans here, when they see the flag being raised, It's a feeling that hits you right here. Let's keep that message alive. Thank you, thank you all very much.

Our next speaker is Mr. Carlos Miguel Rivera.

Welcome, Carlos. Hello, good morning, good afternoon. Buenos dias y buenas tardes. Yo soy Carlos Miguel Rivera. US Air Force veteran, and a veterans advocate in El Paso. I said, including my four years in the Air Force, I have a total of 55 years of helping my fellow veterans. Today, I want to say that I was born in Isleta. I was raised in Clint. Socorro, Isleta, Sanelli, Favens, Tornillo, La Isla, and Cuadrilla. My grandfather was born in Cuadrilla. His name was Raymundo Rivera. My great-grandparents were Gumercindo Rivera and Micaela Rodriguez, also from Cuadrilla. And I'm here today to stand in support of our Tornillo veterans and their families. And I'm asking you to, I'm supporting the fact that they're applying for the Neighborhood Improvement Program. But I also want to state that Tornillo veterans need your unanimous support in applying for these funds. to finish the Missing Flags and Lighting Project. And I'm asking you to come through forward as a team and support our Torneo Veterans Memorial. A vote for Torneo Veterans is a vote in support of all our veterans in the county. Please do the right thing. Let's finish the project and let's support our Torneo veterans. Thank you. Thank you, Douglas.

Our next speaker is Dr. Corina Gardea.

Welcome.

Thank you. Good morning, esteemed county leaders, county staff, and meeting attendees. I also want to add my special thanks to all the veterans here. I especially want to say thank you to Mr. Carlos Rivera, Mr. David Sobolowski from Fabens. They are always, always standing in our corner, so we really appreciate you. So I'm also speaking in support of item 7B. And as you saw in the video, I'm glad you showed that clip because that really shares the essence of what happened that day. A new veterans memorial was added to the impressive list of patriotic displays of respect and gratitude that makes El Paso the veterans' capital. So we are officially online, I would like to say. The research on this project began six years ago with the Tornillo Alumni Association, creating a list of more than 100 Tornillo veterans. And so we said, we have something here. We need to have our own memorial, even though our town is small, but we can create this. So six years went by, and then the Tornillo Neighborhood Association was formed, and then the Tornillo Veterans Committee was formed. So all of this energy came together. And as you saw in April, 65 names of Tornillo vets were unveiled. And 42 of the 65 are World War II vets. And I'm so proud to say that my father and several of my uncles are among that list. The Thornhill community is extremely grateful for the previous support and leadership received from Commissioner's Court to make our memorial a reality. I close by asking for your approval today of funding for the next phase that you've already heard about. Please vote to approve these funds. And I did not introduce myself at the beginning. My name is Corina Gardea, and I'm here on behalf of the Tornillo Alumni Association, but also as a member of the Neighborhood Association. Thank you.

Thank you.

That completes the speakers. Unless we have anybody else in the audience that'd like to speak. That completes our speakers for the item.

Well, just once again, I'd like to thank all of our veterans for being here and thank you for everything that you do to honor and remember all of our veterans and those that have already passed. Thank you all.

We have a motion to approve from Commissioner Butler, a second from Commissioner Olguin. The voting is open.

I vote aye.

Thank you, sir. Motion carries.

Thank you for your service, but thank you so much for continuing to serve your community. It's just very impressed with everything that you do.

Thank you.

And of course, Javier, somehow, in some ways, always behind us and supporting it. Commissioner O'Geen, thank you so much.

This brings us to item number 7A from Commissioner's Court. Okay. Item number 7A from Commissioner's Court. discuss and take appropriate action regarding Governor Greg Abbott's directive to audit large-scale data center projects within the ERCOT service area, including signing a corresponding resolution, as well as signing and sending a letter requesting that similar review and policy considerations be applied to proposed projects in El Paso County, that such reviews be conducted in a meaningful and transparent manner, that other actions be taken by the state immediately, and advocating for greater local authority to address the impacts of large-scale industrial development. We also do have one speaker signed up for public comment.

Good morning, Judge and Commissioners. I just wanted to give a little background on this item. As you all know, I've been working with the Texas Conference of Urban Counties. I'm the policy chair for on their board and we have been working for a number of weeks on a lot of the language that's in the resolution. This is not a partisan issue. I think you're starting to see across Texas and across the country both Republican and Democrats are looking into this issue and are concerned about what's going on, especially in Texas with the rapid influx of data centers. Really, I think the doors were open for that by the state legislature and by Governor Abbott in reducing the sales tax for data centers among other policies. But this is an item that we've been working on for a while. Just to kind of, this resolution, I think there's gonna be language, and other resolutions across the state and other urban counties that's very similar. And so we've been working on the language for the resolution and when I was in Austin a couple of weeks ago at the CUC meeting, we also first heard about the governor's directive to I guess have more scrutiny for projects and permits that are on ERCOT and discovered that El Paso probably is not included in the directive because we're not on ERCOT. Came back and started working on some language to send in a letter to our state delegation and to the governor's office. Recently, the governor was here. He had a fundraiser in Socorro, and he was out telling people in El Paso as well that he's working on this issue with data centers. But again, I don't think a lot of folks understood. I didn't see any of the news stations actually press him on and ask him if... El Paso was gonna be covered because we're on a different grid. And so our assessment and our understanding is that we won't be. And so we have the resolution that has language regarding the impacts of large scale industrial development and just what counties in general should be asking for. And then we also have the letter that talks more about El Paso being left out and the need to make sure that that's actually not the case. And so I wanted to put the item on the agenda because of the growth of the data centers and the infrastructure that's present in Texas. And they do present real economic opportunities for us here in El Paso and across the state, but they also raise serious concerns. and questions about water, electricity, infrastructure, property rights, and who ultimately bears the cost of that growth. It's not, I think, an anti-development item. I don't want it to be misconstrued as that. You know, El Paso want to be able to compete for investment technology and good jobs, but we also have the responsibility to make sure that growth benefits the people who already live here and does not come at the expense of our water, electric reliability neighborhoods and our taxpayers and rate payers. Again, the governor called for this greater scrutiny on the ERCOT grid. We're not part of ERCOT, and we should not receive less consideration or fewer protections simply because we operate on a different electrical grid. That's why this item includes both the resolution and the letter to Governor Abbott. I misspoke earlier. I guess the item does not request sending it to our delegation.

And Schumacher, I'm sorry, Commissioner, really quickly. I did go back and review this language. Sorry to interrupt you. Because it just says sending a letter requesting, sending a letter, it's broad. I think you all could, if you wanted, take action to include more people. Yes. Thank you.

Sorry. Perfect. Thank you for that clarification. Even better. But the resolution establishes principles for response to a large-scale industrial development, including water use, electrical reliability, transparency, ensuring that project-related infrastructure and service costs are borne by development rather than ratepayers and taxpayers. The letter is going to ask the governor to ensure El Paso receives the same level of review and policy consideration as ERCOT communities and to make the state's review meaningful and transparent and not just a political ploy that's going to go away after the election in November. To take additional action now to address these impacts and give counties reasonable authority to respond to local conditions. So I'll read the resolution into the record, and then I think we have some public comment. So the resolution states, whereas El Paso County Commissioner's Court supports responsible economic development that promotes continued investment in technology, manufacturing, energy, and advanced industry, while respecting private property rights, local natural resources, and protecting local taxpayers. And whereas the Commissioner's Court supports county land use authority for large-scale industrial developments in unincorporated areas to protect public and private investments and promote life, health, safety, and compatibility, including reasonable authority to reduce impacts on local communities through the best practices such as setbacks, noise reduction technology, and other measures that take into account the concerns of neighbors. And whereas the Commissioner's Court supports development review procedures that provide counties adequate time, authority, and information to evaluate documented infrastructure, utility drainage, floodplain, transportation emergency service, and public safety impacts before final project approvals are granted. The Commissioner's Court supports reasonable infrastructure mitigation measures, cost-sharing agreements, performance bonds, closure bonds, and other financial assurance mechanisms to ensure project-related public infrastructure and service costs, including electric infrastructure costs, water and wastewater service, transportation system improvements, drainage and flood mitigation infrastructure, emergency services, and site restoration are borne by development rather than local taxpayers. and whereas the Commissioner's Court supports meaningful coordination, transparency, and public disclosure regarding anticipated infrastructure, utility, natural resource, emissions, and other community impacts associated with large-scale industrial developments, including appropriate reporting of emissions and electricity and water use, and has learned the importance of opposing the use of confidentiality or non-disclosure agreements that prevent counties or the public from evaluating projects' impacts or disclosing information concerning impacts to public infrastructure, water and land resources, energy supply, or public safety. And whereas the Commissioner's Court supports sustainable water management for large scale industrial developments, including conservation measures and protection of existing local agricultural, industrial, and residential water supplies, requiring all new data centers to be built with best available water efficient technologies, such as closed loop cooling systems. And whereas the Commissioner's Court supports locating and water availability requirements for large scale industrial developments that ensure adequate long-term water supplies prior to final development approval while protecting priority groundwater management areas, vulnerable water resources, watersheds, and existing water users, and minimizing risks associated with groundwater depletion and land subsidence where applicable. And whereas the Commissioner's Court supports coordinating planning for electric generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure necessary to serve large-scale industrial developments without shifting disproportionate costs or reducing reliability for existing customers. And where the Commissioner's Court supports reforms to state sales tax exemptions and other incentives for large-scale industrial developments that do not adequately offset their public infrastructure and public service impacts, and supports directing resulting revenues toward local infrastructure resilience and rainy day funds to address project-related impacts. Enquirer as a Commissioner's Court welcomes the state legislation imposing much-needed industry guardrails, but opposes legislation that preempts counties from addressing documented local impacts of large-scale industrial developments, while leaving counties financially responsible for the resulting public infrastructure and public safety costs. And now, therefore, be it resolved by the El Paso County Judge and Commissioner's Court that El Paso County hereby supports responsible large-scale industrial development, including data centers that provides economic benefits while protecting neighboring property owners, existing residents, public resources, public health, county infrastructure, electrical reliability, water supplies, and local taxpayers. and be it further resolved that developers of data centers and other large-scale industrial projects are encouraged to meet with the county early in the planning process so that county and the developer may identify potential infrastructure utility drainage watershed and natural resources emissions floodplain transportation emergency service public safety water supply electric reliability and community compatibility issues before substantial project commitments are made and be it further resolved that when large-scale industrial projects are being presented to the County in connection with a matter lawfully before the Commissioner's Court, the Court may consider favorably, among other lawful factors, the extent to which the proposed project, number one, promotes investment in technology, manufacturing, energy and other advanced industries within the County, number two, provides meaningful transparency regarding anticipated infrastructure, utility, natural resource, and community impacts, including appropriate reporting of emissions and electricity and water use to state and local regulatory entities. Number three, protects existing taxpayers through appropriate cost-sharing agreements, performance bonds, closure bonds, site restoration commitments, and other financial assurances sufficient to ensure that project-related development, infrastructure mitigation, and remediation costs are borne by the developer rather than the local taxpayer. Number four, uses best available water control, conservation, and water-efficient technologies including reclaimed, recycled, brackish, or other non-potable water sources were reasonably available and incorporates reasonable upgrades or retrofits as improved water conservation technologies become commercially available. Number five, provides onsite or dedicated green electric generation, energy storage, demand response capability, or other resources sufficient to serve or offset project demand, reduce demands on generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure, and provide a measurable benefit to electric reliability. Number six, participates in any applicable large load review process that provides complete information regarding anticipated electric demand, energization schedules, operating characteristics, interconnection needs, and the ability to reduce or curtail demand during grid emergencies. Number seven, identifies the proposed water source and demonstrates that an adequate and sustainable long-term water supply is available without unreasonably impairing existing municipal, agricultural, industrial, or residential water users. Number eight, incorporates reasonable setbacks, noise reduction technology, lighting controls, landscaping, traffic management measures, emissions control, emergency access, fire protection, and other measures appropriate to the project's location and surrounding community. Number nine, identifies and mitigates anticipated impacts on county roads, bridges, drainage, and flood mitigation infrastructure, emergency services, law enforcement, fire protection, and other county facilities and services through appropriate mitigation measures, cost sharing arrangements, road use agreements, financial assurances, and site restoration commitments. And 10, does not request or impose confidentiality or non-disclosure restrictions that would prevent the county to the extent permitted or required by law from evaluating or communicating material impacts on public infrastructure, water resources, energy supply, public health and safety, or county finances. Be it further resolved that these considerations are intended to guide early discussion and voluntary cooperation between the county and developers and do not constitute mandatory or uniform development standards or requirements applicable to a privately financed project except to the extent otherwise authorized by Texas law. And be it further resolved that satisfaction Any or all of these considerations does not create an entitlement to favorable action by the commissioners court and the court may consider any other lawful factor relevant to the Circumstances the project and the best interests of the county and be it further resolved that nothing in this resolution creates or expands County authority requires the county to take any action or authorizes the county to prohibit suspend delay or impose a moratorium or privately financed project on a privately financed project except as expressly permitted by Texas law, and be it further resolved that this resolution is intended to encourage early and constructive communication between the county and developers seeking to invest in the community and to promote projects that provide economic opportunity, responsibly address documented impacts, protect local taxpayers, and operate as good neighbors. And then I also wanna read the letter. Is that okay to read the letter into the record as well? Just so the public knows it's in the backup, but I wanna make sure that we have it read into the record. Okay, so the letter states, Dear Governor Abbott, during your recent visit to El Paso County to discuss affordable housing, you also spoke about your directive requiring ERCOT and the PCT to audit all data centers seeking grid interconnection along with a pause on new interconnections until the audit is complete. We applaud this step if implemented meaningfully. However, our analysis suggests El Paso County may be excluded from these protections as we are on the Western Electric Coordinating Council, not on the ERCOT grid. While the Western Electric Coordinating Council can interconnect with ERCOT in emergencies, PUCT rules otherwise don't apply to us. And batch zero rulings likely don't either. But our constituents have the same concerns as those elsewhere in Texas regarding the strain on our natural resources, fear of skyrocketing utility rates, and negative environmental impacts. We respectfully request that your directive be revised to explicitly extend the same protections to El Paso County. You also affirm that legislation will be filed to further regulate data centers. Without state backing, local officials are outmatched by the resources and reach of the powerful technology industry. It is essential that the legislature set general statewide guardrails that protect property rights, establish water and energy usage standards, and ensure that existing taxpayers aren't burdened by new industrial costs. At the same time, consistent with your recognition that each community is unique, counties must have the flexibility to zone, assess water impact, require energy use disclosure, and set noise, light, or vibration limits based on local conditions. With both our authority and our revenues capped by the legislature, local interests are no match for the deep pockets of data center corporate interests. The tech revolution unfolding in our backyards will change many times before the legislature convenes in January. As local leaders, we need clear state guardrails as well as local authority to steer responsible data center development toward areas that will be objectively enhanced and away from communities that stand to be objectively harmed by the water and energy strain and effects of sound, light, vibrations, or water discharges. Therefore, we ask for an immediate pause on further development until these vital matters are addressed either by further executive actions or legislative action or both. Thank you for your leadership in these complex matters. We are eager to join the conversation and work collaboratively with the state to advance solutions that strengthen Texas's leadership in the sector while remaining consistent with Texas values. We have enclosed resolution passed by the El Paso County Commissioner's Court outlining your position, I'm sorry, outlining our position and look forward to continued collaboration on this important issue. Should you have any questions, please contact our Governmental Affairs Manager, Lisa Tamayo, at her phone number and email, respectfully, and it would be signed by the Commissioner's Court.

Commissioner, would you like to list the individuals that you would like to send this to? Would you like to send a copy or also direct the letter to them?

Yeah, if we can send a copy to the state delegation so that they're aware of the resolution and the letter that's being forwarded to Governor Abbott if the vote passes today.

So the motion for your consideration then would be to approve and authorize the Commissioner's Court to sign and send a letter to Governor Abbott and copy the state delegation regarding Governor Abbott's directive to audit large-scale data center projects and sign a corresponding resolution. That would be my motion.

And we'll hear from public comments.

Yes, Judge, just one second. Okay, our public comment this morning comes from Veronica Carvajal. Her comment begins, the Sembrando Esperanza Coalition supports item seven. In recent days, thousands of El Pasoans lost electricity due to outages caused by extreme heat. If authorized by the PUCT, El Paso Electric's McLeod facility will only provide 225 megawatts or 22% of Meta BlackRock's energy needs of 1,000 megawatts by 2029. The remaining energy will be generated by existing power plants that are already not able to provide affordable and reliable electricity. In addition, connecting Meta to existing power plants will expose residents near the Montana power station in Montana Vista and Homestead Meadows to high voltage transmission lines that will threaten their health and property values. While we support additional oversight, we want to be clear, we do not want AI data centers here. We do not want them in anyone's backyard. End of comment. Do we have any more discussion from the court?

Okay.

We have a motion from Commissioner Stout and a second from Judge Samaniego. Voting is open. Motion carries.

Thank you all. Thank you.

Cesar, we were gonna take a lunch break, but I've seen Mr. Gonzalez here all morning, so I'd like to take that item. Okay, sir. Just one second.

Yeah, just one comment with regard to Commissioner Stout's presentation of the resolution. I just want to point out that I think the governor's doing something good, but to exclude the El Paso area from the rest of the state just because we're not connected by the electrical grid, to me is just, so all the other factors that he's concerned with it, he's not concerned about El Paso. It just shows you how we are being run in this state leadership. But the other comment I do want to make is that Mehta has agreed to adhere to a lot of the governor's issues that he's got. But there's no... I guess that the right thing to do is that the entire state, if he's going to provide and get safeguards, it should be the entire state. So I just want to make that comment.

Thank you, Commissioner.

Go ahead, Cesar.

Thank you, sir. Item number 10A, tax assessor collector. Discuss and take appropriate action to authorize the following as sensitive positions and excluding them from the county civil service coverage. accounting office manager, motor vehicle registration and title director, and VIT SIT enforcement director.

Welcome, Mr. Gonzalez.

Good morning. Good afternoon. Good afternoon, Commissioners, County Judge Salmaniego. It's my pleasure to be here with you today. And Judge, I would like to, my name is Ruben Gonzalez, County Tax Assessor Collector. Judge, I would like to respectfully request the court's approval to support the exclusion, to exclude these individuals from civil service. They are my office, accounting office manager. the Motor Vehicle Title and Registration Director and my Enforcement Director who administers our vehicle inventory tax and special inventory tax, in addition to other responsibilities in law enforcement on title and registration laws that we enforce in an effort to identify any individuals that are not transferring title correctly or for any type of registration violations. I feel I rely on these positions To comply with all the policies and regulations that are held, and these individuals are held to a higher standard. I rely on them to administer their divisions, their sections, and because of the work that we do, it is important for me to be able to have confidence and trust in the responsibilities. We account for millions of dollars. Our title and registration laws change every year. Aside from the legislation laws that are passed We have to stay on top of that so that we can learn the changes and administer them so that the public can benefit and we can comply with the laws. So these positions are pretty much positions of confidence and trust that I need to have so that I can be able to serve this community correctly. That is one of my biggest concerns and challenges, to serve this community as they expect to be served. as a county tax collector that is an agent for the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, a state comptroller. We handle a lot of administrative stuff dealing with motor vehicle registration. So I would like to respectfully request the court's approval so that these individuals can be excluded so that I can operate much better. These individuals have respective duties to do within the office, and I have to rely on them to be able to meet those goals as required by state law, and also to serve our community better. So it's an effort to improve our department internally, but at the same time to serve our community. So I respectfully ask for your approval. Any questions, I would be more than happy to answer them.

Betsy, any feedback from HR or anything that we need to understand? Yes, sir. The impact of the decision?

Yes, sir, thank you. So this is the proper process. First, Mr. Gonzalez comes to the Commissioner's Court and requests the court's approval. Next, it would go to the Civil Service Commission itself. They would also review the request and make the final determination. The information that Mr. Gonzalez has provided that HR has reviewed, HR is supportive of his request based on their analysis. This would be the first step in the process after their review for the court to consider exempting these positions. These are the types of titles that you see exempted in our civil service rules. Normally we would update the rules, but in this particular case, because there hasn't been an update to the actual, there's positions that are called out by policy to be exempt. This is the process when those titles are not already included. And so in the future, these are the types of titles I would imagine would be added to the policy in the future to be automatically exempted. And it does not, when you do this, it does not, for example, if there was another accounting office manager, it only exempts this one. If anybody else has an accounting office manager that is not exempt, they would have to come request it themselves. Same process. So this is the proper process. HR has reviewed it and does support this being taken to the Civil Service Commission for consideration.

And Betsy, I think you were checking to make sure that the required paperwork and application had been completed.

Yes, there was a form. This doesn't happen very often because we've tried to catch them by policy, but some of our titles change over time, and we do need to do an update to that policy. But they did get the additional forms. They found the forms and did get the additional forms from Mr. Gonzalez, and I believe they've been added to the backup.

Great.

Questions?

We have a motion to approve from Commissioner Holguin, a second from Judge Samaniego. Voting is open. Motion carries.

Thank you, Commissioner. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Thank you for your patience. Yes, sir. Thank you.

At this time, Commissioner's Court will recess for one hour. It is 12.14 p.m.

Hola, El Paso! From July to August, El Paso County engaged with our residents to address their needs and prepare for the future. See what El Paso County has going on this summer. El Paso County's Public Works Department held weekly information and feedback sessions at Azcárate Park. These meetings concern the proposed improvements to the park and changes to the lakes at Azcárate. The sessions allowed residents to see concepts of what is planned and to provide their input on what they want, including their preferences for the large and small lakes at Azcárate. El Paso County is dedicated to include the public throughout the completion of this critical project. The El Paso County Community Services Office of New Americans recently hosted a large-scale community listening session and resource fair as part of the Gateways for Growth Technical Assistance Grant awarded to El Paso County. The event brought together 60 attendees representing 40 partner organizations including non-profit organizations, interfaith, educational institutions, local governments, and health care providers. The event featured an interactive format designed to encourage meaningful dialogue and collaboration. Rather than a traditional conference setup, participants engaged in facilitated small group discussions, shared ideas and recommendations, and networked with organizations working to strengthen our community. Feedback gathered during the listening session will help inform the development of El Paso County's Welcoming Strategic Plan, a community-driven roadmap that will identify priorities and strategies to make our region more welcoming, inclusive, and connected. Seven years ago, our community changed because of a horrible tragedy. To honor the victims of August 3rd, 2019 Walmart shooting, community leaders, victims' families, and residents gathered at the Azcárdate Park Healing Garden on August 2nd to hold a vigil in their honor. The event included a prayer service, moment of silence, reading of names, and release of white doves. El Paso County remains committed to provide a space in the Healing Garden for our community to meditate, reflect, and honor our lost community members. The Commissioner's Court and El Paso County Hospital District held a joint special session meeting to discuss the 2027 tax rate for the county's public hospital. The hospital district oversees University Medical Center, El Paso Children's Hospital, and El Paso Health. Hospital administration proposed a no new revenue tax rate of 0.236904 for fiscal year 2027. If this rate is approved later this month, this would mean that the portion of your property taxes dedicated to our county hospital would not increase. Hospital board members and county commissioners approve the proposed rate and the court is scheduled to adopt it towards the end of August. That does it for this edition of County Connects. Stay tuned and make sure to stay connected with El Paso County. Every day, El Paso County works to improve the quality of life for our residents. Sometimes that work happens here at home. Sometimes it takes us across Texas, across the nation, and around the world. County leaders advocate for infrastructure, public safety, veteran services, transportation, and mental health priorities important to our residents. Through legislative meetings, funding requests, and various policy discussions, your county is working to ensure El Paso's voice is heard. Strong partnerships help bring resources, expertise, and opportunities back to El Paso County. Through collaborative efforts with our state and federal partners, our position on critical matters can be shared and heard by those making decisions at the highest levels. Participation in organizations such as the National Association of Counties, Texas Association of Counties, and other professional networks also allows county leaders to learn from successful programs across the country and bring innovative ideas back home. El Paso County's commitment to economic growth extends far beyond our borders. Throughout the year, elected officials and staff travel across Texas, the United States, and internationally to promote El Paso as a premier destination for business investment and expansion. These efforts allow us to build relationships with industry leaders, showcase our region's unique advantages, and compete for new jobs and economic opportunities. The true measure of success is not where we travel to, but what we brought home. At the midpoint of 2026, our grant portfolio remained strong and productive. To date, we have applied for a total of 50 funding opportunities, with 21 awards secured, resulting in more than $15.6 million in grant funding awarded. Every trip represents one purpose, serving the people of El Paso County. Whether advocating in Austin, collaborating in Washington, or building partnerships across borders, our mission remains the same, creating opportunities, delivering services, and building a stronger future for our community. Hola, El Paso! From July to August, El Paso County engaged with our residents to address their needs and prepare for the future. See what El Paso County has going on this summer. El Paso County's Public Works Department held weekly information and feedback sessions at Azcárate Park. These meetings concern the proposed improvements to the park and changes to the lakes at Azcárate. The sessions allowed residents to see concepts of what is planned and to provide their input on what they want, including their preferences for the large and small lakes at Azcárate. El Paso County is dedicated to include the public throughout the completion of this critical project. The El Paso County Community Services Office of New Americans recently hosted a large-scale community listening session and resource fair as part of the Gateways for Growth Technical Assistance Grant awarded to El Paso County. The event brought together 60 attendees representing 40 partner organizations including non-profit organizations, interfaith, educational institutions, local governments, and health care providers. The event featured an interactive format designed to encourage meaningful dialogue and collaboration. Rather than a traditional conference setup, participants engaged in facilitated small group discussions, shared ideas and recommendations, and networked with organizations working to strengthen our community. Feedback gathered during the listening session will help inform the development of El Paso County's Welcoming Strategic Plan, a community-driven roadmap that will identify priorities and strategies to make our region more welcoming, inclusive, and connected. Seven years ago, our community changed because of a horrible tragedy. To honor the victims of August 3rd, 2019 Walmart shooting, community leaders, victims' families, and residents gathered at the Ascata Park Healing Garden on August 2nd to hold a vigil in their honor. The event included a prayer service, moment of silence, reading of names, and release of white doves. El Paso County remains committed to provide a space in the Healing Garden for our community to meditate, reflect, and honor our lost community members. The Commissioner's Court and El Paso County Hospital District held a joint special session meeting to discuss the 2027 tax rate for the county's public hospital. The hospital district oversees University Medical Center, El Paso Children's Hospital, and El Paso Health. Hospital administration proposed a no new revenue tax rate of 0.236904 for fiscal year 2027. If this rate is approved later this month, this would mean that the portion of your property taxes dedicated to our county hospital would not increase. Hospital board members and county commissioners approve the proposed rate and the court is scheduled to adopt it towards the end of August. That does it for this edition of County Connects. Stay tuned and make sure to stay connected with El Paso County. Every day, El Paso County works to improve the quality of life for our residents. Sometimes that work happens here at home. Sometimes it takes us across Texas, across the nation, and around the world. County leaders advocate for infrastructure, public safety, veteran services, transportation, and mental health priorities important to our residents. Through legislative meetings, funding requests, and various policy discussions, your county is working to ensure El Paso's voice is heard. Strong partnerships help bring resources, expertise, and opportunities back to El Paso County. Through collaborative efforts with our state and federal partners, our position on critical matters can be shared and heard by those making decisions at the highest levels. Participation in organizations such as the National Association of Counties, Texas Association of Counties, and other professional networks also allows county leaders to learn from successful programs across the country and bring innovative ideas back home. El Paso County's commitment to economic growth extends far beyond our borders. Throughout the year, elected officials and staff travel across Texas, the United States, and internationally to promote El Paso as a premier destination for business investment and expansion. These efforts allow us to build relationships with industry leaders, showcase our region's unique advantages, and compete for new jobs and economic opportunities. The true measure of success is not where we travel to, but what we brought home. At the midpoint of 2026, our grant portfolio remained strong and productive. To date, we have applied for a total of 50 funding opportunities, with 21 awards secured, resulting in more than $15.6 million in grant funding awarded. Every trip represents one purpose, serving the people of El Paso County. Whether advocating in Austin, collaborating in Washington, or building partnerships across borders, our mission remains the same, creating opportunities, delivering services, and building a stronger future for our community.

Thank you.

Hola, El Paso! From July to August, El Paso County engaged with our residents to address their needs and prepare for the future. See what El Paso County has going on this summer. El Paso County's Public Works Department held weekly information and feedback sessions at Azcárate Park. These meetings concern the proposed improvements to the park and changes to the lakes at Azcárate. The sessions allowed residents to see concepts of what is planned and to provide their input on what they want, including their preferences for the large and small lakes at Azcárate. El Paso County is dedicated to include the public throughout the completion of this critical project. The El Paso County Community Services Office of New Americans recently hosted a large-scale community listening session and resource fair as part of the Gateways for Growth Technical Assistance Grant awarded to El Paso County. The event brought together 60 attendees representing 40 partner organizations including non-profit organizations, interfaith, educational institutions, local governments, and health care providers. The event featured an interactive format designed to encourage meaningful dialogue and collaboration. Rather than a traditional conference setup, participants engaged in facilitated small group discussions, shared ideas and recommendations, and networked with organizations working to strengthen our community. Feedback gathered during the listening session will help inform the development of El Paso County's Welcoming Strategic Plan, a community-driven roadmap that will identify priorities and strategies to make our region more welcoming, inclusive, and connected. Seven years ago, our community changed because of a horrible tragedy. To honor the victims of August 3rd, 2019 Walmart shooting, community leaders, victims' families, and residents gathered at the Azcárdate Park Healing Garden on August 2nd to hold a vigil in their honor. The event included a prayer service, moment of silence, reading of names and release of white doves. El Paso County remains committed to provide a space in the Healing Garden for our community to meditate, reflect and honor our lost community members. The Commissioner's Court and El Paso County Hospital District held a joint special session meeting to discuss the 2027 tax rate for the county's public hospital. The hospital district oversees University Medical Center, El Paso Children's Hospital, and El Paso Health. Hospital administration proposed a no new revenue tax rate of 0.236904 for fiscal year 2027. If this rate is approved later this month, this would mean that the portion of your property taxes dedicated to our county hospital would not increase. Hospital board members and county commissioners approve the proposed rate and the court is scheduled to adopt it towards the end of August. That does it for this edition of County Connects. Stay tuned and make sure to stay connected with El Paso County.

Thank you.

Every day, El Paso County works to improve the quality of life for our residents. Sometimes that work happens here at home. Sometimes it takes us across Texas, across the nation, and around the world. County leaders advocate for infrastructure, public safety, veteran services, transportation, and mental health priorities important to our residents. Through legislative meetings, funding requests, and various policy discussions, your county is working to ensure El Paso's voice is heard. Strong partnerships help bring resources, expertise, and opportunities back to El Paso County. Through collaborative efforts with our state and federal partners, our position on critical matters can be shared and heard by those making decisions at the highest levels. Participation in organizations such as the National Association of Counties, Texas Association of Counties, and other professional networks also allows county leaders to learn from successful programs across the country and bring innovative ideas back home. El Paso County's commitment to economic growth extends far beyond our borders. Throughout the year, elected officials and staff travel across Texas, the United States, and internationally to promote El Paso as a premier destination for business investment and expansion. These efforts allow us to build relationships with industry leaders, showcase our region's unique advantages, and compete for new jobs and economic opportunities. The true measure of success is not where we travel to, but what we brought home. At the midpoint of 2026, our grant portfolio remained strong and productive. To date, we have applied for a total of 50 funding opportunities, with 21 awards secured, resulting in more than $15.6 million in grant funding awarded. every trip represents one purpose serving the people of el paso county whether advocating in austin collaborating in washington or building partnerships across borders our mission remains the same creating opportunities delivering services and building a stronger future for our community Hola, El Paso! From July to August, El Paso County engaged with our residents to address their needs and prepare for the future. See what El Paso County has going on this summer. El Paso County's Public Works Department held weekly information and feedback sessions at Azcárate Park. These meetings concern the proposed improvements to the park and changes to the lakes at Azcárate. The sessions allowed residents to see concepts of what is planned and to provide their input on what they want, including their preferences for the large and small lakes at Azcárate. El Paso County is dedicated to include the public throughout the completion of this critical project. The El Paso County Community Services Office of New Americans recently hosted a large-scale community listening session and resource fair as part of the Gateways for Growth Technical Assistance Grant awarded to El Paso County. The event brought together 60 attendees representing 40 partner organizations, including non-profit organizations, interfaith, educational institutions, local governments, and health care providers. The event featured an interactive format designed to encourage meaningful dialogue and collaboration. Rather than a traditional conference setup, participants engaged in facilitated small group discussions, shared ideas and recommendations, and networked with organizations working to strengthen our community. Feedback gathered during the listening session will help inform the development of El Paso County's Welcoming Strategic Plan, a community-driven roadmap that will identify priorities and strategies to make our region more welcoming, inclusive, and connected. Seven years ago, our community changed because of a horrible tragedy. To honor the victims of August 3rd, 2019 Walmart shooting, community leaders, victims' families, and residents gathered at the Azcárdate Park Healing Garden on August 2nd to hold a vigil in their honor. The event included a prayer service, moment of silence, reading of names, and release of white doves. El Paso County remains committed to provide a space in the Healing Garden for our community to meditate, reflect, and honor our lost community members. The Commissioner's Court and El Paso County Hospital District held a joint special session meeting to discuss the 2027 tax rate for the county's public hospital. The hospital district oversees University Medical Center, El Paso Children's Hospital, and El Paso Health. Hospital administration proposed a no new revenue tax rate of 0.236904 for fiscal year 2027. If this rate is approved later this month, this would mean that the portion of your property taxes dedicated to our county hospital would not increase. Hospital board members and county commissioners approve the proposed rate and the court is scheduled to adopt it towards the end of August. That does it for this edition of County Connects. Stay tuned and make sure to stay connected with El Paso County. Every day, El Paso County works to improve the quality of life for our residents. Sometimes that work happens here at home. Sometimes it takes us across Texas, across the nation, and around the world. County leaders advocate for infrastructure, public safety, veteran services, transportation, and mental health priorities important to our residents. Through legislative meetings, funding requests, and various policy discussions, your county is working to ensure El Paso's voice is heard. Strong partnerships help bring resources, expertise, and opportunities back to El Paso County. Through collaborative efforts with our state and federal partners, our position on critical matters can be shared and heard by those making decisions at the highest levels. Participation in organizations such as the National Association of Counties, Texas Association of Counties, and other professional networks also allows county leaders to learn from successful programs across the country and bring innovative ideas back home. El Paso County's commitment to economic growth extends far beyond our borders. Throughout the year, elected officials and staff travel across Texas, the United States, and internationally to promote El Paso as a premier destination for business investment and expansion. These efforts allow us to build relationships with industry leaders, showcase our region's unique advantages, and compete for new jobs and economic opportunities. The true measure of success is not where we travel to, but what we brought home. At the midpoint of 2026, our grant portfolio remained strong and productive. To date, we have applied for a total of 50 funding opportunities, with 21 awards secured, resulting in more than $15.6 million in grant funding awarded. Every trip represents one purpose, serving the people of El Paso County. Whether advocating in Austin, collaborating in Washington, or building partnerships across borders, our mission remains the same, creating opportunities, delivering services, and building a stronger future for our community. Hola, El Paso! From July to August, El Paso County engaged with our residents to address their needs and prepare for the future. See what El Paso County has going on this summer. El Paso County's Public Works Department held weekly information and feedback sessions at Azcárate Park. These meetings concern the proposed improvements to the park and changes to the lakes at Azcárate. The sessions allowed residents to see concepts of what is planned and to provide their input on what they want, including their preferences for the large and small lakes at Azcárate. El Paso County is dedicated to include the public throughout the completion of this critical project. The El Paso County Community Services Office of New Americans recently hosted a large-scale community listening session and resource fair as part of the Gateways for Growth Technical Assistance Grant awarded to El Paso County. The event brought together 60 attendees representing 40 partner organizations, including non-profit organizations, interfaith, educational institutions, local governments, and health care providers. The event featured an interactive format designed to encourage meaningful dialogue and collaboration. Rather than a traditional conference setup, participants engaged in facilitated small group discussions, shared ideas and recommendations, and networked with organizations working to strengthen our community. Feedback gathered during the listening session will help inform the development of El Paso County's Welcoming Strategic Plan, a community-driven roadmap that will identify priorities and strategies to make our region more welcoming, inclusive, and connected. Seven years ago, our community changed because of a horrible tragedy. To honor the victims of August 3rd, 2019 Walmart shooting, community leaders, victims' families, and residents gathered at the Azcárdate Park Healing Garden on August 2nd to hold a vigil in their honor. The event included a prayer service, moment of silence, reading of names and release of white doves. El Paso County remains committed to provide a space in the Healing Garden for our community to meditate, reflect and honor our lost community members. The Commissioner's Court and El Paso County Hospital District held a joint special session meeting to discuss the 2027 tax rate for the county's public hospital. The hospital district oversees University Medical Center, El Paso Children's Hospital, and El Paso Health. Hospital administration proposed a no new revenue tax rate of 0.236904 for fiscal year 2027. If this rate is approved later this month, this would mean that the portion of your property taxes dedicated to our county hospital would not increase. Hospital board members and county commissioners approve the proposed rate and the court is scheduled to adopt it towards the end of August. That does it for this edition of County Connects. Stay tuned and make sure to stay connected with El Paso County.

me

Every day, El Paso County works to improve the quality of life for our residents. Sometimes that work happens here at home. Sometimes it takes us across Texas, across the nation, and around the world. County leaders advocate for infrastructure, public safety, veteran services, transportation, and mental health priorities important to our residents. Through legislative meetings, funding requests, and various policy discussions, your county is working to ensure El Paso's voice is heard. Strong partnerships help bring resources, expertise, and opportunities back to El Paso County. Through collaborative efforts with our state and federal partners, our position on critical matters can be shared and heard by those making decisions at the highest levels. Participation in organizations such as the National Association of Counties, Texas Association of Counties, and other professional networks also allows county leaders to learn from successful programs across the country and bring innovative ideas back home. El Paso County's commitment to economic growth extends far beyond our borders. Throughout the year, elected officials and staff travel across Texas, the United States, and internationally to promote El Paso as a premier destination for business investment and expansion. These efforts allow us to build relationships with industry leaders, showcase our region's unique advantages, and compete for new jobs and economic opportunities. The true measure of success is not where we travel to, but what we brought home. At the midpoint of 2026, our grant portfolio remained strong and productive. To date, we have applied for a total of 50 funding opportunities, with 21 awards secured, resulting in more than $15.6 million in grant funding awarded. Every trip represents one purpose, serving the people of El Paso County. Whether advocating in Austin, collaborating in Washington, or building partnerships across borders, our mission remains the same, creating opportunities, delivering services, and building a stronger future for our community.

Thank you.

Hola, El Paso! From July to August, El Paso County engaged with our residents to address their needs and prepare for the future. See what El Paso County has going on this summer. El Paso County's Public Works Department held weekly information and feedback sessions at Azcárate Park. These meetings concern the proposed improvements to the park and changes to the lakes at Azcárate. The sessions allowed residents to see concepts of what is planned and to provide their input on what they want, including their preferences for the large and small lakes at Azcárate. El Paso County is dedicated to include the public throughout the completion of this critical project. The El Paso County Community Services Office of New Americans recently hosted a large-scale community listening session and resource fair as part of the Gateways for Growth Technical Assistance Grant awarded to El Paso County. The event brought together 60 attendees representing 40 partner organizations, including non-profit organizations, interfaith, educational institutions, local governments, and health care providers. The event featured an interactive format designed to encourage meaningful dialogue and collaboration. Rather than a traditional conference setup, participants engaged in facilitated small group discussions, shared ideas and recommendations, and networked with organizations working to strengthen our community. Feedback gathered during the listening session will help inform the development of El Paso County's Welcoming Strategic Plan, a community-driven roadmap that will identify priorities and strategies to make our region more welcoming, inclusive, and connected. Seven years ago, our community changed because of a horrible tragedy. To honor the victims of August 3rd, 2019 Walmart shooting, community leaders, victims' families, and residents gathered at the Azcárdate Park Healing Garden on August 2nd to hold a vigil in their honor. The event included a prayer service, moment of silence, reading of names, and release of white doves. El Paso County remains committed to provide a space in the Healing Garden for our community to meditate, reflect, and honor our lost community members. The Commissioner's Court and El Paso County Hospital District held a joint special session meeting to discuss the 2027 tax rate for the county's public hospital. The hospital district oversees University Medical Center, El Paso Children's Hospital, and El Paso Health. Hospital administration proposed a no new revenue tax rate of 0.236904 for fiscal year 2027. If this rate is approved later this month, this would mean that the portion of your property taxes dedicated to our county hospital would not increase. Hospital board members and county commissioners approve the proposed rate and the court is scheduled to adopt it towards the end of August. That does it for this edition of County Connects. Stay tuned and make sure to stay connected with El Paso County. Every day, El Paso County works to improve the quality of life for our residents. Sometimes that work happens here at home. Sometimes it takes us across Texas, across the nation, and around the world. County leaders advocate for infrastructure, public safety, veteran services, transportation, and mental health priorities important to our residents. Through legislative meetings, funding requests, and various policy discussions, your county is working to ensure El Paso's voice is heard. Strong partnerships help bring resources, expertise, and opportunities back to El Paso County. Through collaborative efforts with our state and federal partners, our position on critical matters can be shared and heard by those making decisions at the highest levels. Participation in organizations such as the National Association of Counties, Texas Association of Counties, and other professional networks also allows county leaders to learn from successful programs across the country and bring innovative ideas back home. El Paso County's commitment to economic growth extends far beyond our borders. Throughout the year, elected officials and staff travel across Texas, the United States, and internationally to promote El Paso as a premier destination for business investment and expansion. These efforts allow us to build relationships with industry leaders, showcase our region's unique advantages, and compete for new jobs and economic opportunities. The true measure of success is not where we travel to, but what we brought home. At the midpoint of 2026, our grant portfolio remained strong and productive. To date, we have applied for a total of 50 funding opportunities, with 21 awards secured, resulting in more than $15.6 million in grant funding awarded. Every trip represents one purpose, serving the people of El Paso County. Whether advocating in Austin, collaborating in Washington, or building partnerships across borders, our mission remains the same, creating opportunities, delivering services, and building a stronger future for our community.

you

Hola, El Paso! From July to August, El Paso County engaged with our residents to address their needs and prepare for the future. See what El Paso County has going on this summer. El Paso County's Public Works Department held weekly information and feedback sessions at Azcárate Park. These meetings concern the proposed improvements to the park and changes to the lakes at Azcárate. The sessions allowed residents to see concepts of what is planned and to provide their input on what they want, including their preferences for the large and small lakes at Azcárate. El Paso County is dedicated to include the public throughout the completion of this critical project. The El Paso County Community Services Office of New Americans recently hosted a large-scale community listening session and resource fair as part of the Gateways for Growth Technical Assistance Grant awarded to El Paso County. The event brought together 60 attendees representing 40 partners.

Go ahead. Good afternoon. Commissioner's Court has reconvened into regular open session. It is 1.26 PM. We are on item number 8A, County Auditor. Authorize the county judge to sign an updated Internal Revenue Form SS-10 request to agree to extend the time to assess employment taxes for the tax periods covering January 1st, 2023 through December 31st, 2023.

Good afternoon, Commissioners. Barbara Parker, your County Auditor. We took back the information that you all directed the last time, and in working with the agent from the IRS, they shortened the timeframe to June 15th, 2027, but the periods to be covered remain what the original one said. So we're just asking for confirmation that this is okay, and we'll move forward.

We have a motion to approve from Commissioner Butler, a second from Commissioner Coronado. The voting is open. Commissioner Stout?

Aye.

Thank you, sir. Judge Samaniego is absent. Motion carries.

Thank you. Thank you, Barbara.

Item number 9A. County and District Clerk, pursuant to Texas Local Government Code Section 118.025G, hold a public hearing regarding the County Clerk's Records, Archives, Preservation and Restoration Plan and the assessment of a $10 fee for fiscal year 2027. If I could have a motion to open a public hearing, please. Just one moment.

Okay.

We have a motion to open a public hearing from Commissioner Holguin, a second from Commissioner Stout. The voting is open. Thank you, Judge. Commissioner Butler. Thank you. Motion carries. We're in a public hearing.

Hello, Judge and Commissioners. I'm Anthony Bedoya, Chief Deputy for the County Clerk's Office. I'm here before you today on behalf of Mrs. Briones regarding the public hearing pertaining to the $10 records management fees for the County Clerk's Record Archive Preservation and Restoration Plan. Again, I'm here on behalf of Mrs. Briones, who comes before you annually asking for your approval for our $10 records management fee. It's the same as last year. Also asking you for your approval for the publishing of the public notice hearing in the amount of $40.15 to El Paso Inc. Do we have any public comment?

Is there any comment regarding this agenda item? Hearing none, are there any questions from the court?

There's none.

Okay. Then I just need a motion please to close the public hearing. We have a motion from Judge Samaniego and a second from Commissioner Butler. The voting is, excuse me one moment. The voting is open. Motion carries. The public hearing is closed. Item number 9B, pursuant to Texas Local Government Code Section 118.025B, approve and adopt the county clerk's records, archives, preservation, and restoration plan for fiscal year 2027. Further approve payment to El Paso Inc. in the amount of $40.15 for the publishing of the public notice hearing. Funding is available in general fund, county clerk advertising.

Any questions on that?

Any, no?

We have a motion to approve the item from Commissioner Olguin, a second from Commissioner Coronado. Voting is open. Motion carries.

Thank you all so much. Thank you, Anthony.

Item number 11A, economic development. Discuss and take appropriate action to approve the first amendment between El Paso County and the Town of Horizon City tax increment reinvestment zone number one, interlocal agreement to expand county participation to expansion area A1, dedicate the county's tax increment to the development of the Greater Horizon City Regional Sports Park, and subsequently redirect the tax increment to support the future county office facility project. Further approve and authorize the county judge to sign the corresponding order approving the first amendment to the El Paso County Agreement regarding the TURS. Contract number 20260526.

Good afternoon, Anna Schumacher, Assistant County Attorney. We are requesting to move this item into executive session pursuant to Texas Government Code 551.0725 to discuss contract negotiations for the First Amendment to the El Paso County Agreement regarding participation, cost allocation, and reimbursement for reimbursement zone number one, Town of Horizon City between the County of El Paso and the TERS Board for reinvestment zone number one, Town of Horizon City. I would read the corresponding findings later in the meeting if that is appropriate, but at this time I would request that motion, please.

We have a motion to approve from Judge Samaniego, a second from Commissioner Olguin. The voting is open. Motion carries. Item number, are we ready for? for the budget items? Yes? Okay. Item number 12A from Human Resources. Item 12A, Budget Hearing. Receive and discuss a presentation regarding employee wages and the hiring waiting period and take appropriate action. And item number 13A from Budget and Finance. 13A, Budget Hearing. Discuss and take appropriate action on the fiscal year 2026-2027 budget for El Paso County.

Good afternoon, Judge Simon-Nagel, members of the court, Carmen Arieta Candelaria, Budget and Finance Director. Let me get this. So today's presentation, we're gonna be talking about some of the changes that the court has recommended, as well as some of the, for the court's consideration, as well as some items related to the final proposed book that we plan to bring you or deliver to you on August 31st. So the order is going to be, I'm gonna provide you with some pending adjustments that we're gonna make to the book. Then we'll be going over some of the items for the court's consideration and we'll take up each one of those items as we go. And then I'll just give you some other information related to other requests that the court has asked as well, okay? So first and foremost, these are the pending adjustments for the final proposed book. These are not included in the recommended book due to the timing and our final calculations and approvals are pending. These will be included in the final proposed book. The first item that we have is, of course, the auditor's office recommendations. As she's making her final recommendations and certifications to the revenues, she has identified $1,445,065 to add to revenue. This was increases in sales tax estimates as well as federal inmate revenues, medical examiner fees, and parking garage fees. We still have a few... Other revenues that will again impact the budget, hopefully we'll get those resolved by the time that we file the final proposed budget for August 31st. But again, one decision is the property tax changes that you'll consider this evening, and so that may impact the revenue. But as of right now, we are looking to add $1,445,000 to the budget. On the expenditure side, we have some changes, some that you have approved. For example, the CIT positions that you approved on August 10th, 371,000, that's an add. The DIMS shift differential pay that we've been talking about, $175,000 there. The auditor office reductions that she proposed in order to make the 2% cut, it's a decrease of $118,777. For indigent defense, we had a wheel change in June, July that we have to address and evaluate what is the impact of that wheel adjustment. And also an increase in the rates that were approved on October 31st, 2025 that has a budgetary impact. So we're adding $1,100,000 to the budget. We also had a net adjustment for mileage increases, grant matches, some final salary calculations, and then we had some improvement in the final property insurance amounts. All of that netted to $160,373 that we'll include in the budget. And then the JPD pending adjustment, again, as I informed the court last time, the JPD budget was entered as submitted, excuse me, was entered into the recommended book at the fiscal year 2026 level. So we need, now that the budget has been approved by JPD's board, we need to enter it into the budget, and that's a reduction of $58,524.00. For the JPD budget, there are two divisions that the budget and finance department adds towards the end of the year in order to finalize their budget. We are validating some potential revenue offsets for those before finalizing, so those will be included in the final proposed budget. So all in all, the net amount to be added to the budget from these items is 1,309,282. Maximum tax rate impact there evaluated at .0019 increase. The fund balance ratio impact of those is .31%. Now we have the pending adjustments for the court's consideration. These items on this list are items for you all to vote upon. Any approved items will be included in the final proposed book and we have staff here available that will be keeping a tally as items are approved so that we can report out to you what is the tax rate impact, what is the fund balance impact on these items. This is a summary. The next two slides provide a summary and then we'll go through each one of them individually as you all vote to consider those items. So we have 13 items. First of all, shifting the 2.4 million from the EIF to the CIP. Signage for public works, $25,000. The district clerk adjustment to reduce juror fees, an offset to ops contingencies. For the sheriff's office, reduction of clothing, and then reserve overtime expenses in ops contingency. For JPD is to approve the budget as submitted and add three new positions. On the next page is items related to salary and considerations. The COLA increase, options A through E, and we'll be going through that. They have a budgetary impact ranging from $633,000 to $1,702,000. The TCDRS retiree increase COLA consideration, adding $582,625 to the budget. We also talked about the 16-week hiring freeze. We also, you heard today from our county attorney, County Attorney Sanchez, related to her decline of the proposed salary increase. Restore the levels for the overtime for constable one and four and then a consideration for the fire marshal operations. In this particular case, we had increases and decreases that netted a budgetary impact from 1,538,591 to 2,307,433. In this case, the max tax rate impact is .0034, and the max fund balance ratio impact is 0.55% reduction. So this is a summary. If all items were adopted here that have a budgetary impact, you see here your additional revenue, pending adjustments of 1.3, and then if all options are approved and you went with option C, That would be $1,538,591, and I'll go over those options as we move along. Our net impact to the budget there is a decrease to the budget, our expenditure amount, of $1,402,808, and then all pending adjustments with option F of $2,307,000. That is a $2,171,600 negative impact to the budget. or .0033 impact on the tax rate, .52% on the fund balance. We still have adjustments that we need to make on the unappropriated fund balance due to the estimated fund balance, as the auditor reported. We have a slight improvement in our fund balance, and that trickles down into our unassigned fund balance, so we'll have to make that adjustment, and we hope to do that in the proposed, excuse me, in the final, yes, the final proposed.

Carmen, before you leave that slide. Yes, ma'am. Just to be clear, it's either or. It's the tax rate, either an impact to the tax rate or a reduction to fund balance.

Yes, thank you. That is correct. So if you increase the tax rate, you can increase the tax rate to accommodate this $2 million or you can take it as a fund balance reduction. Okay, thank you, Betsy. All right, so first we're gonna start with item number one. So we had proposed that we would shift $2.4 million from the Economic Impact Fund to the CIP. If you recall, we had assigned fund balance $6.4 million, and in order for us to be able to achieve approximately 40% of our intended goal for both the CIP program and the Economic Impact Fund, there was a recommendation that we shift $2.4 million from the EIF, bringing that down from $6.4 million to $5 million, and then moving that over to the CIP, moving that from $5 million to $7.4 million. And so with that, I would stand ready for any questions that you may have with regards to this item for your consideration.

And yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. So we're asking for each one of these action items. These are the pending items. You saw the summary sheet. We're asking because we need direction to bring this back in the proposed budget. So we'd be asking for a motion to approve shifting $2.4 million from Economic Impact Fund to CIP for the proposed budget.

Again, this item would not have a budgetary impact. We would just assign the fund balance to something else.

We have a motion to approve from Commissioner O'Lean, second from Commissioner Butler. The voting is open. Motion carries.

Thank you.

Thank you. Item number two, this is a supplemental budget for signage for Public Works. We currently do have a budget for four signs. However, this would be an additional amount to augment that particular budget. So we estimated some additional signage there, $25,000 more to allow additional countywide signs to be put up. And this could have either a property tax impact or a fund balance, but I believe we can talk about that.

I think it's actually going to be a, it'll actually be in the road and bridge fund, so it won't be an impact to general fund. But we'd like that direction to bring it back.

We have a motion to approve from Commissioner Olguin, a second from Commissioner Butler. Voting is open.

Right. For the road signs, okay. Yes, for additional, we have money for the normal stop sign down, street sign broke, but this is for additional special requests like we had last week.

Motion carries.

Thank you. The next item that we have is for the district clerk. So the district clerk, this is related to the 2% target reduction. So the district clerk has indicated that no further reductions can be made to their budget without significantly impacting their statutory obligations. We did identify a reduction to the juror fees to address the 2% target reduction as a result of the improvements. However, to ensure that budgetary outcomes are met, we're asking that a corresponding amount be made to the operations contingency amount. We'll continue to work with the district clerk and continue to monitor her budget throughout the year to make sure that they come within budget. And so what we are asking here is that we approve the reduction of juror fees line item in her budget and increase the operations contingency line item by $133,502. So overall, not a budgetary impact, but it positions us in order to be able to address the juror fees.

We have a motion to approve from Judge Samaniego, a second from Commissioner Olguin. Voting is open.

Not sure if our district clerk has any comments. Okay.

Welcome, Norma.

I just want you to know that the budget and finance folks have had a huge, huge undertaking to find the reduction. And while it was not available in my operating budget or the salary budget, we looked at it, budget and finance looked at it, and what happens is that We never know when a trial is going to be set and the parties either settle or there's continuances that have to be taken into account. So there's a fluctuation in the amount of money that is available to pay the jurors. Please do not construe this amount as we are taking money from the jurors to pay them. The jurors will always be paid for their civic duty. And it's just a matter of money being available because courts canceled because of the parties involved. So this was a great strategic, and I appreciate the hard work of budget and finance. to look at that instead of the operating side. So I just wanna assure you that we're not gonna stiff any of our jurors. We appreciate them.

Yes, I saw that and I thought, hmm.

No, we appreciate everyone's civic duty. It's so important. But it fluctuates on the amounts, and so there was availability, and that's to the creativeness of budget and finance, and I appreciate them. And I appreciate you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner Butler. Motion carries.

The next item is related to the sheriff's office. This is two items, item four and five on the list. So when we, we've originally presented to you, to the court, so again here, the 2% target reduction was not met. So in order to achieve a 2% reduction for the sheriff, the sheriff would have had to cut an additional $10,311,265 In this case, less the clothing item recommendation that we brought forward. So one of the things that we talked about was reducing the overtime budget again by another three million dollars. to budget and then budget for it again in the ops contingency in the event that that line item does go over. We also looked at the clothing line item to move that back down to fiscal year 2026 levels. So overall, our recommendation was to approve the reduction of $3 million across the SO overtime line items and increase the ops contingency by $3 million and approve the reduction of $209,846. Now since this time, I did reach out to the sheriff and we were able to connect. And he indicated to me that rather than having the reduction of the 209,846, that we reduce the $3 million further by that 209,846 and leave that amount in the ops contingency. He did want me to inform you that he felt that he needed to preserve the uniform funding because of the need for the uniform personnel, and it was also included in the contract. So with that, I'm gonna pause. I know that he may be in the audience today, or someone else can address that particular clothing line item, but that is the information that I've received related to this particular recommendation or reduction.

Good afternoon, Judge, Commissioners. Welcome. I'm here to address the uniform issue. As the budget and finance pointed out, the uniforms, not only are we in need of uniforms, of course, we wear them daily. The contract that was agreed upon with the county, the sheriff, and the association does require a certain number of uniforms to be issued to each individual officer and deputy. If you have any questions, I'm here to answer them for you.

Questions?

Judge, commissioners, the only thing I would note, and I agree completely that the contract says how many uniforms will be issued to everybody. I will tell you by increasing the overtime and decreasing the clothing, I do believe you're really not likely to get the net effect because already we're seeing that the sheriff is exceeding his overtime budget. So even though we'll be decreasing the overtime budget, we have seen that it's not being applied in actual practice. We do have a study underway. We do think we will be able to address a lot of the issues that caused the overtime in this next year. So I think that's how we will remedy it, but I just want to make the court aware that that's what's happening currently.

And the way I would address that is the fact that we are making attempts to reduce the overtime. We have a number of steps in place to try to reduce it as much as possible. However, the reason you see the overtime being used is because there is a need for our personnel to be present to continue the full functions of the jail.

And I would agree, Chief, they have been making serious efforts to try to minimize the use of overtime.

So, Carmen, the recommendation would be to maintain the 209-846 in the uniform line item, but reduce that from the three manly and ops contingencies?

That was one of the considerations, but certainly what our Chief Administrator just indicated, the that would mean that we would have less money in the overtime items. So just right now, our overtime as budgeted in the recommended book is $11,136,353. So if we took $3 million from that, that would bring that down to $8,136,353. So I mean, if you don't approve the reduction, that will just add to our impact and if you keep the $3 million for the overtime, which is, again, what we've been monitoring all year to try to come within budget. I do agree with Ms. Keller that we are going to do the study and hopefully that will garner some improvements and some additional reductions in the overtime. I think the decision is whether or not to keep the clothing line item. at 209-846, which has been requested. We can keep the overtime at the three million, and then again, we monitor that throughout the year like we've been doing.

Okay, welcome. Yes, Emmanuel Soria, Chief Deputy for the Law Enforcement Bureau. I just wanted to chime in with Chief Gailey as far as with the uniforms. It is a great impact with the amount of money that is supposed to be decreased. So I would ask for any support. If you think about every officer, every detention officer having to replace their uniforms as we go along, and it's on a replacement plan, right? But at the end of the day, it does create a big impact with the amount of money that that is to be reduced if it goes on. On the law enforcement side, I will say we are finding ways also to decrease the overtime. But again, there's special operations that we have to do as part of working with the community, DWI enforcement. We have Labor Day coming up. So there's a lot of things that we don't have a standalone DWI unit, as the Sheriff has mentioned. But unfortunately, like I said, the community still depends on that safety factor. We are trying to make cuts wherever we can as far as overtime, but there are some instances where we can't. But we do pledge to work with Commissioners Court in that sense.

So judge, commissioners, the motion would be if you want to do as proposed from Sheriff Ugarte.

Let me, commissioner. Yeah, the active motion, though, I'm confused. I don't understand that that's what they were asking. It doesn't include the 209K.

We were asking if the court does not want to reduce $209,000 from clothing, and the sheriff said increase the reduction from overtime. Make the $3 million, $3,209,846. Okay. That's not what I see on the motion, though.

I get it.

So that would be the proposed motion if the court wants to leave the requested increase to clothing? They requested an increase of $209,846. Budget was proposing don't give them that increase. The sheriff's saying instead take that from my overtime.

So reduce the overtime by 3.209K.

Yes, sir. So it'd be $3,209,846 reduction to overtime.

I'm okay with that because, you know, we need to honor the contract as much as possible. We've already voted on that issue and so I'm

Is the court interested in that motion?

I would so move. I would second that.

Okay. The motion is approve the reduction of $3,209,846 to the sheriff's overtime. Correct? Yes, sir. Is that going into ops contingencies?

To ops contingencies. Okay. I just want to make sure that that's... By the equal amount.

The full $3.209 million? Yes. Okay. Okay. I just want to make sure that's correct because it was, I thought they were increasing it to the overtime.

No, sir. So it's a reduction, but we're saying leave it over in ops contingencies in case we have a need for it.

All right. I get it now.

That way it's still available if it's needed.

I so move.

I'll second.

Okay.

Yes.

We have a motion from Commissioner Coronado, second from Commissioner Holguin. Voting is open. Motion carries.

Thank you.

Thank you, Commissioner. Thank you, gentlemen.

So then we don't have to take action on item five, which was the closing item? Correct.

The next item that we have is JPD. After consideration, due to the urgency and the critical nature of the security requests that have been included in the budget, the chief administrator requests that the JPD be accepted as proposed and adopted by their board. I just will note that the additional requests that were included in the JPD budget included $175,000 for three additional positions for the Sheriff's Office to man the facility, and then $300,000 for capital. And I would add that the Sheriff's Office completed a comprehensive security evaluation recently and recommended these items to strengthen security measures at the detention facility. And so what we are asking today is to approve the JPD budget as approved by the JPD board on July 16, 2026. And then we add three new positions to JPD on their staffing table, either at the sheriff's office or JPD. to address the security staff and needs identified by the Sheriff's Office security analysis. So we would work with JPD and Human Resources to determine where those positions need to lie, but we would ask that the court approve the addition of those three positions.

So the total impact would be $475,000.

Actually, the impact, they did submit a reduction in their budget of $58,000. That's why I put no budgetary impact here because it's already included in their budget. Again, we entered the budget at last year's levels. And so that's a pending adjustment that we would have to make in the proposed book. And so that's why the motion is the way it is, is that you would approve the budget as they submitted it, but recognize that we'll have to add three positions to their staffing table.

And the capital.

And the capital, yes ma'am, and the capital.

But that was in their budget that they submitted. Yes, ma'am. OK.

It's not in our recommended budget, correct, Carmen? Correct. So you'll see an increase. And when we bring it back, it will be an increase. And it's included in that beginning chart, I believe, correct, Carmen?

Yes. There was a reduction that they submitted of $58,000. But again, we still have two divisions that we have to submit pending the verification. But overall, we would just accept their budget as they've submitted it. which includes the capital, includes those $175,000 for those three new positions.

The impact is $475,000 minus the $58,000 reduction. All right.

The impact is... To the recommended. To the recommended is the 58,000 reduction. They submitted a budget to us that reflected a $58,000 overall reduction. Yes.

But in the proposed book, Carmen, I thought we put this current year's budget in here. Right, so... She's asking the difference between this one and recommended.

$58,524.

which is back here pending adjustment to their budget but the new positions the three new positions in the capital request those are going to account for those yeah those were not included in the recommended book but they are included in jpd's budget that is now going to go into our recommended book correct so that's still going to be an impact into our recommended book

Yes. Okay.

Judge, may I? It's a 300,000 capital addition for specific or it's just to add to their CIT budget?

No, it was a specific request. They had specific line items.

It's part of the security improvements.

Okay.

That were identified from a specific issue and that we need to address.

So they had asked for an x-ray inspection system and body security screening system. So those two items totaled.

The other question I have is that they're trying to engage in a collaboration over the mental health issue. Is that part of next year's budget with?

I'm not aware of that.

Betsy, you're aware of that.

Say that again, Commissioner?

Yeah, the collaboration with respect to the mental health issues. The collaborative if with one of the state reps, it's doing it.

This this has to do with a different matter.

No, I'm just asking. I know it's a different matter. I'm just asking is there that if that other amount is there an amount already in that proposal or waiting till the following budget year? Because that hasn't been instituted.

If we're talking about the same proposal, I think, for residential treatment, that is separate from this. And it's separate from their budget.

Right. Has that been included already in their budget?

No, sir.

It has not?

No, sir. That is a major ask, and they're asking for opioid funds.

Right.

And we have recommended that that be right now channeled through either our opioid notice of funding opportunity or brought to the court as a special consideration and a reduction of funds available for that other process.

And I think that should be like a... primary importance for our state delegation to ask for this coming session.

And so that's, we're hoping that they will be able to pull down some funding, but they're going to also want some county funding.

Okay. Thank you.

And that is not in the budget as of yet, but you all may choose to use some opioid funding for that.

Is there a reason why, I know we talked about this briefly last week, but the $300,000 for capital that GPD is requesting, that wouldn't be taken out of the CIP budget that we just approved?

Yes, ma'am. So the reason Chief Medina said unless she could be guaranteed that funding right now, that she wants to leave it in her request, So we just left it in. We definitely have more need than we have funding. So we left it in in this request. If the court wants to... recommend back to JPD to take it out of their budget, proposed budget, and for us to fund it, we could look at doing that. We've also looked to see if there's any previous debt issuances that have been not used in full that could be used as well. So we have a couple options if the court wants to ask JPD to go back and reduce their budget request by $300,000.

Well, but we just approved the 2.4 million additional to CIP.

Yes, ma'am.

Are there any other departments that we took out their CIP requests?

Nobody else was given CIP directly that I'm aware of. Carmen, are you aware of anybody getting CIP directly?

The only department that is getting CIP was purchasing, purchasing as a separate board, and they took other reductions in other areas. But we do allow other departments, if they go through the process of requesting 600-311 funds, we will look at that.

I don't think we gave anybody those funds on budget, did we?

No, ma'am. We did not. We did not.

Are you suggesting commissioner that JPD make that 300,000 capital request through the CIP process rather than specifically included in their budget?

I was thinking out loud. I think because JPD has a separate board and a separate process for approving their budget, I think I'm okay with the CIP request. I just want to make sure that we're fully accounting for all of the CIP somehow. So it's not just the 2.4 million, it's the additional requests from these other departments.

So the way, it's almost like an accounting transaction. We normally put all the CIP money in one fund, but in this case, we won't. We'll put the 7.4 million approximately in our CIP fund. And then what we do is when we award it out, we move it from our fund into those departments so they can do their requisition. In this case, it'll be budgeted directly in CIP, in JPD, and then next year it'll be zeroed out. after they spend the $300,000. I went back and forth when we were discussing whether we try to push JPD. We went back and forth, too, but it's the fact that they have to go back to their whole board. It's a process. And the fact that we're still only funded at 40% of our CIP, which even when we had 100% of our CIP, it did not meet all of our operational CIP needs. So we thought this is really not even 5% of our CIP that leaving it in and not having to go back to the board. So we did kind of thinking out loud, just like what you are, we did the same thing and came to the same conclusion, like leave it in, let's see if the court wants to ask them to go back.

Yeah.

Judge, I'm sorry. I don't know if you're finished, Commissioner. I am. Judge, one other thing. One other thing I remembered, Betsy, with respect to the JPD's welding program.

That is a major request, and we have that coming back as part of our capital reallocation here in a couple weeks.

Okay. I just want to make sure we were still on that.

Yes, sir.

Thank you.

Again here, is there a motion, yes?

The motion is to approve the JPD budget as approved by the JPD board on July 16th and add the three new positions to JPD to address security standing needs.

Cesar, could the budget be, I mean, could the motion be very clear? Because we run into issues on our end implementing JPD or sheriffs. Normally those security positions will be on the sheriff's JPD security side or on security. But they are for JPD. For sheriffs to provide additional security positions. So adding three new positions to JPD or sheriff's office for the purpose of security for JPD.

Okay, so to add three new positions to JPD or Sheriff's Office to address the security standing needs identified by the Sheriff's Office security analysis. Yes.

Thank you. For JPD.

For JPD. Okay, we have a motion to approve from Commissioner Coronado and a second from Judge Samaniego. Voting is open. Motion carries.

Thank you. The next items that we have is for our salary and staff considerations. I'm going to turn that over to Mr. Sam Trujillo.

Thank you Carmen. Good afternoon commissioners. Sam Trio with the Human Resources Department. So the fiscal year 27 budget process actually began the day after the Commissioner's Court adopted the 2026 budget in September of 2025. Since then, the Human Resources Department has worked and presented throughout the year on compensation, benefits, retirement, staffing, and other personnel-related matters. And we brought those items forward for the court's review and direction. Today we want to focus on the HR items that remain pending from last week's budget hearing. And before we begin, I would like to take just a moment to recognize and thank departments throughout the county that work to reduce their budget and identify savings. That is significant because those efforts put the county in a better position to consider employee compensation, including COLAs. and step increases which have not been approved since 2023. The proposed fiscal year 27 budget currently includes a 1.5% COLA and a step increase for eligible employees effective January 3rd, 2027. Today's presentation will outline the fiscal impact of alternative COLA levels for the court's consideration. At last Monday's meeting, the court also provided staff with direction on a few additional items and the Human Resources Department has reviewed that direction and is prepared to bring those matters forward today for the court's consideration. Today's presentation will focus on four specific items. Employee COLA and step increase for eligible employees on the step plan. 4% COLA for positions not on a step plan, like AgriLife in particular, retiree COLA payment options, and the hiring waiting period implementation policy. These items will be presented today by our HR manager, Valeria Fernandez.

Good afternoon, Judge Commissioners. Valeria with the Human Resources Department. We presented a version of this slide last week, and this shows the five-year history of steps in COLUS for both county employees and those under the collective bargaining agreement and the deputy constable compensation policy. Included in the current recommended budget is a step increase and 1.5% COLA for county employees and the salary increases for employees within the sheriff's office who are subject to the CBA as well as employees on the deputy constable pay scale in accordance with the respective agreements and policies. As Sam stated, these increases would be effective the first full pay period in January, 2027. Item 7A for your consideration is regarding employee salaries. The column in yellow on this slide indicates the impact, 9.2 million, referenced on the previous slide and which places the minimum wage at $15.73. The following four columns are options that were requested by the court last week to be presented. Below the second black bar indicating the option letter is the increase in COLA from the current recommendation, the new minimum wage associated with that increase, and the estimated budgetary impact of that option. For example, the last column indicates a 3.25% COLA and SEP, which would take the minimum wage to $16. The impacts have been provided by the budget and finance department. We're so thankful for them. And the 3.25% COLA option would have an impact of approximately $1.7 million. Please note that should the court vote for any options between B and E, this will be a new budget impact. The action item on this slide is listed at the bottom of the screen, and we welcome the court's discussion at this time.

So option E, for example, would be an additional 1.7 impact in addition to the 9.2. Yes, that's correct. That's already included in the recommended budget. Yes, ma'am.

The 9.2 is already included.

Betsy? Yes, sir. And with that 1.7 million, you're saying we could take it out of the fund balance?

Yes, sir. So all of these in total?

Next year we'd have to,

It actually isn't out of fund balance, let me clarify. All of these increases in total will lower your fund balance. Right. So, or you can increase taxes, one or the other. But overall, your fund balance, which we don't have the slide in this presentation, but we provided it last week. your fund balance as of last week, which is still, it's always moving while we're going through and transactions are happening, but last week it was over 15%.

Yeah, and I think the court's done a very good job in making sure we build that back up, because we were really getting very, very low on it.

Yes, sir.

And now not only are we complying with our policy, we're one and a half times the policy.

you're exceeding, the policy is 10 to 15%. And you'll recall that really is a product of what you did last year. So last year when you adopted the tax rate that you did, which was the tax rate from 2024, we talked about don't allocate it all. And that really helped restore your fund balance. So, that's why you're at the 15% fund balance. This will lower that slightly if you don't increase taxes. All of these changes combined will lower that fund balance slightly. And I'm sorry, I don't have my computers being worked on right now. But the total, can you go to the slide, Carmen, that shows overall impact of fund balance? if everything were improved at the high end? 0.52%, half a percent. So you would be probably just under 15% if you approve everything at the high end. And that also includes new revenue that the auditor has projected. If you go to lower end impact of the COLA, it's a 0.34% fund balance reduction. I feel very comfortable where we're at. I would recommend the court consider fund balance reduction versus adding the tax because I believe next year you're going to have to really evaluate your budget because you're going to have a lot of added operations coming on. You're gonna have your animal shelter, your new park improvements. You're gonna have new medical examiner's office, things like that coming on in the next fiscal year. And so we may need some funding to support those operations. So I would highly recommend not having to make a tax rate impact this year.

I'll go ahead and make the motion to approve option E. I brought this up last week. I really think that the commissioner's court should continue to try to push up the minimum wage. It's still not even a living wage. In El Paso County, we're still behind the ball when it comes to actually being a living wage. WE ASKED UMC TO DO SO AS WELL. IT'S MUCH EASIER TO DO IT INCREMENTALLY THAN TRYING TO JUMP FROM 15 AND A HALF TO $18 MINIMUM WAGE IN A YEAR OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT WE APPROVE OPTION E.

I'm with you, Commissioner. My issue is ordinarily I wouldn't want to do those increases out of fund balance, but because last year, actually last year, we went without giving our employees a raise in order to increase our fund balance. And I think it's very healthy now, and I think it's probably prudent to do that. The problem I still see with it is that next year, we're going to need... probably higher on the maintenance and operations side because of all the other projects that we've approved that we're building right now that's really going to provide a big jump you know to our maintenance and operations so i i'm with you on that i don't know whether we should do it out of fund balance or or maybe we do i don't know part that's the issue for discussion is just

Yeah, I mean, I think we have a very healthy fund balance. Again, work that's been done over a number of years, right? And I think it was two years in a row that we actually forego, we had foregone giving increases to our- To 23. To our staff, right? Some other things like provide extra extra days extra days off. To try and to try and make up for some of that, but. You know, last year we we made the decision to increase by a pin and a half. To to bulk up our fund balance to have to have a cushion. And I just want to remind the public that we we not only did we. to make that increase, but also voted to increase the INS side of our tax rate by a penny and a half to pay for the bonds. And the tax rate, we purposefully reduced the tax rate the year before to make up for the space.

We reduced it by twice that much, by 3%.

And if I can add to this, just as a clarification. So the last time we gave an increase, we also made it effective in January, I believe. So it will be three years since the employees have had an increase. And with this, 1.75% more. That's an increase over what we have in the budget, which is 1.5. It'll be a 3.25% cost of living adjustment, which does raise the pay scales, which is extremely helpful across all of our pay scales for recruiting, because that's the entry-level wage that we normally advertise. And so this brings that up. The other thing I would mention is the 3.25% is still less than the consumer price index has changed over 12 months. And when you look at what it's changed in the last three years, it's been 9.1% it's changed since the last time we gave an increase. So I don't think it's out of line or unusual, the amount, but it does get you up to the $16 minimum wage that you all previously discussed.

Yeah, that says barely a little over 1% each year since we gave them a raise.

So motion, so motion.

And I'm just, just to clarify the motion for the record, if that's okay, Commissioner, sorry. So just to make sure it's clear, it would be to approve for the proposed fiscal year 27 budget through, no?

Well, 1.5% is already in.

Right, so we're doing 3.25, okay. a 3.25% COLA and a step increase for eligible employees on a step plan effective the pay period beginning January 3rd, 2027. This increase excludes employees covered under collective bargaining agreement pay scales, judiciary pay scales and positions with compensation established or governed by the statute.

AND IT ALSO EXCLUDES ELECTED OFFICIALS.

AND ALSO EXCLUDES ELECTED OFFICIALS.

THANK YOU. NOT JUST THOSE EMPLOYEES COVERED BY THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT BUT EXCLUDES THE CONSTITUENTS BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT TECHNICALLY UNDER COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT, RIGHT?

RIGHT.

THEY'LL GET THE SAME AMOUNT PER POLICY.

I AM SUPPORTIVE OF RAISING OUR MINIMUM WAGE TO $16 AN HOUR. It's an inevitability that we have to increase our minimum wage and take care of every employee at the county. I for all of these action items that we're taking today, my preference is not to increase taxes at all and to stick with the no new revenue rate. So I'm supportive of it conditionally.

um as long as we can um uh keep the preference to to that um to reduce fund balance the fund balance yeah and this motion doesn't doesn't state where it's coming from we'll have to make that vote later but i think i don't i don't think i've heard anybody on the on the on the dais say that we want to raise the we want to change the from going from the new revenue rate

Right, I just wanna put that out there.

Yeah, and I know that in the upcoming slides, we also have the proposed increase to the retirees, and I think that's very, very, very important. So that's an additional, that's going to be an additional impact. But we can't leave our retirees behind either.

We have a motion from Commissioner Stout, second from Commissioner Coronado. Voting is open. Motion carries.

Before we move on, Judge, Commissioners, I know, you know, Norma mentioned earlier that all employees are not here to speak to the court directly. But even just right here along the line, I heard, yay. I do, and I say this year after year, the court has nine goals and goal number seven is, I'm sorry, goal number, yes, goal number seven is value the county family. But in the actions that you all take, and tough actions, like the one you just took, you send the message all the time that that is one of your number one priorities. So, you know, well, our goals are numbered one through nine, or, you know, you always are sending the message. And I speak on behalf of employees to tell you how grateful we are that you pay attention to wages. It makes it so much easier for us to recruit. It makes us an employer of choice because you do work hard. We go through tough times together, but even then you find ways to reward your employees, and we're incredibly grateful. So thank you.

Thank you, Betsy.

Thank you. Item 7B is also employee salaries, and we're requesting the court to take formal action to include a 4% COLA for agri-life extensions, which receive a supplement from the county. The increases would also be effective the first full pay period in January, and the budgetary impact is already included in the recommended budget.

I move to approve.

Second.

I have no computer.

So Judge, Commissioners, before you vote on this motion, that 4% was based on 1.5 and 2.5 for employees. You just changed the 1.5 to be 3.25. So I don't know, HR, if you have a recommendation on this, but would it then make this the 5.75?

would make the recommendation that it would remain the same as the elected officials which you took action last week to raise their the cost of living four percent and so these are state employees they receive it's a supplement from the county okay motion stands

We have a motion from Commissioner Stout, a second from Judge Samaniego. The voting is open. Motion carries.

Item number eight is the retiree COLA payment options. The retirement plan rate has been presented to the court in previous presentations. For FY2027, the rate is 18.18, which is a decrease of .22 from the previous year. Listed on this slide are two options. The first is no change, and there is no impact for this option. The second is a 1% flat rate cost of living adjustment for retirees. Please note that TCDRS only allows for COLA increases in increments of 1%. This option has a budgetary impact of $582.6 thousand and would also increase the 2027 plan rate to 18.55. Alternatively, the COLA may be pre-funded or paid at one time. This method would be an impact of $8.588 million. Our budget team may provide additional information should the court have any questions on this item. Once again, the action item on this slide is listed at the bottom of the screen, and we welcome the court's discussion at this time.

Thank you. So just to give you some more information on the COLA. So 1% flat rate COLA is the budgetary impact of this year, $582,625, with an updated rate of 18.55. Again, this is not in the budget right now. If the court decided to pre-fund this increase, that would cost us $8,588,650. So what happens is with this 1% flat rate COLA, it is spread over a number of years. It's amortized over a number of years. So for example, the COLA that was given in December 31st, 2021, we still have 11 years of amortization. The one in 22, 12 years, and the one in 23 is 13 years. And so what happens is that they recover the cost for the COLA over a number of years by increasing our rate. So more than likely our rate for, to amortize this 1%, more than likely will impact our rate for 28 and beyond if the plan does not perform within the parameters. So another information item, the average monthly benefit right now is $3,060 per retiree. So if you take 1%, that would be $30.60 increase. But again, that actual increase varies for each retiree. based on their individual monthly benefit plan. So that's just the average amount. So just to give you some more information with regards to funding it on a current year basis or funding it, excuse me, funding it all at the same time or funding each increase over a period of years, okay?

So even if we approve this 1% increase, that's not going to get the retirees to the level they were at in 2025, right? They're still going to be below that level?

So actually it did increase a little bit. They did go up. The average monthly benefit, that might be just employees coming into the plan with more dollars or people leaving the plan with less dollars. But the average monthly benefit has increased. Okay. slightly as well, just through normal attrition.

Okay. And also because our pay rates are going up. Yes. Well, you're actively employed. So they will see, those who are on the plan will see a 1% COLA. Okay.

Right. Right. The employee contribution remains the same. It is going to be 7%. So employees continue to contribute the same amount. but it's just that rate that fluctuates. And as the amortization, as the amortization was the last time you increased a rate of COLA, you gave a COLA, it was in 2023, and you see on this slide that the rate was coming down as that rate was smoothed out, right? You see the raise coming down. But now that if you give a raise, your rate's gonna go up to 1855 potentially, and we'll finalize that. But I'm pretty sure that that's the rate that it's gonna be at. And so that costs more money for our budget.

And are y'all recommending we do it also from fund balance?

So Commissioner, all of these changes we're recommending, it lowers your fund balance, but everything you're doing in your, it's a culmination of everything you're putting in your budget. Okay. So we're bringing you, we will bring you back a recommended budget with a slightly below 15% fund balance, unless anything else changes on the revenue side. So if the auditor makes any other changes on the revenue side or if we get ‑‑ if the court approves ‑‑ for example, if the court approves an unplanned grant match, that will reduce your budget as well on your ‑‑ it will reduce your expenses, reduce fund balance. So those are things that we'll be continuing to track through September 30th that can also impact your final adopted budget. But it's everything in total. And this is in the numbers that Carmen presented as the overall overview.

I so move.

For the 1%? For the 1%. Yes, I second.

And so I'm just going to read that in very quickly. So it would be to approve for the proposed fiscal year 27 budget a payment option for the retiree payment of a COLA of 1%, 1% flat rate COLA. Okay.

We have a motion to approve from Commissioner Coronado, a second from Commissioner Olguin. Voting is open.

And I just want to point out that these increases that we're doing this year, whether it's cost of living or STEP, for employees and retirees or for our sheriff's association is because of the difficult decision that this court made last year. It was not a unanimous decision and I would like for folks to understand that this is why sometimes we have to make these decisions. It's important for us to continue to help make sure that our employees are paid the way we feel they should and compensated the way we feel they should, even our retirees. And I, for one, have always voted to pay for the things that I have voted to be included in the budget.

Your vote, Judge. Thank you, Sir. Motion carries.

Item number nine is to receive direction on the hiring waiting implementation policy. As previously presented, the FY26 salary savings from quarter one and quarter two was 4.2 million, which is directly attributable to the policy. So that was calculated off of all of the positions that are subject to the policy that remain vacant for that 16 week period. And it backed out those vacancies which are exempted, such as the collective bargaining, your CBA positions, or those that are not statutorily required. And just one correction to point out, that first bullet, it should say October 2025, not 2026. In reviewing salary savings as a whole, there are a number of factors that affect why positions may remain vacant that are not tied to the required 16-week waiting period. For example, positions may be difficult to fill because there's a limited pool of qualified candidates for those positions, or departments may be evaluating their structure and submit a request for a reclassification. On this slide, we showed the calculations provided by the Budget and Finance Department of the overall salary savings. So these amounts at the bottom do include those positions which may not be subject to that waiting period. For the past two fiscal years, an estimated savings for FY26. Please note that the amounts are from general fund. Again, it includes those positions which may not be subject to that waiting period. The action item on this slide is listed at the bottom and we welcome the court's discussion at this time.

How is the process going for those who wish to get an exemption from the 16-week hiring?

That's a great question, Commissioner. So I do have a few metrics here. Since the policy was implemented, we've received 140 requests. Of those, 13 were either not needed or withdrawn, meaning they filled from within, as that is one of the exceptions. We have received requests from 24 departments. and we've received approvals. The committee has worked diligently. They typically meet at least once every other week, sometimes a little less. There's been 27 denials and 93 that have been approved or partially approved since implementation.

If I could just comment. You'll notice that we've approved either partially or fully a majority of the requests. I think it's because the committee does recognize that these are important positions. While we are trying to save as much as we can in salaries, we also don't want the departments to forego very needed employees. So I think, though, to Commissioner Coronado's point last week, we may want to look at maybe reducing the period because 16 weeks is, you know, that is, like you mentioned, a third of the year. So I think it's important to continue the policy to try to continue to reduce and save salaries so that we can continue to build up our fund balance. But I would... I would suggest maybe looking at that period and seeing if 16 was maybe too much, because that is hard. It is really hard to ask departments to forego an employee for 16 weeks. I would be okay with maybe reducing it to 12, 12 weeks. Yeah, and I think the committee still, you know, can certainly continue to make partial approvals in certain cases, but I think that'll get us more to a place, because it normally takes departments many weeks anyway to fill a lot of these positions, but at least we lessen the time that these positions remain open.

Judge? I disagree. Do we have the figure on what the savings are without the policy?

We do. What is it? I'm sorry, go ahead. So we do, on the salary savings calculation that you see here on this slide, so in fiscal year 24, we did not have the policy. We didn't have the policy in 25. It actually started on October 1st, 2025. So the natural savings when you compare the budget to the actuals was $12,693,000. in fiscal year 24, and then 25, it dropped to $6,318,000. Included in the fiscal year 26 estimated, again, this is estimating, we think we would say 4% of total salaries and fringes budgeted. 4.2% is directly attributable that we could identify to the 16-week hiring freeze from fiscal year 26 for the first six months of the year when we were specifically tracking that. It's difficult to calculate it because some people may withdraw there. their request, or they just can't find a candidate. It takes a little bit longer. So, you know, I would anticipate that if you looked at 4.2 of the 12.5 million is for the first six months of the year, it is making an impact on, it is making an impact. This policy is making an impact.

Give me a rough estimate. What are we saving per year with the policy? in dollar amounts, not percentages?

Well, if we were to say 4.2 million times two, we would probably say about $8 million because of the policy.

And without the policy?

Without the policy, it's hard to gauge because, you know, it depends on when people are come and go.

So, Carmen, if you take the- Historically, average it out over the last three, four years?

Yes, sir. In FY24, we saved 12.6 million, almost 12.7 with no policy in place. Right. But I want to clarify before I say no policy in place, we always have a policy that says if a person leaves and they have three weeks of vacation, you can't fill the job until after three weeks. Because that would actually have a negative budget impact on us if we allowed that, because we don't budget for more than one full-time person per slot. and you're paying out that vacation. So we always have a wait, regardless of whether there's a hiring waiting period. So we have a policy for that. So in FY24, with no hiring waiting period, we saved 12.7 million. With this year, looking at FY26, I know they're estimating 4%, but if you take ‑‑ if you just take last year where we didn't have it, where we had 6.3 million savings and added the 8.4 million that were projected to save this year, you'd be at about 14.7 million saved. So an increase of at least 2 million over the prior year. So it's a savings, there is an impact every year to having a extra waiting period. You already have some weight by policy.

My opinion is we either need these people or we don't. Either we need them or we don't. Let's just save money and let's cut everybody's salary every year a certain percentage every other year by a certain amount. That's what we're doing, each department.

This is a tool we've used, Commissioner, to help us with budget and with really tight financial times. It's better than laying people off. I would rather have a vacancy than lose a position. So that's a tool we have used to help us with budget during tough, tight times.

I get it, but we're already exhibiting some savings without that policy. And now what we're doing is we're hand-stringing people in some departments from filling those positions that they need. Do we need them or we don't need them?

If you went to a eight-week or, you know, just as an option, too, if you went to an eight-week hiring waiting period, what that would do is eight weeks is the maximum amount of vacation someone can have based on our vacation accrual rates. So eight weeks, already some people have to wait eight weeks to fill a position right now by policy. If you went to eight weeks, that would just apply that policy across the board, whether they have vacation or not. And it would lower your savings some, but it would still ensure that we're getting at least that eight weeks on every vacancy. Twelve weeks would be somewhere in the middle between where we are and the eight weeks, but the eight weeks is something the departments sometimes have to do now with the person who leaves, has been here a long time, max accruals. That's the maximum rule someone can carry.

I, I, yeah, I think, I don't think we're in a place yet where we should get rid of the policy completely, but I definitely think that we can reduce the number of weeks. Maybe between the eight and the 12, maybe 10 is the, you know, the, the middle ground.

That would be for the eight weeks minimum. I don't want to go any further above that. I really think where our priorities are. When we decide whether these positions that we have, whether we need them or we don't, then if we decide we need them, then we need them, period. We need to find the savings somewhere else. Sorry, but we either need them or we don't need them.

I will share one positive thing about our hiring waiting period. I do see more employees get promoted internally because you're not subject to the waiting period if you select someone internal. And so even in my office, we're working on a position right now, and there's an internal applicant, and it's very inviting because we would be exempt from the 16-week waiting period if you promote internally.

and the smaller the department is, the more they hurt. So what we're doing is hurting the smaller departments and the ones that are really critical, like for example, you know, all the judges courts. Those are obviously necessary, right? But commissioner's court in the past actually kept the hiring freeze on court reporter and we got sued. And we lost. I'm just saying.

I think we should reduce the waiting period to eight weeks. I'd be fine with eight weeks. And I think that, you know, keep in place the review committee and demonstrates a little bit of constraint in hiring quickly and also help to boost some savings.

Norma? Go ahead, go ahead.

Norma Favela Barceló, your district clerk, was not invited up this time, but I really need to address this matter. While the 16-week hiring, and I'm calling it a hiring freeze, okay, it was implemented on August 4th of last year. And while the salary savings, they look so good on paper, you all, I get it, I understand, but the other side of the coin is the negative effect that it has had on departments like the district clerk. The district clerk is a constitutionally required office. It's the hub for criminal civil family cases. We are the support system to the courts, law enforcement, jail, attorneys, county attorney, district attorney, you name them, and the general public. You've asked us and put us in such a bind. Operationally, we cannot sustain the operation this way. Four months out of 12 months, that's one third of the fiscal year, you've put the crunch on us that I cannot staff the department like I'm supposed to. While business as usual, courts are still having their hearings. They're still having their trials. Arrests are still being made. Inmates still need to be moved out. Paper-ready inmates need to be moved out. Ladies and gentlemen, the ones that are moving them out are the district clerk's office. We prepare those judgments. We get them signed. We get the paper ready to submit to the sheriff. We need to get them out. Why? Because that leaves beds vacant for the feds to pay us to house their inmates. When I see here that you're saying you cannot really tie the vacancies directly to the 16-week hiring freeze, I am here to tell you I have lost more people during this fiscal year for being overworked, they're going to other departments where they're getting paid more money for less work, or they leave for the same amount of money but less work. I am losing the historical knowledge, the experienced senior staff. I just lost an experienced senior staffer to another department at the same pay, but less work. Now, I get it that the reductions, the savings, and everything, but you are crippling the constitutionally required offices from doing their job. The wait time for customers, it's getting long. E-filing, which I'm supposed to turn around in 24 hours, is not being turned around in 24 hours. Everything is coming to a screeching halt. The morale is horrible in the office. I can't keep overworking people. They're leaving me. They're leaving. They've had enough. Now, you've got managers and supervisors that instead of doing their work and leading, being leaders in their divisions, they are rushing the workers to work. More mistakes are being made. And that's the other side that I'm asking you all to look at. I asked last year for an exemption. I asked to be exempted. It fell on deaf ears. There was a court order by the local administrative judges that was not heeded to. I have to support the courts and law enforcement and attorneys, and you all could not exempt me. Now, yes, it takes about eight weeks to find qualified staff. That is absolutely a more, because we were doing it in fiscal year 2024 when there was $12.6 million savings. Yes, we comply. We never spend more than we're supposed to spend. We never take actions that are outside of the parameter that has been established for us as elected officials, as departments with respect to our budget. We never have done that. We're gonna continue abiding by it. But what has happened also is when we find qualified people to come in, you really think they're gonna wait four months to accept the job offer? They're not accepting it. A month, they're not accepting it. So I ask that you all please, please, if that's all we're gonna get is an eight-week delay, So be it. But I ask of the hiring committee that those vacancies that are filled and that new applicant does not complete its six months probationary period, please don't make me go through the song and dance again. I have had to submit four to five requests on the same vacancy that was never, ever completed over the six months probationary period. The average is 11 weeks to wait after someone tenders their resignation. And I've not seen such an exodus of staff leaving since this hiring freeze. When you said that you all were sued and you lost, you can't push constitutionally required offices into a corner. We're working with you all, we're doing everything that we can, but there comes a time where you can't keep doing this and we are failing at our statutory requirements. So I ask that, I ask for an exception to that rule. May not get it, but we also need to tweak the process. And hiring committee, Commissioner Orlean, You all, and Commissioner Stout, you all work so hard. I don't know where you find the time. And everything that we submit you all, the backup that we submit to justify, to request a vacancy waiver, it contains all of the stats of how busy that position is. It's exhausting. And if it's exhausting for us, and my staff is being pulled away from the things they really need to do, I can't imagine the hiring committee. Please, help us.

Judge, we appreciate your feedback. Judge?

Yes. And, you know, and it's not just departments like Norma's. It's departments like even smaller. It's the county clerks. It's, for example, the offices of all the JPs. They're smaller departments. So when somebody... vacates that position, it really stresses that organization there, that department. It is, you know.

So instead of operating at 100%, which is the staffing that you all have allotted for the district clerk's office, I'm operating sometimes between 80 and 90% of the staffing. 80 to 90% instead of being full 100% staffing the operation. We can't sustain it, you all. We cannot sustain it.

And it wasn't this court who did that, by the way. It was many years ago.

Well, yeah, I understand. And I was here. I've only been here 41 years with the county. I can tell you where the bodies are buried. Don't tell the sheriff.

I think you all know I've been here practicing for about the same time.

Yes, yes, sir. But please, you've got to see the other side of the coin. And that's the struggle of the departments. And yes, there's other, tax assessor, county clerk, sheriff, JPDs, all of us. So thank you for letting me share with you all.

Thank you for your feedback.

Judge, I think Betsy's suggestion for the eight weeks to make sure that all vacation, potential vacation time is paid out is a reasonable next step. And then we can always come back and look at the hiring waiting freeze again, just depending on how things are going. So I would move to reduce it to eight weeks.

We'll have Commissioner Gruden, I'll second.

Is that?

We'd like to be, but I'll second it. I wish we could just get rid of it and whatever savings we get from the vacancies, as long as it takes, I think that's what we should do.

And Judge Commissioners, this item is to receive direction.

This will give us, I mean, they can act on it. They're posted for action, so they can act. And the next question is, when do you want this change to be effective? Immediately? I would say so. I would say immediately.

All right, so that would be reduce the hiring waiting period implementation policy to eight weeks effective immediately. That's correct.

And at this point, we would like to turn the presentation back to Carmen to finish the reading. Oh, we need a vote, sorry.

I'm sorry.

Go ahead.

Okay, the motion is to amend the hiring freeze waiting policy period to eight weeks effective immediately. We have a motion from Commissioner Olguin, a second from Commissioner Coronado. Voting is open. Aye. Thank you, Judge. Motion carries.

Thank you all so much. Thank you, Judge Commissioners. I'll turn this back now to Carmen.

Thank you. Thank you, Norma.

Okay, item number 10. This is to exclude the county attorney from the approved 4% COLA for county elected officials from the proposed 2027 budget at her request. And also this action item would also cause us to revise the public notice that we will be publishing in the newspaper reflecting that change. So it was originally approved by Commissioner's Court on August 10th, item 10B, And it reflected a 6,795 increase effective January 3rd, 2027. I've got a question for the

Elected official salaries that we had a discussion on last week, including the county attorney salary, was that supposed to go into effect as of October 1st or as of January 3rd, like the rest of the increases?

It's for January 3rd. The way you all were presented the motion, it's effective January 3rd.

Yeah, I mean, I'd just like to point out that there's been a ton of public misinformation. I mean, at worst, not knowing what the heck's going on in Commissioner's Court and people misinforming the public, or at best that, or at worst, just outright trying to sully the reputation of members of the Commissioner's Court for for quote unquote voting to suppress other elected officials and other county employees salaries because we didn't get it. So I really would like the record to reflect that any increases that were going to be given to elected officials would not start until January. So Commissioner Coronado and I, the two members of the court that voted against last week's action, it's quite, it's just wrong to be accusing us of.

They've accused us of lining our pockets.

of doing what happened and I really hope that members of the Commissioner's Court who may have differing views about the way that we did things aren't in cahoots with some of these folks and trying to I would just hope that members of the Commissioner's Court would be also respectful and not be working with these members who are unscrupulous members in this community who are trying to misinform purposely and sully, again, the reputation of colleagues of y'alls. And I hope everybody on this Court would stand up and say, you know what, that's not true. You know what, that's not right. when they have conversations with them because to me it's just disgusting to see some of the rhetoric that's been put out there in the last week. If you look at legislative intent, if you look at the discussion that was had during the whole process of talking about salaries, especially when it came to some of the things that I put out there, I propose raising the minimum wage, the action that we just took to increase salaries by 3.25% instead of 1.5 COLA. And the way that the motion was read and the way that the motion was made last week, I think if you go back to the conversation and listen to the intent and how things went down, You know, my vote was absolutely in favor of raising everybody's, you know, the way I voted, I wanted to be clear that I was taking that vote because I really wanted every single salary, whether it was an elected official salary or any other employee salaries to be increased. And I would not have benefited from that increase. And so I hope that folks take that into account.

Yeah, neither you or I would have benefited from that decision. And I think, I really think that going forward, treating everybody similarly situated, I mean, those are the lofty goals of any organization. And yet we are disregarding those things with regard to equity and treating everybody the same.

And I thought it was pretty clear from our discussion that those decisions that we made would go into effect in January, 2027. I thought that was pretty clear, so I'm sorry to hear that you received comments contrary to that. But I know anyone that I spoke to, I always made sure that for all the changes that we made, everyone understood they were going into place in 2027, January 27, not October.

So for this item, I was just going to add in the portion about the publication. So that motion would be to exclude the county attorney from the approved 4% COLA for county elected officials from the proposed fiscal year 2027 budget and update the corresponding publication. Thank you.

And Judge, while we're waiting for the voting to come up, I just wanted to take a moment to thank our county attorney, Christina Chanchez, for doing that, for taking that step. It certainly wasn't something that you had to do, but it really shows your character and your leadership, the fact that you are doing it. So thank you.

We have a motion from Commissioner Olguin, a second from Commissioner Butler. Voting is open. Judge, your vote. Aye. Thank you, Judge. I don't know why mine's not, there we go. There it is, thank you. Motion carries.

Thank you. The next item is item 11, and this is to consider restoring overtime levels requested by constable number one. So during the budget process, the requested budget was specifically related to overtime. It was initially submitted a $3,000 cut from $38,629 in the line item in 26, 35,629 in 27. After subsequent agreement, that amount was lowered, but it still did not meet the 2% reduction. So we reduced the budget further to 22,103, which was a reduction of 4,897, and that was the amount that was appealed. That amount was, that appeal was denied by the chief administrator, And so that now has come here before the court to request to restore to that amount. And this is the same process that was related to item number 12. But all of the other constables did meet their 2% reduction through various means as well as credit for their additional revenue. But in this particular case, constable one is asking to restore the budget from the 22,103 and adding 4,897 specifically to that line item.

We have a motion to approve from Commissioner Coronado, a second from Commissioner Butler. Voting is open.

Aye. Yes, sir.

Thank you, Judge. Commissioner Coronado? Thank you, sir. Motion carries.

Let me just say one thing on that item, Judge. Sometimes some of our constables are asked to, and it's not something from their own choosing, but sometimes they're asked by other departments, including the feds, to assist in certain situations, including EPPD, Sheriff's Office, all, you know, and if they are able to, sometimes, I've talked to some of them, sometimes because they don't have that extra overtime, sometimes they say no. This allows them at least some discretion to be able to help out those other organizations, those other law enforcement departments when they're asked. So I just want to say that. Thank you.

If I could, Judge, I agree that our constables do so much additional work. They all go above and beyond. The reason I'm going to be voting no on these requests is because I don't think it's fair that all of the other constables' offices and every other department, really, except for very few, have met their 2% cut, and that's my hesitancy in restoring these requests, because all of our other constables did have to meet those cuts, as did a large majority of our departments. But it's not because I question the work that the constables do. They do incredibly important work, but we did ask all of our departments to make those 2% cuts.

I believe that was just on one of the items.

Correct. That was just for Constable 1.

Can you bring up the next one, please?

That's the one on the screen right now. For item number 12, we have restoring OT levels requested by Constable Precinct 4 in the amount of $8,711. Do we have a motion? Yes.

I do, but it doesn't seem to be. I don't know why it didn't keep going. Okay.

Is there a second?

So they're asking for their overtime budget to be made whole entirely from what they requested?

No, just the amount of the appeal. They did take a reduction after we, you know, from the time that they initially requested, then they took a reduction. Then we took another reduction because we wanted to get them to the 2%.

They requested $28,247, and then the recommended was $19,536. That to me seems about $9,000.

Are you talking about Constable Four or Constable One? Four. So Constable One did not take any reduction on the, I'm sorry, I was referring to Constable One. I apologize. So Constable Four, they did not request any reduction in their budget. They initially submitted a budget of $28,000 247. We recommended the $8,700 limit cut directly to the overtime line, getting them to $19,536.

Did they cut elsewhere in their budget?

They did not cut expenditure. We gave them credit for revenue. So they didn't cut any expenditures.

Well, because my understanding, and this is only because I met with the precinct one constable, is that they did cut about 1.5% of their budget. And so... That's one of the reasons I was okay with the action before this one. So did the constable of Precinct 4 cut any?

They did not cut any expenditure budget. Precinct 4 did not cut any. They only were looking at a revenue increase. And so that was why we were looking to... to cut their overtime line. That was the only thing that they really have available in their respective cut. They have everything else, it's pretty limited.

Well, in that case, I see it differently than the situation with precinct one constable in various ways.

So is there a second?

I'm hesitating to second Commissioner Coronado. Okay. Do you understand what I'm saying?

I apologize. They did cut $1,200. That's precinct four? Precinct four. Precinct four. I apologize.

How much in percentage?

That would have been .0013. They cut operation expense general and clothing. So they cut... Those are the two items that they cut. Operation expense general by $611, clothing $603. So that was the only thing that they cut. specifically, and then they had revenue increases. So there was that gap, and we took it from the overtime line item.

It doesn't look like there's a second then. Yeah. That's good.

If there is no second, then the motion dies for lack of a second.

Okay. Shall I move on? Next item? Okay. The next item is the fire marshal operations. We've calculated a total costing impact of $500,000 based on a phase-in mid-year implementation.

Carmen, if I can? Yes, ma'am. So judge, commissioners, the court has directed that you all have created the policies. You've directed that we look at how we do this. This is by far not making any decisions on what we do. But this is making sure that we have the funding when we bring back Regardless of what direction you go, whether you bring it in-house and contract it out, it's going to change most likely the flow of funding. So the county would then be the contract manager if we contracted it out to an ESD or to multiple or to another agency. But if you brought it in-house, there'd also be a cost. Either way, there will be a cost, and we need funding to be able to start it up. It will hopefully offset itself eventually, but there is no funding set aside for us to start the operations no matter what direction you go, whether you bring it completely in-house or whether you contract it to another agency to do for you. This is just a different, there's different ways of setting it up. We need to bring those back with the different models. But we know that the in-house staffing, I think the highest cost model is about $900,000. So this would give us the funding for mid-year implementation. Even if you end up going, when we bring it back, if you end up going with a different model, we will need a in-house resource to manage whatever model we go with. So this would allow us to bring back some options for phasing it in, different ways of doing it, getting a subject matter expert on board to help us with those recommendations as far as like the actual staffing for this. So that's why we're asking that this money be set aside for the budget. It does not commit you any way to which direction you go.

So what is the, I mean, do we have an actual budget for these funds? Because I didn't see that in the backup.

No, ma'am. We don't have a breakdown of what we're going to spend this on yet. What we would do is we would start working on different options and bring that back to you. But whatever option you adopt is what we would use this funding towards. One of the things that we might bring back in one of our recommendations based on what we've been looking at and talking about And I will say, this is something that's been a long-term issue for us. We do not have a subject matter expert inside the county. So you all may recall, we have been using budget as our liaison to the ESDs, which has been helpful from a budget perspective. And no offense to Carmen, I think she's brilliant. But if they tell her that a fire truck is supposed to be replaced every three years, We're not the experts in that. We don't know, is that normal? Or if they say, no, it lasts 30 years. We don't know if that's normal. Having a subject matter expert who could tell us what is the best options, what are the What are the things that a fire marshal should be doing? What are the fees that we should be charging? How should it be staffed? Do you need 10 inspectors or do you need three? And even to know that about the ESDs, we don't know that. What is normal?

But I think I'd like to have more consistency. I don't think we've ever said we might do this. Let's come up with some money. And we're right in the middle of trying to understand the situation. And to me, I've talked to both ESD chiefs, and they're still not convinced that's the right thing to do, and I feel like we're already going ahead and saying, well, we're moving in a different direction from the discussions we should be having with you.

The thing is, is you all have adopted the policies that support taking a different approach.

But we agreed that, you know, one of the reasons, and I argued that point, was that don't worry, we're not going to spend money. We're just going to look at this. And now we're budgeting $500,000. And I just feel we're doing it in reverse. I've never seen any time that we say we might do this, let's come up with the money. And so I'm just concerned that it's not a good optics for the discussions we're having with different people trying to figure this out, that we're already moving ahead.

So if I can just explain one thing, Judge. If the option is to still contract with the ESDs to provide fire marshal services, It's an accounting dynamic. You would then be paying the ESDs. instead of the ESDs taxing directly for that. And you would have a contract that would give you control over how they do their fire marshal services. You would have standards that they must meet. You would have reporting.

But Betsy, I think the judge's point, though, is that at least I don't feel like we have already gotten to that step. I feel like we still have a lot of work to do before we get to that step. So I think that's... And I don't mean to speak for the judge, but I feel like that's the point that he's making, is that we're already setting aside money. I thought we were still in having these conversations. I know there was a working group that was put together to try to figure out, because certainly I don't think we want to reinvent the wheel. The ESDs, I think, are our subject matter experts. So we don't want to be duplicating services. But I thought we were still moving through that process of trying to figure out what we want this to look at. And I think...

Commissioners, Judge, I know that this has been an ongoing discussion and the last time we did discuss it, we did talk about budget implications and if we are going to in any way implement and enforce not just a county-wide fire code, which we passed last year, but the outdoor business order, which is a priority for residents in my precinct, we absolutely need a plan. And a plan without a budget will not move the needle on this process at all. And so I really appreciate the opportunity to set aside this funding. We may not need it. We may not need all of it. We might need more of it depending on how the rest of the conversations go and negotiations with the ESDs. But unless we set funding aside, we're not going to be able to implement the outdoor business order, IF THINGS WERE FUNCTIONING PROPERLY, WE WOULDN'T NEED, BUT WE ABSOLUTELY NEED THAT. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I HEAR CONSISTENTLY FROM PEOPLE IN MONTANA VISTA. IT'S A NEED THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED OVER SEVERAL YEARS. WE'VE GONE THROUGH THE WHOLE PROCESS OF IMPLEMENTING NEW POLICIES. We would absolutely love to be able to partner with the ESDs to do this. I've told the fire marshals that myself. But if we don't have any funding set aside, we really are left without an option to implement or enforce any of these codes. And so I think this gives us the flexibility and the option to move the strategic initiative forward. We talked about it during strategic planning. And I appreciate...

OF THE THE WORK THAT THAT'S BEEN DONE TO MOVE THIS FORWARD WE ALSO HAVE ERIKA PLEASE GOOD AFTERNOON JUDGE COMMISSIONERS ERIC ROSALES AND ASSISTANT COUNTY ATTORNEY I JUST WANTED TO ADD ONE NO AS THE COURT KNOWS YOU HAVE ONCE A YEAR THE COURT ADOPTS A BUDGET AND SO YOU ARE YOU'RE REALLY LIMITED TO THE LINE ITEMS WITHIN YOUR BUDGET THROUGHOUT THE YEAR IF THE COURT isn't ready to adopt this line item, I'm not speaking to that, but if the court didn't adopt a line item that would either allow the county to use funds in whatever way it chooses, right? Whether that's like Ms. Keller is saying, being in a local with an ESD or having something in house, or maybe a mix of the two, you would be limited to what you could do. The county doesn't currently have a line item for county fire code enforcement. And so you wouldn't be able to add that this fiscal year, you're only allowed to transfer within existing budget line items or expense funds in the event of emergencies. And so I don't think that the court would be authorized to add this funding until the next budget adoption.

I'm going to make a motion to approve. I think Commissioner.

You know, we've made a decision that we wanted to look forward to make sure that we have a little more input and regulatory authority over these issues that have come up, including these fires we're having out there, these outdoor businesses, all this. If we don't allot money to it, we're not going to be able to decide one way or another. We've already decided that we want to do that. How we do it is a different issue, but I mean, I agree with Commissioner Butler. Even if we don't dedicate that full amount, but we need to take some money so we can start talking about these issues. Otherwise, we're just kicking the can down the road. for another year.

To me, it's the optics, Commissioner Coronado. It's almost like we don't know about this, but we have $500,000 somewhere. And we haven't even concluded what we're going to do. ESD feels very strongly that whatever we're doing, we're duplicating. We don't know if that's a fact. But I just feel like our constituents are sitting, oh, let me just grab $500,000 and see if maybe we might need that money. Typically, the way I've seen it is you make a plan, you make a decision, and then you try to figure out what the budget is for that decision that you've made. I don't think we're there yet to be able to just put $500,000 aside just in case. To me, that's not the way you do things in a business. I mean, we're not there. I was really surprised we hadn't discussed it to the point that it required a budget. And we're still having discussions with two really good partners, the SD partners, and I think to them it also feels like you're already getting ahead. Let you know you haven't heard from us. I don't know. I just feel very uncomfortable that they were going this route.

Because this is funding that would further reduce our fund balance. It sounds like the court from our discussion today is in agreement that these additional expenses that we've been adding today will most likely be taken from the fund balance so that we're not raising taxes on our residents. And 500,000 is a pretty significant amount, I think, from our fund balance for something that we're not exactly sure yet how it's actually gonna happen.

We'll call the vote. Cesar, you want to call the vote?

We have a motion to approve from Commissioner Butler, a second from Commissioner Coronado. Voting is open. Motion carries.

Okay, Judge Samaniego, commissioners, that completes our request for budget considerations. These other items, we did take note when you had the discussion on August 10th, and so we have compiled all of these requests. Certainly if there's others, please do not hesitate to advise us, and we can certainly add these to the list. But these are some of the things that we'll be discussing in going into the new year. and as we continue the work for the county.

Carmen, before we go to these, do you all have the running total based on what the court did approve? It's going to be a little bit less than what the maximum fund balance impact was.

Do you want to say what that is? So the total budget impact is $2,298,722. Okay.

722. And what is that, is an impact to fund balance?

So the impact is, we haven't calculated it, but it's the one that, the only thing that we lowered was 8,711. So it was the fund balance reduction was .52, so I would say it's probably 5.1. And the initial reserve percentage was 15.58. So right around 15 is exactly where we said we're going to be. And, again, we still have a few adjustments. The JPD, the two divisions that we normally add in, any auditor revenues up or down that she may calculate as a result of the property tax, and then, of course, our unappropriated fund balance and any last-minute items that we have, any grant matches that we need to add or take away or so forth, adjust as we move forward to August 31st. So we have about two weeks.

Judge? Since we're on other requests, I do have a request. And I don't know how we should do this, Betsy, but I would like to see if we can dedicate $100,000 to the Economic Impact Fund, dedicate it to both school or scholarships for the Promise Program. That is developing forward. It'll help us with some issues related to either books or some people that don't have the full funding after they apply for financial aid. They have a little gap left. that we provide that extra funding for some of our Promise Program participants. I don't think it's a lot, but I think that the program is growing. We'll have a short video in the very near future. We've actually put it out some now, but we'll bring it back to the court maybe next week or the week after about what's the full impact.

Judge, commissioners, the way you've done that previously, we have done something like that previously. It's not a budget impact. You've actually set aside previously some of your economic impact fund for a specific purpose. And I believe the tie would be workforce development in this particular case. So out of the funding that you're setting aside for your economic impact fund, which we've increased this year, you would set aside $100,000. Is that what you requested, commissioner?

Yes.

You would set aside $100,000 of that existing fund to be utilized for supporting education of participants, whether it be books, scholarships for actual tuition. I've seen it also used for things like Internet access if someone needs it for school. The basic needs, they'd go through a process with CJC to qualify for that funding. Okay. and there would be a process we'd have to set up and bring back. So it's not an additional impact, it'd be carving out a portion of your economic impact fund for that. That's how we got healthy food financing started.

But are you requesting that or are you requesting an additional $100,000 from our fund?

No, no, just that it'd be dedicated out of the fund.

When would we do that?

I've got other ideas that we're gonna be able to get some more money to. without any impact to our budget.

We could bring that back under these other requests. These are all things that we're going to bring back, but we could bring back the language that would allow you to do that, and you would vote on it at that time.

Thank you.

Is there going to be a list after this, I think? Yes, can you go to the next? So these are policy considerations that were brought up during the conversation and are

Thank you. So these are items that were brought up during the discussion on August 10th. And these are policy considerations that we can bring back. First and foremost, our financial policies to tie federal inmate revenue to one-time expenses like economic impact and CIP. We're currently projecting our federal inmate revenue to be about $13 million. And so we've incorporated that into our budget for fiscal year 27. But beginning in fiscal year 28, we could have a financial policy that would begin to reduce the amount of monies that support general fund expenses and then plan to budget the residual in a separate account to support identified one-time projects like CIP or economic initiatives. So this is something that we could bring back in the form of a budget policy for your consideration. The other item is to consider a policy to add two members of the commissioner's court to our CIP procedures. And that was something that was brought up to provide more transparency, more information to the court through their participation. So that would be something that we would bring back through the form of a policy. Some information requests that you requested related specifically to our capital improvement program. You would like for us to provide the following related to CIP, capital improvement plan list, for general fund requests and then requests for previous fiscal year spend on CMP and small allocation allotments. So those are something that we can bring forward to you either on a Thursday meeting or a later meeting with the court to provide you that information. There was another request to provide a breakdown regarding the County Mobility Project as well as provide a breakdown of CRMA. or vehicle registration fee funds. And we do need to reconcile all of the CRMA projects to the actual documents and amendments that have come forward to make sure that we are budgeting appropriately for our obligations under the CRMA. So one of the items that we had identified to carry over was specifically $1,256,250. This is a construction cost for the engineering construction contribution of $2,066,650 to the RMA specifically for the Pelicano construction. Drive Improvement Project. The remaining contribution is budgeted across various line items under GF-EPCMP. This was approved pursuant to the Fifth Amendment for this project approved by the Commissioner's Court on July 28, 2025. And this is one example that we need to go back and we need to make sure that we're covered all of these projects specifically for the CRMA. You also asked to update the CO project specifically for transportation projects and we will do that and bring that back. And you also asked to provide the current cost to maintain the Escarate Duck Pond. Again, we are in the process of gathering that information and we will report out at a later meeting. One of the other things that is critical and important to our budget and- Excuse me, I apologize, Judge Mayer.

Yes. Last week we discussed the issue related to the Darrington amount that was, I didn't see that.

That was the one under CMP, go back up.

It didn't say Darrington though.

It is Darrington.

It is Darrington.

It is?

Yes, it's under- The 1256? Yes, it's under that umbrella. And that's why I was saying we need to reconcile that just to make sure that that is specifically what that project is and that we're actually tying back to all of those amendments and agreements.

Okay.

And it's called by different names. That's why I think we need to be clear about what we're actually budgeting for and under what amendment. Okay. Because it's made up of like engineer costs, architect fees, and so forth, and so we're tying it to different things, and we just want to make sure that we're covering that, especially if we're carrying these monies year over year, because the project is delayed, as in this case.

And is it separate from the Pelicano?

Yes, it is.

Obviously, it's two different roads, right?

It's very specific at CMP Darrington.

Two different roads, right?

It is, but that is how it's labeled. That's the issue for me is it's the way it's labeled. It may be just been carried over from a budget. That's where we originally budgeted for. And that's why I think that I have a concern. We need to do the reconciliation to make sure that we are tying the dollars to the actual budget. Yeah. Okay. One of the things with salary and staffing, moving on to this particular issue, these are some of the things that you brought up. And we wanted to inform the court that we have included in the budget $4,210,055 related to these studies. So these are the things that are planned. Attorney plan review and implementation of those recommendations. the sheriff office staffing study and implementation of recommendations. We're also in the next iteration of the budget, the DIMM shift deferential pay of $175,000. We want to put that into the final proposed budget so that would be in addition to the $4,210,055. We also have some changes for infrastructure support and strategic initiative staffing. So all of those things we hope to accomplish using this budget. We may need to add in, depending on what the outcome and the recommendations are, but this is the budget that's been allocated to these items, okay? Capital needs for new staff, we have yet to determine what we'll need. Some of these may be funded through capital, but they're not included in the budget at this time. So if we need to equip a particular position with a vehicle, it's not included in the budget. what we would do is we would send that to CIP and they would have to consider whether or not we could fund that. Or we could potentially take it out of that budget if there's opportunity or room for us to be, to charge it to that specific budget. But right now this is in basically the ops contingency. It's in a contingency account, not the ops contingency, but in a contingency account that for us to be able to utilize for these particular purposes. Okay. So with that, are there any other things that we may have missed that we need to bring back? If not, this would conclude this presentation. So we look forward to bringing back to you that final proposed budget, incorporating all of these items. We hope to finalize the recommendations, certainly with this, EVENINGS DISCUSSION REGARDING THE PROPERTY TAX RATE. THAT'LL BE ANOTHER ITEM THAT WE CAN HOPEFULLY FINALIZE TODAY AND INCORPORATE THOSE INTO THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2027.