Brown County Commissioners Court convened today in their regular meeting to discuss an array of items. County Judge Ray West and Commissioner Steve Adams were absent from today’s meeting.
One proposed item that Commissioner Richard Gist explained to the court today was an optional fee that the county could charge for TxDOT motor vehicle registration. The county is authorized at its option to charge another .50 cent – $1.50 fee for vehicle registrations in Brown County. Commissioner Joel Kelton said that this fee could go to help fund some existing programs such as child welfare, safety and the like, but commissioners were unsure of exactly where the money could be spent.
During the discussion, Tax Assessor-Collector Cheryl Nelson from the back of the room asked to address the commissioners. She explained that the state already charges a .30 cent reflectorization fee and $1 for an insurance check by the Texas Department of Public Safety. She expressed her opposition to this additional fee as it is “going to hinder the pubic by adding a fee.”
The commissioners postponed action on this topic due to the absence of the other members, but mentioned that there is a deadline of August 15th for a decision to be reached.
Other items addressed on the agenda:
-Stephen Rainbolt from National Family Care discussed the county’s employee benefit option Flex 125 program and said that his company could take over administration of the program and reduce employee and county fees from their current provider. Commissioners took no action, but said that they may consider this when the current program comes up for renewal.
-Commissioners approved a new 5 year contract to Kirbo Office Supply for a copy machine. The county gets a new machine with the same terms and price as the previous 5 year contract.
-Tony Aaron of the Brown County Sheriff’s Office asked the court to approve a resolution and memorandum of understanding with the City of Brownwood for the Edward Burns Justice Assistance Regular Grant to be shared with the City of Brownwood to pay for law enforcement equipment. The total grant is $12,782 with the county getting $4589 of it. Aaron said that the money will be spent on software that will enable officers to get passwords from computers and mobile devices during forensic investigations. The resolution and memorandum were both approved.
-Judge Frank Griffin requested money from his alloted budget to lease a new color printer. Request was approved.
-Commissioner Joel Kelton once again had the consideration of a burn ban on the agenda, but with recent rain Kelton said, “We got some good rain, so we are happy.” No action taken on the burn ban at this time.