[CALL TO ORDER ]
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          MORNING. WELCOME TO THIS MEETING OF WALLER COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COURT. TODAY IS SEPTEMBER 16TH. WE'RE SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT THIS MORNING. WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO VERY FIRST OUT OF THE GATE IS WE ARE GOING TO HAVE THE PUBLIC HEARING ON OUR PROPOSED TAX RATE. AND THEN THAT WAY WE CAN CLOSE THAT HEARING. THEN WE WILL START OUR NORMAL AGENDA IN WHICH WE HAVE AN AGENDA ITEM, WHICH WILL BE APPROVAL OF THE TAX RATE. WE APPROVED THE BUDGET LAST WEEK AT A SPECIAL MEETING LAST TUESDAY. SO THIS IS JUST BASICALLY SETTING THE TAX RATE THAT'S TIED INTO THAT BUDGET. SO WITH THAT. BUT WE ARE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND BEGIN OUR MEETINGS JUST LIKE WE USUALLY DO. SO AT THIS TIME WE ASK IF YOU'RE ABLE TO PLEASE STAND AND JOIN COMMISSIONER SMITH. AND INVOCATION FOLLOWED BY THE PLEDGES LED BY COMMISSIONER BECKENDORFF. MY FATHER IN HEAVEN, WE HAVE OUR HEADS THIS MORNING DOING OUR THANKS AND APPRECIATION FOR ALL THAT THOU HAS DONE FOR US. WE ASK YOU TO BLESS US AS WE MEET, THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THE BEST COURSE OF ACTION AS WE MEET IN APPROVING ITEMS ON THE AGENDA, WE ASK A SPECIAL BLESSING UPON YOUR ANSWER TO THEM. I CONTINUE TO AND RECUPERATE, FEEL BETTER AND RETURN TO US SHORTLY. IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, AMEN. 
          AMEN. OUR NATION'S LIFE IS THE LIFE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL OUR HONOR HIS LIFE. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE TEXAS ONE STATE UNDER HEAVEN, ONE INDIVISIBLE. ALL RIGHT. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. WE WILL BEGIN WITH OUR PROPOSED TAX 
          [PUBLIC HEARING ]
RATE HEARING WITH NUMBER ONE, APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA MOTION. SECOND, I HAVE A MOTION. AND SECOND, TO APPROVE THE AGENDA. ANY DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE. ALL IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR RIGHT HAND. ALL OPPOSED? ALL RIGHT. AT THIS TIME IT IS 9:05 A.M. AND THE PUBLIC HEARING ON THE PROPOSED TAX RATE IS NOW OPEN. COMMISSIONERS COURT WILL VOTE TODAY ON THE PROPOSED TAX RATE AT 9 A.M. AT ITS MEETING PLACE IN WALLER COUNTY COURTHOUSE, 836 AUSTIN STREET, HEMPSTEAD, TEXAS. THIS PUBLIC HEARING IS NOW OPEN. WOULD ANYBODY LIKE TO GIVE PUBLIC COMMENT OR SPEAK ON THE TAX RATE, DOCTOR MADDOX? GOOD MORNING. COMMISSIONERS AND JUDGE DUHON. I WAS LOOKING IN THE NEWSPAPER AND THE WALLER TIMES WAS SAYING THAT YOU MET ON THE NINTH. I WASN'T HERE AND WHAT YOU HAD WAS JUST THREE PEOPLE. RIGHT. SO WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE. I'VE NOT HAD ANY, YOU KNOW, CEREBROVASCULAR INCIDENTS. I REMEMBER WE SPOKE ABOUT THIS. WHEN YOU DO TAX THINGS, YOU HAVE YOU CANNOT HAVE A SIMPLE MAJORITY. YOU HAVE TO HAVE A SUPERMAJORITY, RIGHT? YOU HAVE TO DO FOUR PEOPLE FOR COMMISSIONER'S COURT. WHEN YOU DO TAX THINGS. NOW, IT SAYS THE COUNTY TENTATIVELY APPROVES THE TAX RATE WITH THAT LESS THAN SUPERMAJORITY. SO I WONDER IF THAT WAS LIKE DID NOT APPROVE A TAX RATE LAST TUESDAY. IT SAID TENTATIVELY WE DID NOT APPROVE IT. THERE WAS NO ACTION ITEM ATTACHED TO IT. SO WHAT I'M GOING TO DO IS BECAUSE I YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES YOU NEED CLARITY OF THOUGHT AND TAX BUSINESS SHOULD ALWAYS BE DONE BY SUPERMAJORITY. I WILL GO AHEAD AND TURN THIS IN TO THE TO THE TEXAS STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE AND ASK THEM, WHERE ARE YOU OKAY TO DO WHAT YOU DID LAST TIME? SO LIKE I SAID, I WOULDN'T DO THIS EXCEPT WE HAD ALREADY DISCUSSED THIS. I WOULDN'T HAVE EVEN TAKEN THE CHANCE ON JUST HAVING THREE MEMBERS TO DO THIS THE LAST TIME. SO I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW, I DON'T BELIEVE IN LAWLESSNESS. I DON'T EVEN BELIEVE IN SLIDING IT THROUGH. 
          ANYBODY ELSE LIKE TO MAKE A SPEECH AT THE PUBLIC HEARING? WOULD YOU LIKE TO? I'D JUST LIKE TO REITERATE TO THE PUBLIC THAT WE'VE NOT APPROVED THE TAX RATE. AND PART OF THE REASON WHY WE MAKE SURE WE HAVE FOUR PEOPLE AT COURT, BECAUSE JENNIFER AND MCKENZIE HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB OF MAKING SURE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US ARE HERE TODAY. SO THAT WAY WE CAN HAVE A SUPERMAJORITY. YEAH, JUST FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC. YOU KNOW, WHEN WE GO THROUGH THIS 
          [00:05:01]
BUDGET PROCESS, THERE IS AN INORDINATE AMOUNT OF REGULATIONS AND RULES THAT HAVE TO BE FOLLOWED. AND ALL OF US ON THIS COURT ALL HAVE TAKEN AN OATH TO UPHOLD THE LAW. AND SO WE MAKE SURE WE FOLLOW THOSE RULES, THOSE RULES SPECIFICALLY STATE, FIRST OFF, THAT A PROPOSED BUDGET HAS TO BE FILED BY A DATE CERTAIN, AND THEN YOU MUST HAVE A HEARING ON THAT BUDGET WITHIN A GIVEN AMOUNT OF TIME. IF WE HAD WAITED TILL TODAY, IT WOULD HAVE EXCEEDED THAT AMOUNT OF TIME. SO WE HAD THE BUDGET HEARING IN THE APPROPRIATE AMOUNT OF TIME, A TAX RATE HEARING AND A TAX RATE ACTION ITEM MUST BE DONE AT A REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETING WITH AT LEAST FOUR OF THE FIVE MEMBERS OF THE COURT PRESENT. LOOKS LIKE WE'RE GOOD. SO JUST SO EVERYBODY ELSE KNOWS, WE MAKE SURE WE FOLLOW THE LETTER OF THE LAW WHEN IT COMES TO THE BUDGET PROCESS. NOT ALWAYS EASY BECAUSE EVERY TWO YEARS THE LEGISLATURE LIKES TO CHANGE ALL THE DIFFERENT NOTIFICATIONS, DEADLINES AND SO FORTH. AND THIS YEAR WAS NO EXCEPTION TO THAT. BUT WE DID MAKE SURE THAT WE COMPLIED WITH THE LAW. SO IF ANYBODY WANTS TO MAKE A COMPLAINT WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, THEY ARE MORE THAN WELCOME TO DO SO. WOULD ANYBODY ELSE LIKE TO MAKE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT REGARDING THE PROPOSED TAX RATE? I WILL GO AHEAD AGAIN. 
          WE HAD THE HEARING LAST WEEK ON THE BUDGET. I'LL JUST SAY IT AGAIN. THANK YOU SO MUCH TO MY BUDGET COMMITTEE FOR COMMISSIONER BECKENDORFF JAMIE KOVAR, ROBERT PACHUCAS, MIKE AND ALLEN, OUR ASSISTANT AUDITOR AND AUDITOR, JOAN, OUR COUNTY CLERK, DEBBIE HOLLAND. 
          DID I COVER EVERYBODY? I THINK I DID THEY THEIR HELP IS I CAN'T I COULDN'T HAVE DONE THIS WITHOUT ALL OF THEM. THIS IS ONE OF THE HARDEST PARTS OF THE JOB. AT THE END OF THE DAY, EVEN THOUGH I DON'T THINK WE WE REALLY HAD THE REVENUE THAT WE SHOULD HAVE HAD. AND THAT'S A SEPARATE CONVERSATION FOR ANOTHER TIME. WE STILL GOT A BUDGET DONE. THE TAX RATE THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE CONSIDERING AND APPROVING TODAY IS 0.002 MORE THAN THE TAX RATE WAS LAST YEAR. SO EVERYTHING THAT WE WERE ABLE TO DO IN THIS BUDGET, WHICH KEEP IN MIND, WE ARE WE WERE NOT ABLE TO DO EVERYTHING THAT WE REALLY NEEDED TO DO. WE HAD $12 MILLION COMBINED IN TOTAL REQUEST FROM DEPARTMENT HEADS AND ELECTED OFFICIALS. MOST OF IT IS NEW EMPLOYEES, NEW DEPUTIES, NEW JAILERS, NEW EMPLOYEES THAT ROAD AND BRIDGE, NEW STAFF, NEW ADMIN. JUST DEALING WITH THE SHEER GROWTH AND DEMAND FOR INCREASED SERVICES. WE HAD PROBABLY WHEN YOU COUNT NEW VALUE, NEW REVENUE FROM NEW VALUE, WHICH IS BRAND NEW THING, YOU KNOW, BUILDINGS ON THE GROUND THAT WEREN'T HERE A YEAR AGO. AND THEN YOU DO A 3.5% BUDGET, WHICH IS WHAT THIS REPRESENTS. THAT'S A 3.5% BUDGET OVER LAST YEAR'S OPERATING BUDGET. WHEN YOU LOOK AT M AND O, WE HAD ABOUT $6 MILLION TOTAL TO WORK WITH. SO I HAD TO GO BACK TO THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE, FOR EXAMPLE, THEY HAD REQUESTED 4.5 MILLION. AND I SAID, YOU'VE GOT 2 MILLION TO WORK WITH. TELL ME WHAT YOUR PRIORITIES ARE. I DID THE EXACT SAME THING WITH ROAD AND BRIDGE. THERE WERE SOME DEPARTMENTS THAT DIDN'T GET ALL THE EMPLOYEES THEY REQUESTED, AND THAT'S JUST AND I AND, AND THEY UNDERSTAND THAT. AND I APPRECIATE THAT THEY'RE THEY'RE UNDERSTANDING BECAUSE WE ONLY HAVE THE END OF THE DAY, WE ONLY HAVE SO MUCH MONEY TO WORK WITH, BUT WE WERE ABLE TO AT LEAST ADDRESS AS MANY NEEDS AS WE COULD. AND THE TAX RATE CHANGES. 0.002 YOU KNOW, I WOULD HAVE PREFERRED TO LOWER THE TAX RATE, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, AT LEAST, WE'RE BEING THE FASTEST GROWING COUNTY IN THE STATE OF TEXAS. NUMBER TWO IN THE NATION. YOU KNOW, WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO KEEP OUR HEAD ABOVE WATER. SO IT WAS A HARD PROCESS. AGAIN, ONE OF THE HARDEST BUDGETS I'VE PROBABLY DONE IN 12 YEARS. I'M GLAD THE BUDGET PART IS ABOUT TO BE CLOSED. BUT IN MY LAST BUDGET, BY THE WAY, WHICH I'M REALLY HAPPY ABOUT. SO ANYWAY, BUT YOU KNOW, THANK YOU, EVERYBODY THAT WAS INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS AND THE DEPARTMENT HEADS AND THE EMPLOYEES, YOU KNOW, THIS BUDGET DOES CONTAIN 3% COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT, YOU KNOW, AND THEY WERE JUST SAYING TODAY, YOU KNOW, INFLATION RIGHT NOW IS 3.4. SO WE'RE NOT EVEN KEEPING UP WITH INFLATION FOR THAT MATTER. AND THEN WE ALSO GOT 2% BUILT IN ON TOP OF THAT. THAT DEPARTMENT HEADS CAN USE FOR MERIT PAY. 
          NOW THAT'S FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES. NOW FOR OUR SHERIFF'S OFFICE, WE ARE DOING, YOU KNOW, WE'RE WE'RE TRYING TO GET OUR SHERIFF'S DEPUTIES UP TO A CERTAIN LEVEL BECAUSE NOW WE HAVE TO COMPETE WITH, YOU KNOW, HARRIS AND FORT BEND COUNTY. AND THAT GAP HAS GOTTEN SO LARGE. AS YOU ALL KNOW, HPD AND HARRIS COUNTY, YOU KNOW, SUBSTANCE SUBSTANTIVE, SUBSTANTIVELY RAISED THEIR DEPUTIES. AND NOW WE HAVE TO TRY TO KEEP OUR DEPUTIES FROM 
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BECOMING A TRAINING GROUND, WHERE WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME AND EFFORT TO TRAIN SOMEBODY UP, AND THEN THEY JUST LEAVE AND GO ELSEWHERE. SO WE'RE HAVING TO DEAL WITH THAT. BUT THAT'S JUST THAT'S, THAT'S PART OF BEING WALLER COUNTY. SO WITH THAT, ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM THE DYESS? ANYONE ELSE LIKE TO MAKE PUBLIC COMMENT? YES. TAX RATE WOULD HAVE BEEN LOWER, BUT WE ADDED ALMOST $0.04 BECAUSE WE ISSUED ANOTHER TRANCHE OF NEW MOBILITY. THAT'S TRUE. THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN. YEAH. AND WHAT WAS THAT SECOND TRANCHE? CLOSE TO 109 700 MAYBE. SO WE'RE SO SO WE'RE ABLE TO KEEP THE TAX RATE EVEN THOUGH WE'VE ISSUED ANOTHER $100 MILLION IN MOBILITY BONDS. BECAUSE NOW IN ON THE MOBILITY BOND, YOU KNOW, WE DID 270 MILLION. WE'VE BEEN 280 MILLION. SORRY. THANK YOU. YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN DOING A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE SAY, WELL, I DON'T SEE ANYTHING. WELL, IT'S BECAUSE THAT'S ALL BEEN UNDER DESIGN. 
          WE'VE GOT ENGINEERS, YOU KNOW, A NUMBER OF FIRMS ALL WORKING ON DESIGN. NOW WE ARE GETTING READY TO START DOING RIGHT OF WAY UTILITY RELOCATION AND START ACTUALLY BUILDING AND EXPANDING SOME ROADWAYS AND ADDING SOME CAPACITY, WHICH IS BADLY NEEDED. SO ANYWAY, YEAH, SO EVEN THOUGH WE HAD TO SELL ANOTHER 100 MILLION IN BONDS, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE IMPACT ON OUR TAX RATE, NOT THAT IT DIDN'T HAVE AN IMPACT. IT DID, BUT WE'RE ABLE TO AT LEAST KEEP THAT TAX RATE AT THE SAME LEVEL. SO FOR THE MOST PART. SO THAT'S THAT'S A GOOD RESULT. ALL RIGHT. ANYTHING ELSE. OKAY. IT IS 914 9:15 A.M. AND WE WILL NOW CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN SECOND MOTION AND SECOND TO ADJOURN. ANY DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR RIGHT HAND. ALL
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.