LOTS TO BLOG ABOUT

Been February since I last blogged, but it has not been because there has been nothing to blog about.  I've been having trouble with picking a subject and getting a blog down before a new subject pops up.

The Judge's article on economic development in February made me think about economic development in Milam County.  That was one of his major election promises along with several others.  Thought I might give a report on where we are now, but then along came the Veterans issue.

Veterans and public support managed to convince a majority of the members of the Commissioners Court to vote to reinstate administrative assistance for Ken Janicek.  The vote was four to one with the Judge being the only vote against.

Then transparency came to my mind.  The Judge has done an excellent job of bringing more transparency to county government.  Unfortunately it is pretty much the same transparency we get from all levels of government.  They tell us what they want us to hear.

I wonder why the many workshops that the Judge holds are not better publicized.  Like the one on March 12th where the Veterans Service Office was again discussed, and he stated at that meeting there would be on assistant for the Veterans Office next year.

Now I have to wonder why that workshop was not better publicized.  You hear about the court meetings on the radio and about the Community Information Meetings in the media, why not the workshops?  Workshops are public meetings too.

Please do not misunderstand that I am in anyway referring that the meeting was not "POSTED" as required by law.  As stated in Section 551.002, Open Meetings Requirement; "Every regular, special, or called meeting of a governmental body shall be open to the public..." 

Section 551.049 states "A county governmental body shall post notice of each meeting on a bulletin board at a place convenient to the public in the county courthouse.  I wonder why select meetings are given great media coverage and others are posted "conveniently" in the courthouse?  Seems like a website might be a more convenient spot for posting then the courthouse...easier for most of us to get to.

Or perhaps there are things that are going to be discussed that someone might not want to bring a great deal of public attention, such as the total reversal of a court decision made several weeks before.  The comments at the workshop also brought up the issue of the dire financial straits the county is in.  My real question is who can see into the future and claim the 23,000 dollar cut will save the county from financial disaster?

The Judge has continually played the we are broke card in his public offerings, but then will turn right around and crow about the 750,000 dollar reserve the county carried over into 2015.  Not his desired level of a million, but also nowhere near broke.

Now consider the fact that 2015 appraisals are in the mail.  Got mine over the weekend and was somewhat surprised at what some folks now think property is worth in Milam County.  I got to work in the Tax Office on Monday April the 6th, in Cameron and one person commented their tax bill was going to increase tenfold over last year's based on the new appraisals.

So, on March 12th during the workshop meeting Milam County was going to be broke in 2016 according to Judge Barkemeyer, and now the appraisals are going up countywide.  Some say the coiunty could see another five to six hundred thousand in revenue from the appraisal increases.  Surely out of that money the court can find enough to help keep Milam County's Veteran Services the best in Central Texas.  Our Veterans have earned it.

Bottom line is that there is a lot to blog about in Milam County.  There is a lot that we as voters and property owners should be aware of.  Sad thing is that most folks just don't care. 

VETS DESERVE MILAM COUNTY'S BEST

I have been blessed with being employed for the last few weeks in one of my old positions with Milam County.  I have been working in the One-Stop in Rockdale for the County Tax Assessor Collector.  Don't anybody get upset...just a temporary thing while an employee recovers from surgery.

Those that have been to get registration or pay taxes in Rockdale know that the Veterans Service Officer is located just across the waiting room from the Tax Office.  The location has given me an excellent view of the comings and goings of, and the number of clients the Veterans Service Officer works with.

I mention this because there was some mention of Ken Janicek's  and another individual's presentation to the last Commissioners Court about the need to reinstate the full time assistant for that office.  After almost a month sitting across the waiting room I have to agree.

I have always been a supporter of our veterans.  My father was a vet, my uncles and many other family members served our country.  I realize that while my family members survived their service with little need for the VA in later life there are many more that need and or require those services today.

Some have said the cut to a half time position for the office was a money saving move by the Judge and Commissioners.  However, if you check the budget you will see that the full salary is still there.  The person in that position was moved to a half position in the District Attorney's Office.  At my high school two halves always made a whole.  The whole salary, benefits and all is still there so, why the changes?

In my conversation with the DA he indicated that he could continue to provide equal service to his clientele without the half time position.  I have tried to find some other logical answer for why the position was cut, but can only come up with it was what the Judge wanted.

In talking with some of the Commissioners they all seemed to support the Veteran's Service Officer and understood our need to support our veterans.  I have heard a lot of other reasons as to why the position was cut, but none really hold water.  

My time working this month has allowed me to see Ken be interrupted too many times to count by the telephone while he was interviewing and assisting clients in the office with paperwork.  At the same time three, sometimes more clients were waiting to see him.  Ken tries to make appointments and keep a schedule, but that is really hard to do when you are having to answer a phone and interview at the same time.

Back in April of 2013 I blogged about the cuts and how I did not agree with them because of my persoanl experience with assistance in obtaining benefits for my mother-in-law.  Now I have first hand personal experience of seeing the numbers of veterans served in the Rockdale office.

Ken is in Rockdale on Tuesday and Wednesday of each week.  He is in Cameron on Monday, Thursday and Friday.  His days in Rockdale result in the Cameron office being open only half the day Tuesday and Wednesday.  The other issue with half day support is that in Rockdale there is no support and in Cameron only half day support.

Now there are some out there that say we do not even need an office in Milam County.  I have noticed the majority of these folks that say that are not veterans, are veterans who do not need or utilize VA services or can afford to go to Temple or Waco, or are just the idiots that complain about everything.

Last week the Judge had a column about the legislature and unfunded mandates.  He mentioned how he will be fighting the legislature's move to regulate the Commissioners Court's  ability to raise taxes in the future and speak out against unfunded mandates.  He continues in the article to make sure that we all understand he will cut services if necessary.  The Veterans Office could well be in his sights.

I wonder if he truly realizes who has paid the price that he can go to Austin and speak out against government.  He and all the other elected officials have sworn to do their best for Milam County.  It's high time that Milam County does its best for our veterans who gave us and continue to protect the freedoms we enjoy today.

GRAVEL ON A COMEBACK?

One of the big happenings for 2015 in Milam County will be the implementation of the projects financed by the road grants received last year.   In 2014 the state set aside a big pot of money for county road repair.   

The process that made the funding available was created by the State Legislature in 2007.  Senate Bill 1266 created Transportation Reinvestment Zones (TRZ).  In 2013 the legislature created County Energy TRZ’s with the passage of Senate Bill 1747.  This bill was passed to specifically aid counties that had suffered damage to county roads from oil field traffic.

A County Energy Reinvestment Zone, or CERTZ, is a specific contiguous zone, in a county that is determined to be affected because of oil and gas exploration and production activities, around a planned transportation project that is established as a method to facilitate capture of the property tax increment arising from the planned project.  In laymen’s terms that means it’s an area that will benefit from the road project and as a result any tax increase in that area will be committed to transportation projects in that area for the next ten years.

I have been hearing a lot of comments on the roads that will be paved and other great things that will happen as a result of the two million plus dollars we will be receiving from the state grant.  Truth is, according to the Commissioners, not going to be all that much paving going on.  Lots of gravel and culvert and bridge repair on existing roads but not a lot of paving.

Some folks talk about how much could be done with two million on the roads in Milam County.  Not sure they are up to date with the costs involved in paving roads in this day and time.  Some engineers estimate costs could exceed 250,000 dollars per mile depending on the circumstances.  Congrats to the Commissioners on getting some help, but remember we still are going to have gravel roads in Milam County.

 As a matter of fact the State of Texas is planning on converting some Farm to Market roads to gravel due to the cost of repairing and maintaining paved roads.  Texas is not the only state to pursue this option.  As the cost of constructing and maintaining paved roads increases many other states including North and South Dakota, Iowa, Indiana and Michigan are reverting to gravel roads.  There are also numerous counties across the country that are looking at reverting to gravel.

Bottom line is providing transportation for our growing population is going to become more and more expensive.  More taxes you say?  You can only go to the well so many times before its dry. One paved to gravel article had a comment on the growing move toward gravel replacing pavement that said,  "...they used to slide in here at 70, now I guess it'll be 30."  Maybe it is time we all slowed down a bit, especially on taxes.

PARTY SWITCHING A SIGN OF THE TIMES?

Switching parties, cool or not cool?  The question that always comes up when someone switches parties to run for office WHY?  Change is the one thing we can count on in life and as we age we become more and more aware of the changes going on around us.

Did you know that most of the currently elected officials in Milam County were at one time Democrats?  Even Judge Barkemeyer was a Democrat.  He was a Democratic Precinct Chair at one time.  Of course he switched parties before he ran for Milam County Judge.

Did those that changed change because they were running for office, or because the parties changed to the point that they switched to the one that more closely represented their views?  Knowing most of the county officials as well as I do I have to say that most of them are conservatives and therefore the change came because the Republican Party is the more conservative party.

Yes, I do believe that there are still some conservative Democrats somewhere in the universe.  But as one person told me recently, "You cannot be conservative and be a real Democrat these days."

So why do candidates switch  parties?  There are a number of reasons that an elected official, or someone seeking office, might choose to switch parties. One reason is ethical obligation: the person has views that are no longer aligned with those of the current party.


A second reason is to gain power and influence. The incumbent may be a member of the minority party in a legislature and would like to gain the advantages of being in the majority party, such as the potential to chair a committee.

A disaffected incumbent who might not hold a leadership position or feels ignored or mistreated by the majority party might join the minority party with the expectation of holding a leadership position in the minority party and if currently elected, having the complete support of the minority party for re-election, who would certainly want to have more elected officials in their ranks.

Another reason is simply to get elected. This may be the primary reason when the opposing party's base in a constituency is reaching a size that threatens the safe reelection of the incumbent or the elected official fears being defeated in the primary.

Personally, my switch came about because of reason number one; my views are no longer aligned with the Democratic party and have not been for a long long time.  As for others that have changed I can not tell you their reasons. 

What I found on the internet about party switching pretty much indicates to me that our country is moving to more conservative voters even though the liberals seem to be in control at this point in time.  From my count more D's have switched parties than R's.  One author even surmised that as we age we get more conservative.  Perhaps it's just that as we age we get more life experience and therefore are more intelligent.

COURT COSTS

Let me preface the rest of this blog with a disclaimer this is not a personal attack on any office holder it is simply an attempt to clarify what has been said several times by one of our local elected officials.  I am not sure whether it is intentional or simply a misstatement of the facts.

The latest mention of what I am referring to came in the County Judge's article of December 17, 2014.  The article titled Fine Collection Report states,"...This is only the amounts retained in the county; another 80% of this amount that they also collect we're required to send to the state of Texas as well."  The statement caught my eye as I have heard this said in Commissioners Court and at the time thought it was simply a misstatement.

The reality is that 0% of a fine in County or Justice Court is sent to the state.  If the fine in a court case is $2,000 every penny of it goes into the general fund.  However, the Judge might have been referring to court costs which are also a part of any judgement in a court case, and are in fact a much more complicated matter.  Court costs differ by court, and by case. 

The State Comptroller's web site has some good information on court costs and when and where they apply  There are many many court cost categories and some court costs are only applicable in certain counties.  Kind of a strange deal when you think about it.  

Court costs are used to fund many different areas of the court at the state and local level.  Some of the court costs do in fact remain in the county, but are dedicated to be used only in certain areas.  For instance the record maintenance fee is to be used by the county clerk to maintain court records.

A speeding ticket for ten miles over in Milam County Justice Court will cost you $155.00.  Of that $54.90 is the fine and that goes to the county.  According to an example receipt I obtained from a local JP the rest goes to court costs.  Some of the court costs areas include the MVF moving violation fine, IDF indigent defense fund, TFC local traffic fund, CHS courthouse security, SJRF jury fund, JCTF justice court technology fund, STF state traffic fine and CCC consolidate court costs.

As you can see there are a lot of different court costs, and those above are just in Justice Court. Out of the 155.00 traffic ticket I mentioned above a total of 75.90 goes to benefit the local government.  While some of the total is initially sent to Austin it is eventually returned to the local level.  

For instance the IDF or Indigent Defense Fund court cost goes to pay for indigent defense costs incurred by the county, and CHS Courthouse Security Fund goes to provide for local courthouse security.  So, while initially the fine, or 35.5% stays in the county a part of the 64.5% sent to the state does comes back to the county in some form or fashion.

At the county court level a typical court judgement could involve a fine of 0 to 4,000 dollars and up to 750 dollars in court costs.  Again the county would retain the entire fine and some of the court costs would go to fund local programs.  

Court costs are set and mandated by those in Austin the local courts just collect them.  By the way, the county also receives a percentage for "administrative costs" for collecting court costs for the state.

Now with all this being said I held off publishing this for awhile because it really did not, to my satisfaction, tell the whole story on court costs.  However, my determination paid off.  With the help of Nicole in Representative Farney's office I came across a publication titled, Study of the Necessity of Certain Court Costs and Fees in Texas.

This is an excellent 155 page report published in September of 2014 and gives the reader an excellent review of court costs and fees and where they came from and where they go.  Definitely worth the read if you are interested in anything there is to know about court costs and fees in Texas Courts.

You can access the report in pdf form via the following link:

http://www.txcourts.gov/media/495634/SB1908-Report-FINAL.pdf

...

RAISES FOR COUNTY EMPLOYEES

Happy New Year to everyone. I hope that your start to 2015 was a good one. I know that Milam County employees have been looking to the new year to see just how the raise passed by the Commissioners Court will be affecting their paycheck in the coming year.

A raise is always a good thing, right? Well maybe yes maybe no. I guess you could say that a raise is always a good thing because it means that you are moving up the pay scale. However, it does not necessarily mean that you will be putting more cash in the bank.

Historically Milam County has been an entity that gave across the board raises. While I was in office the Commissioners Court instituted a merit based raise system that allowed the department heads to reward employees based on performance rather that just occupying a chair. For whatever reason the current leadership rescinded that policy upon taking office in 2011.

Personally I have always been opposed to across the board raises. Common sense tells me that an across the board raise treats all employees equally. Those that are outstanding employees receive the same reward for their efforts as the employees that are simply filling a chair. That cannot do anything to help morale or encourage improvement in employee performance within the ranks.

Now back to the raise is always a good thing comment. All Milam County employees received a 2.75% raise. All elected officials, except the County Judge, also received the increase. Not sure why the Judge opted out of the raise except that it might be some sort of a symbolic move to help balance the budget. Personally I believe he deserved the increase too.
 

The current entry level salary for Milam County is 21,500 dollars per year. It is higher for some skilled positions. Top salary paid by Milam County goes to the District Court Reporter. She receives $62,400 per year. Salary differences is one thing that I believe makes the across the board raise a bad idea. The bigger the salary the bigger the raise. Not always the right thing to do.

On the low end of the scale the person making 21,500 gets an annual raise of $591.25 before taxes. With the county paying every two weeks that means 26 pay periods for the year and a gain of $22.74 per pay check before taxes.  On the other end of the spectrum a $60,000 dollar a year employee receives a $1650 per year raise or $63.46 per pay check.  Neither one that big of an increase.

I am not sure that this has happened to any county employees as a result of this pay raise, but an increase could move some folks into a higher tax bracket.  Of course this would result in higher withholding of income tax and social security.  If the increase in withholding surpasses the pay increase a net loss results in take home pay.  

Can't happen you say?  I certainly hope that it doesn't, but I can attest to the fact it can.  Happened to me when I was working for the Extension Service.  I know this was not the intention of the Commissioners Court when they approved the raise, but it is one of those unintended things that could happen as a result of good intentions.

All that being said, the real reason someone should get a raise is because of performance.  Yes, cost of living should be considered, but even then the lower paid individuals should not receive the same percentage increase the top paid employees do. 

If you are going to give across the board raises perhaps an amount should be considered rather than a percentage.  That way everyone truly gets the same amount.  Bottom line for me is that employees need to be paid based on performance.  If they do a good job they deserve to be rewarded for it.  When those that do not perform do not get a raise they should be told why and then get the boot if they do not change their ways.

I constantly hear comments from the general public that  government should be run more like a business.  In the real world employees are considered for raises based on their performance.  Department heads are better able to judge job performance of their employees and better able to identify those that need raises and those that do not.  

The Judge and Commissioners do not have the day to day contact with employees in other departments and can not tell you whether they do a good job or not.  The court should allow those that hire and fire their employees determine what if any increase in pay is warranted for their employees, and provide a mechanism for merit increases to keep the good employees working for Milam County.    

WHY COMMUNICATE?

A lot has been going on in Milam County since my last blog, and I've been pretty busy myself.  Been working on this blog since the first of September, but have had to do one of those write it, set it aside, read it then rewrite it several times.  I want to communicate the real issues here.  It is what it is.

I read with interest The Judge's September 3^rd column on communication, or "Why Communicate."

Webster defines communication as; "the act or process of using words, sounds, signs, or behaviors to express or exchange information or to express your ideas, thoughts, feelings, etc., to someone else."  The key part here is, "…to express your ideas, thoughts, feelings, etc., to someone else."

Good communication is a very difficult process to achieve. Courses are taught everyday on effective communication skills.  Our own biases naturally enter into any communication we attempt, or a spin is placed on the communicated information to send the messages we want to be sent.  Take for instance FOX news or one of the liberal news media sources.  Give them the same story or information and you will see it communicated in two totally diametric styles.

Communication as many of you already know is a skill that we all use to get our point across.  Take sales of any product.  The advertisements for that product communicate the wonderful benefits that particular product will give you if you pay the price plus shipping.  Guaranteed or your money back, but wait if you order now…you all know the rest of the story.  This is an excellent example of communication being used to sway your opinion and get your money.  Unfortunately we see a lot of the same thing in all levels of government.

Not picking on Dave here, but he states in his column, "The fact is these hearings and notices are not even required if the proposed rate is not increased above the effective tax rate…"  However, according to the truth in taxation publication from the State Comptroller's Office, "After publishing the required notice, taxing units must hold two public hearings."  

 Now I am sure Dave meant he did not have to hold the Community Communication Meetings, but the reality is the county is required to hold two public meetings regardless of which way the tax rate goes.

My last blog predicted an increase in taxes for the taxpayers of Milam County, and as you can see I was right.  Judge Barkemeyer had several items on his personal agenda when running for the office.  One of which was increasing the county reserve to one million dollars.  Here is where the communication issue comes up.

Before finalizing the budget and during his community meetings he repeatedly painted a picture of county finances that would indicate a need for a tax increase to keep the county from going broke.  He notes in his communications several times the use of the 600,000 dollar reserve to balance the budget.  As a matter of fact if you look at the 2015 budget you will see there is no reserve on the expense side. 

However, if you look at media articles and listen to the Judge's monthly financial updates the county will wind up 2014 with over an 800,000 dollar reserve.  So if this is true why raise taxes on the people when you have the money to balance the budget?  If you will study the budget you will see the reserve tucked away in areas with the primary goal of communicating a need for a tax increase.

It is bad enough when our state and national leaders tell us one thing when they mean another, but for it to happen at the local level kind of makes you wonder just what is our country coming to.  The Judge is right, why communicate if you are not going to give us the whole picture?  Maybe all our elected officials need a course in effective communication.