The court heard from officials from the Ira and Dunn water supply asking the county to sponsor applications for two grants to build new water lines in their areas.
One of the grants is a Texas Community CD Grant, which will be filed in the fall but the other, a step grant, can be applied for as soon as paperwork is completed. The reason the county is being asked to help is because in each case, an incorporated county or municipality is required to ask for the state funds, and Ira is not incorporated.
The work would be primarily in the Round Top area. It is estimated that the new lines would add approximately 14 new customers and would also improve water pressure for existing customers, according to officials.
The plan is to eventually take Round Top off of the current line it is on and put it on a new line that in some places would run parallel to the existing line.
The county’s sponsoring of the grant applications will not cost the county any money but water officials said that some in-kind labor, such as filling in ditches after the water pipes are laid, would be needed to meet matching fund requirements of the grant.
County Judge Rod Waller noted that the new lines would also help fire-fighting efforts in the area by increasing water pressure.
The county helped with a similar CD grant to build a water tower in Hermleigh recently.
Tony Ellison of the law firm of Perdue, Brandon, Fielder, Collins & Mott, which represents the county in some tax areas, told about a new state law that allows counties and other taxing entities to hire outside firms to collect delinquent fines and fees for the JP, county and district courts. The firm said it has set up a division that is having some success getting money from people who are 60 days or more overdue.
“We have been successful collecting overdue taxes for some 35 years and have developed some specialized software to help find people,” Ellison said.
“It may not seem like a lot of money but 80 percent of something is better than 100 percent of nothing,” Ellison said.
Justice of the Peace Deborah Boyd was at the meeting, and said she and Ellison had not had a chance to visit. She said she was not sure if it would help her or not, but that she could see a possibility it could help, especially with out-of-state cases which are almost impossible to collect. Ellison said in other counties the firm has collected from as far away as Europe, usually from families of students who got tickets here but list their parent’s as their home address.
The court also passed a resolution opposing Governor Rick Perry’s three-percent tax initiative and decided to indefinitely table any new changes to security systems at county buildings.
Prior to adjourning the meeting, the court convened at 37th Street and Ave. L – the site of a proposed new DPS building.
Judge Waller presided and all members of the court were present.