Brown County Judge Shane Britton issued the following press release Friday afternoon:

On February 22, County Judge Shane Britton notified the law firm involved in advising the City of Early on the bond issue that they had made an error choosing the date for the bond election.

It is customary for public entities to seek advice from law firms that specialize in public finance and bond elections when making decisions on a bond election. The firm chosen to assist with the YMCA bond proposal is a well-known firm who has participated in other bond elections in the past for local entities including the City of Brownwood and Brownwood ISD.

The City of Early and the County relied on the expertise of this specialized firm when approving the date for the bond election that was proposed by the firm. Unfortunately, this means the election related to the issuance of tax bonds for the construction of the YMCA will not be able to take place on May 4.

While we know that many will be disappointed by this news, this decision is necessary in order to comply with the law. We anticipate this issue will be revisited later this year.

Brown County will take advantage of this delay by holding additional “town hall” type events to get the input from as many citizens as possible and will also consider other worthwhile projects to be included in any future bond elections