Remarks by Jackie Butler
74 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 1 of 3
- Play at 1:48:53
“Yes, thank you, Judge and Commissioners. I'm going to ask our guests from Gracie's Rescue Ranch and Animal Welfare and our Sheriff's Office to join us at the podium. It is an honor to present this resolution this morning and this effort and this resolution represents what I think is exemplary of the very best of our community and El Paso County. There was a very serious and unfortunate situation a couple of months ago that occurred in relation to some some animals that were being abused and neglected in other parts of the county. And so I'll take a moment to read the resolution, but I wanted…”
Commissioners Court · Sep 21, 2026
- Play at 2:00:42
“Thank you again, Judge and Commissioners, and just thank you all for your selfless service and for all of the hard work that went into taking care of these animals. I've heard stories of the hours that were required when this was first discovered. all of the work that's taken place since then at the ranch to make sure that these animals were accommodated and taken care of. And I know that behind this group here in front of us, there are dozens of volunteers and passionate community members who stepped up to make sure that each of the animals were taken care of. And there have been a lot of…”
Commissioners Court · Sep 21, 2026
- Play at 2:39:23
“Yes, Judge, Commissioners, thank you so much. I'm really excited to be able to present today's resolution in recognition of El Paso Startup Week. I know we have some representatives from our local startup support organizations and obviously our wonderful Economic Development Department. Before I read the resolution and hear from our guests and our economic development department, I wanted to highlight some of the work this court has done this year in supporting small businesses and startups and how fitting it is that we're passing this resolution this morning focusing on supporting…”
Commissioners Court · Sep 21, 2026
- Play at 2:50:57
“Thank you. Thank you again, each one of you, for being here. And I know there are a lot of other ESOs that are part of Startup Week, and so thank everybody for your efforts. Hopefully we can attend as many events next week as possible to highlight the work that you're doing. Thank you to the MCA Foundation for all the incredible work that you do, especially. So thank you very much. We'll go ahead and take a picture.”
Commissioners Court · Sep 21, 2026
- Play at 8:00:53
“I think we should go through the presentation. Okay. I prefer that.”
Commissioners Court · Sep 21, 2026
- Play at 8:27:48
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
Commissioners Court · Sep 21, 2026
- Play at 8:34:43
“No, no, no, that our public works staff begin those discussions.”
Commissioners Court · Sep 21, 2026
- Play at 8:51:08
“Thank you. So Carmen, just to confirm, this $5.9 million number is intended to be more accurate projection for the end of the fiscal year. That includes operating expenses because formally We were doing it week by week and weren't projecting through the end of the fiscal year.”
Commissioners Court · Sep 21, 2026
- Play at 8:55:55
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
Commissioners Court · Sep 21, 2026
- Play at 5:29:35
“Thank you, Alisa. Judge Commissioners, thank you for allowing me to offer this amended language. That really is just a bit more specific and encompassing of the discussions that are happening in the state legislature right now. Everything that's proposed in this language really does include those conversations that I've heard both at the hearings that are happening around data centers, but also the discussions that are happening within organizations like TAC and CUC. And really, mirror a lot of the language on the resolution that we approved here in Commissioner's Court a couple of weeks ago.…”
Commissioners Court · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 5:33:43
“I actually think That might be even a little bit premature, right? I think that I know, we know that this is a priority for at least one member of our delegation. We've had a very thorough presentation and discussions about groundwater conservation districts. I really read this as us saying, yes, we support this effort and we don't have to say, you know, we're not saying how it should be developed, or whether we support one formation versus another, other than there should be a locally governed groundwater conservation district. I think that's very basic language, and for us as a county that…”
Commissioners Court · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 5:44:08
“Well, I just want to say before we move on that I think that, again, this language is very broad and our legislative agenda is a working document and so it could always come back once a bill is drafted for us to say we support or don't support this particular bill. But this gives us a way for us to be proactive in the drafting of that legislation and to have those conversations and to move this conversation specifically forward. And when I'm out there in the community, people are asking me, what is the county doing? If you don't have authority now, what are you doing to protect our community?…”
Commissioners Court · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 5:45:57
“Well, all groundwater conservation districts have a local board. That's part of the. Right, it's it does. We're not saying. What the organization or entity should look like, but they all, from my understanding, a board made up of its local residents where the conservation district is.”
Commissioners Court · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 5:48:16
“Well, wouldn't this action kind of set up that framework for our team and our lobbyists to be proactive on this issue with our delegation?”
Commissioners Court · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 5:49:33
“Which I think is the reason why we should put this on our agenda, to say the court agrees that this is a priority for the”
Commissioners Court · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 5:51:30
“I disagree. That's not what it's saying, that we support it in whatever establishment it comes back to. But that's one of the reasons why we could always bring it back once the bill is drafted.”
Commissioners Court · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 5:56:06
“No, just thank you for including this language again, Judge and Commissioners. Two, well, water and wastewater infrastructure, definitely one of the most urgent issues we deal with here at the county, and I know that We have value statements supporting water infrastructure already, but I'm hopeful that if we're able to add this as a priority for us, we can be more engaged in that process with the relevant agencies at the state level. I know that it's really uncertain what funding is gonna look like and what the budget situation's gonna look like, but as much as possible, I hope that we're…”
Commissioners Court · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 7:11:57
“specifying construction only and then you all would essentially ratify it next week yes yes we'll make that motion no second i just i just want to um say that one of the questions i had was whether the county would be able to use the facility oh yes and so maybe that um that conversation can also take place over this week and it could be drafted into the absolutely yeah so this is”
Commissioners Court · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 7:47:45
“I have some questions, Judge. That's okay. Thank you. So I'm trying to get a better idea of the budget impact and the budget need for this position because The $208,000 for salaries and fringe doesn't include operations budget at all, and we don't know what the operations budget is going to look like.”
Commissioners Court · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 7:49:09
“have you started laying out a budget for operations? If you're anticipating hiring three new people, you're gonna do more exhibits, more events, more activities, have you drafted a budget for those things yet?”
Commissioners Court · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 7:51:07
“I understand that. I just think that if the goal is to enhance operations, there has to be an enhanced operations budget that's tied to that, right? I'm trying to get a better idea. Is it going to be closer to 300,000 a year or is it going to be somewhere in between? And one of the other questions I have, which is related in the document that was on the backup, it talks about performance metrics, which may include total annual visitor counts, number of guided tours and programs and workshops, educational outreach activities, number of community events. Do we have all of those benchmark now to…”
Commissioners Court · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 7:53:46
“I think that it would be helpful for me at least to see what those benchmarks are, like what is currently the operational cadence and structure there. And so what is the goal to enhance those? And it doesn't have to be specified. I think that IF NEW PEOPLE ARE BEING HIRED, THEY SHOULD HAVE A SAY IN WHAT ENHANCEMENTS OCCUR, BUT ALSO LIKE WHAT IS THE MINIMUM HAPPENING NOW THAT WE WANT TO IMPROVE UPON SO THAT WHEN WE LOOK BACK AT THIS MAYBE IN A YEAR, WE CAN SAY THIS IS HOW MUCH WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO IMPROVE ACCESS OR VISITORS. AND THEN I DO THINK THAT IF WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS, IT SHOULD BE ON…”
Commissioners Court · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 8:15:00
“I have, no, go ahead. Thank you, thank you, Carmen. So I think that we, as I mentioned last week, obviously see a trend in these numbers. We have a couple weeks left in the fiscal year. AND SO BASED ON THE AMOUNT OF SPENDING ON OPERATING BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND THAT IS KIND OF LIKE THE FIGURE THAT IS CHANGING WEEK OVER WEEK IS OPERATING EXPENSES OF ABOUT 500,000 has been the trend over the last couple of weeks. Can we forecast what we're looking at for the end of the fiscal year based on operating expenses that we've seen the last couple of weeks.”
Commissioners Court · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 8:16:26
“Yeah, I think, well, for me, that would be helpful, and I know we have it as an asterisk at the bottom of the chart. This is assuming no additional operating expenses, but it's probably not realistic to expect the largest department in the county to not have operating expenses week after week. And so if we have more detail on what those operating expenses are, is it gas? Is it food? Is it maintenance? What exactly is happening under those operating expenses that we can be realistic about what this number is going to be instead of setting a number and saying this is if”
Commissioners Court · Sep 14, 2026
- Play at 8:18:17
“And my goal is just transparency, right? I think that we need to Be transparent about the fact that there are operating expenses that the sheriff's office incurs on a daily basis. And so the number we're seeing in front of us is going to change because they're operating. And so just making sure that that's as transparent as possible so that we don't have a sticker shock every single week. And how much it costs to run the sheriff's office on a daily basis would also be like the whole Sheriff's Office on a daily basis. I don't know if Danielle has some details.”
Commissioners Court · Sep 14, 2026