The Fisher County Commissioners’ second round of budget reviews ended almost as soon as they began on Monday when straying conversations sparked debates that resulted in calling for early adjournment.
The court heard testimony from elected officials that went to justify various budget increase requests, asking standard questions and considering responses. Few offices requested significant increases, and
The court is also exploring the possibility of transitioning tax collection services from the Fisher County Appraisal District to the county’s tax collector/assessor’s office, which means additional county funds would be allocated for tax collection purposes. Fisher County Tax Collector/assessor Jonnye Lu Gibson said she could have a budget worked up by the August meeting.
The biggest request came from the Fisher County Sheriff’s Department. While clarifying changes for reallocated funds within his existing budget, Sheriff Ford fielded questions from the court about the near $100,000 proposed increase.
The county paid roughly $64,000 to house inmates at the Scurry County Jail last year, as the local facility voluntarily depopulated more than a year ago during onset of the coronavirus pandemic. The jail has undergone major repairs since the winter storm freeze that swept the state of Texas in February.
Ford said he anticipates having the jail open within the next several weeks and did not budget himself much of a safety net, leaving only $10,000 in next year's budget for housing inmates out-of-county. Fisher County Judge Ken Holt warned that if something were to come up that caused the jail to once again close, $10,000 would only cover out-of-county expenses for a few days.
Ford has also stuck to his$38,000 request for an additional deputy. He said the average is 2.4 officers per thousand in population, and Fisher County is operating with 1.25. He also said an additional Deputy would have a significant effect on overtime hours, an area he reduced by half.
Ford is hoping money saved in overtime pay and housing inmates locally will help offset his $94,000 total requested budget increase. While there were some concerns expressed about the long-term sustainability of another deputy, some commissioners agreed with the Sheriff's logic that another deputy would probably reduce overtime costs.
Commissioner Kevin Stuart hinted at an undeclared increase to his precinct budget, pointing out that money is always been divided equally amongst the precincts, but the roads are nowhere near comparable. Commissioner Pippin said everyone has the same number of hands working the same number of hours, and there is no reason the individual precinct’s budget to be much different.
Commissioner Preston Martin said roads suffering a good deal of damage due to oilfield traffic in his precinct would require significant repairs. Fisher County Attorney Michael Hall pointed out that the pipeline crossing agreements require companies to repair any damage done to roads.
This sparked debate between Hall and Martin about various legal and practical aspects of the agreements, conditions of the roads, and who was ultimately responsible for road damage and repair. The debate between the two spilled into non-budget-related disagreements about windfarm contracts.
With little discussion taking place about the budget, Holt called for a motion to close the meeting, which was unanimously approved. This leaves only one scheduled meeting remaining before the court is expected to have a final budget approved in Septem-