At Monday’s meeting of the Brown County Commissioners Court, approval was made for an agreement between the County and the Pecan Bayou Soil and Water Conservation District for funds to be used for wildfire prevention efforts.  Several months ago the Pecan Bayou SWCD applied with the Texas A&M Forest Service for money in their Wildfire Defense Grant Program.  That grant application was recently approved in the amount of $9.17 million.  The agreement approved today by the Commissioners will result in up to $1,302,804 being distributed by the Pecan Bayou SWCD to the County through September 10, 2030 to be used for wildfire fuels mitigation work – such as brush management, tree pruning, and range planting — on approximately 2,700 acres of county road rights-of-way.  The County can either contract with a vendor for the work, or purchase equipment and do the work in-house.  If the work is done in-house, the grant will reimburse for the cost of the equipment purchased, but not the cost of the County employee labor.

In addition, the Pecan Bayou SWCD will distribute approximately $1.1 million to the Comanche Electric Co-op for similar work they will do in Brown County.  The majority of the grant money will be distributed to private land owners for their own brush removal efforts.  For more information on these funds for private landowners, contact the Pecan Bayou SWCD at 701 C.C. Woodson Road, call Cy Tongate at 325-430-3117, or email him at: joseph.tongate@yahoo.com.

Also at today’s meeting, District Judge Mike Smith announced an upcoming change in the County Auditor office.  Jennifer Robison has served as County Auditor for ten years, but a few months ago notified Judge Smith that she intended to resign on May 29, 2026.  Judge Smith praised Robison for many years of dependable and dedicated service to Brown County.  The announcement issued by Judge Smith stated:  “I have identified a qualified individual to serve as the next Brown County Auditor, however, that person will not be available to begin serving until August 1.  Therefore, I have appointed Josie Contreras to serve as Acting County Auditor during this interim period.  Ms. Contreras has served for many years as the First Assistant Auditor for Brown County and is highly qualified to fulfill this role.  I appreciate her willingness to step in and serve the county during this transition period.”

In other business at Monday’s meeting:

***  Commissioners approved the installation of private water lines on County Roads 295 and 404 by the Zephyr Water Supply Corporation.

***  Commissioners took no action on a burn ban, leaving the burn ban OFF for the time being.

***  County Treasurer David Becktold reported the County funds balance at the end of May to be $24,226,976.