We've been collecting this since early August, between everything else a weekly paper has to get out the door. Monday's hearing is coming faster than we can turn it into a finished story, so here are the notes as they stand.
The DMC Working Notes were updated at 8:35 p.m. on Sept. 13, 2026, after we received a message raising a question about the Sept. 14 agenda and the separate public-hearing notices posted on Fisher County’s website.
After reviewing the documents again, we determined the issue was already addressed later in the guide, but not clearly or prominently enough for readers who may not make it that far. We have updated the Working Notes to bring that information forward, make the distinction between the regular Public Comments period and the formal budget public hearing clearer, and identify the questions that remain before Monday’s votes. Changes are listed below.
We've been reading through this budget since early August. Notices, transcripts, statutes, the county's own worksheets, a little at a time, in between everything else it takes to get a weekly paper out. Monday is close enough now that there isn't time left to turn it into one clean, finished story. So instead of sitting on it, we're publishing the notes themselves, unfinished parts included.
A few things caught our attention along the way.
The Court's discussion of longevity pay changed direction in one year. In August 2025, the talk was about making people earn it. New employees should build back up from base pay rather than inherit what a 20-year employee gets, with longevity reserved as a retention reward down the road. In August 2026, the talk was about shortening the wait from four years to one, so newer employees would see the benefit sooner. Both discussions are in the transcripts, and both are in the guide, side by side. We don't know what changed in between or why.
We're still sorting out the ADMIN leave hours, honestly. Fisher County's own leave summary shows 1,192 hours logged under that one payroll code this year through early August. The underlying time sheets label those hours everything from weather to sick leave to holiday to nothing at all. Untangling which is which, and making it make sense with the employee handbook, is taking us longer than we budgeted for. We're publishing what we have so far anyway, with every caution we know to attach.
And here's a small thing that matters more than it sounds like it should. The county's 2026 notice on elected-official pay says the officials named in it are getting a 5 percent cost-of-living increase. It never says how many dollars that comes out to for any office. Local Government Code Section 152.013 requires published notice of the amount of the proposed increases. That's the whole difference between a citizen knowing a raise happened and a citizen knowing what it costs.
None of this is us saying anyone did anything wrong. It's us saying these are the parts of the record we kept circling back to, and we thought you'd want to see them too.
The guide has questions like these, pulled straight from the record, plus a printable checklist if you want to bring one to Monday's hearing. And if you can't be in a courtroom at 9 a.m. on a workday Monday, we understand. The guide's last section (Part 7) lists a number for every commissioner, a short call script, and how to follow up in writing so your question becomes part of the record.
We'll update the guide after the hearing, and we'll mark every correction where it happens. We don't make them silently. If you want the post-hearing update sent straight to you, email publisher@dmchronicle.com with "updates" in the subject line and we'll add you to the list.
If something in here is wrong, tell us too. Same email address above. Mistakes happen. When they’re ours, we’ll own them publicly and fix them publicly.
Here are the notes: CLICK - DMC — Working Notes
Patricia Hurt
Publisher, Double Mountain Chronicle
If you watched all the way to the end of the video on social media. Click this link: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/?tab=1&code=GV&chapter=GV.2256&artSec=2256.005
and this one for additional light reading: https://countyorgprodblob2023.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/cms/tac/media/default/member-services/legal/legal-publications/guide-to-laws-for-county-officials.pdf
What changed in the DMC Working Notes Guide:
- Part 1, “The Basics”: The opening “Things to Know” section was revised to flag that the formal budget hearing is separately noticed, but is not identified as a hearing on the final Sept. 14 agenda.
- Part 2, notice/process section: Added a clearer explanation comparing the public-hearing notices with the Sept. 14 agenda and the prior-year agenda.
- “Questions Fisher County Should Answer”: Added a direct question asking where the formal budget hearing will occur in the meeting and how public participation will be handled.
- Part 7, “Take Action”: Clarified the difference between the regular three-minute Public Comments period and participation in the formal budget hearing.
The Fisher County Commissioners Court holds its formal budget hearing Monday, Sept. 14, at 9 a.m., in the 32nd Judicial District Courtroom. Base pay, longevity, the final budget, and all three tax-rate votes are on the agenda that same morning.
And if you’re wondering why we keep doing this…
Read Publisher’s Perspective: “Raising Hell, Respectfully, of Course. - The House Is Betting You Won’t Notice” It explains the philosophy behind the questions, the corrections, and the insistence on getting the record right before the hands go up.