Written by Amanda Coers – The Brown County Commissioners Court met at 9 a.m. in the Brown County Courthouse in Brownwood to discuss a number of items on the agenda, one of which included a request from Sheriff Vance Hill to accept a grant from Texas Health and Human Services for two community mental health deputies.
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The grant totals $222,389 and is funded by HB 13. The bipartisan bill was passed on June 14, 2017. Through HB 13, the state of Texas will funnel $10 million into approved community mental health programs over the course of the next two years through a matching grant program to support community mental health programs. The program distributes 50 percent of those funds to benefit rural communities with populations under 250,000.
Center For Life Resources (CFLR) partnered with the Brown County Sheriff’s Office to apply for the grant. Mental Health Officers will be hired by the Brown County Sheriff’s Office and will be available to serve Bangs, Early, and Brownwood Police Departments.
Sheriff Hill is hoping to, “divert some of these people from being arrested, this will allow us to go out and be able to help them, instead of arresting them on a criminal basis.”
Because Brown County has a population below 250,000, 50 percent of the grant ($111,000) will need to be matched through in-kind donations, which CFLR will work to secure.
“This will alleviate a lot of problems for law enforcement in the community,” Sheriff Hill said. “I feel like we’re going to be a template for rural Texas.”
CFLR will receive the money directly and will in turn reimburse the county for crisis intervention and jail diversion programs through the mental health officers’ actions. Commissioners approved unanimously to accept the grant money to fund the mental health officers.
Sheriff Hill is hoping to have a mental health officer available by late April if possible.
Commissioners also were asked by County Clerk Sharon Ferguson to approve the removal of all private imaging devices form the Brown County Clerk’s Office, excluding a laptop and a hand held scanner. The District Clerk’s Cheryl Jones proposed an identical consideration.
“I’m responsible for the integrity of the records in my office,” Ferguson said. “From time to time I’ve had people come in and asked to scan records.”
Ferguson explained there was no space in her office to accommodate those requests which often include large pieces of equipment. Ferguson also expressed concerns the records could be damaged during a scanning process from members of the public utilizing various devices.
“I have to allow access to our records,” Ferguson said. “I would like for them to use hand held scanners, and no flash photography because the flash ruins the record.”
Judge Ray West moved to approve the County and District Clerks’ proposals to specify the way individuals can scan records. The Commissioners approved the motion unanimously.
Also listed on the agenda:
- Burn Ban: the burn ban remains in effect.
- Precinct 4: approval to install a private line (sewer) on CR 611. Commissioners approved the application.
- Precinct 3: approval to declare equipment as surplus. Commissioners approved the motion to declare the equipment as surplus as well as the sale of the items.
- Sheriff Hill was authorized to purchase a software update for cell check logs. The sheriff also received approval to hire a part time jail maintenance person.