Please note: All agenda items are considered PASSED unless indicated otherwise.

OPEN SESSION:

RESOLUTION

1. Discuss and take necessary action to ratify a resolution proclaiming August 15, 2025, as “Sidney Eloyce Green Day” in Smith County.
 
COURT ORDERS
 
PURCHASING

2. Consider and take necessary action to authorize the Purchasing Department to advertise,
solicit, and receive sealed bids for the following:
a. RB-20-25 Road Improvements to CR 26 (FM 850 to CR 21)
b. RB-33-25 Road Improvements to CR 2193 (FM 756 to FM 2964)
c. RB-34-25 Road Improvements to CR 172 (FM 346 to FM 2493)

Comments:

Road & Bridge Dept is taking bids on a few Road Bond Program projects. 

FCIC

3. Consider and take necessary action to approve the purchase of network equipment, software license, and support from ECX Systems, LLC utilizing TIPS cooperative purchasing program, contract # 240503 in the amount of $63,519.38 and authorized the county judge to sign all related documentation.

Comments: 

Governor Abbott was impressed with the work being done by the Financial Crimes Intelligence Center (FCIC) and wants to expand its operations across Texas. The team will grow from 15 members to 41, which means they need additional networking equipment, software licenses, and support from ECX Systems. The FCIC is funded through state appropriations—money the state sets aside for specific programs. Remember, even though it’s called “state funding,” it’s still your tax dollars supporting agencies like the FCIC. The cost for the added equipment and services is $63,519.38.

4. Consider and take necessary action to approve the purchase of IT Support Services from ECX Systems, LLC utilizing TIPS cooperative purchasing program, contract # 240503 in the amount of $271,296.00 and authorized the county judge to sign all related documentation.

Comments: 

Because the Financial Crimes Intelligence Center (FCIC) handles highly sensitive and confidential investigations, they have their own dedicated IT support instead of using the county’s IT department. As the center grows, they need more technical support. This contract provides full-time IT services at a cost of $271,296.

5. Consider and take necessary action to approve a Lease agreement for FCIC office space with the following property owners:
     a. HRE Forest Ridge, LLC – Bedford, Texas, and
     b. Appel Reality Investments, LLC – Houston, Texas.

Comments: 

As the Financial Crimes Intelligence Center (FCIC) grows, they need office space outside of Tyler and Smith County to better serve their statewide operations. They are requesting to lease offices in Bedford and Houston, Texas.

Bedford lease: 3-year term starting September 1, 2025. 
Year 1: $2,944.50 plus a share of electricity costs; Year 2: $3,020.00; Year 3: $3,095.00.

Houston lease: 2-year term starting September 1, 2025. Both years at $4,500.00 per year.

TREASURER’S OFFICE

6. Consider and take necessary action to approve a Resolution Changing Authorize Representative for Local Government Investment Cooperative (LOGIC), and an Amended TexStar Resolution, approving Treasurer Atonia Rawlings and Assistant Treasurer Dylan Simmons as Participant’s Authorized Representative.

Comments:

This action makes Mrs. Atonia Rawlings, the new County Treasurer, and Mr. Dylan Simmons, the new Assistant Treasurer, the county’s newly authorized representatives for TexStar and LOGIC. These are investment pools that local governments use to safely invest public funds, and they are part of the county’s approved investment plan adopted by Commissioners Court on June 4, 2024. Mrs. Rawlings could not attend this meeting, but she has shared plans to hold an Investment Plan Meeting after November. That meeting will include the County Judge, Tax Assessor, Auditor, Treasurer, and two business leaders from the community. She is looking forward to updating the county’s investment policies and adding more reporting to increase transparency from the Treasurer’s Office. In court, there was an amendment made to add the County Auditor as an authorized representative as well.

ELECTIONS

7. Consider and take necessary action to approve an interlocal agreement between Smith County and Wood County for the sale of surplus property (supply bags) and authorize the county judge to sign all related documentation.

Comments:

Smith County plans to sell 28 surplus election supply bags to Wood County through an interlocal agreement. The bags are not used for ballots or any items requiring security.  These supply bags, no longer needed by Smith County Elections, are typically valued at $210–$250 each, but will be sold to Wood County for $150 per bag, totaling $4,200. This agreement helps another county meet its needs while making good use of surplus property. 

RECURRING BUSINESS
 
COUNTY CLERK

8. Consider and take the necessary action to approve the Commissioners Court minutes for July 2025.
 
9. Receive Commissioners Court recordings for July 2025.
 
ROAD AND BRIDGE

10. Receive pipe and/or utility line installation request (notice only):
      a. County Road 135, CenterPoint Energy, install gas line for service, Precinct 1,
     b. County Roads 261, 2110, 2113, 2115, 2116, 2342, 2166, 4621, Charter-                        Spectrum, install underground and aerial fiber optic cable with vaults and                       pedestals, Precinct 2,
     c. County Roads 2112, 2153, 2160, 2163, 2300, Charter-Spectrum, install                        underground and aerial fiber optic cable with vaults and pedestals, Precinct 2,              and
    d. County Roads 2180, 2181, 2177, 2178, 2179, 2303, 2138, 2184, 3802, Charter-           Spectrum, install underground and aerial fiber optic cable with vaults and                     pedestals, Precinct 2.   

AUDITOR’S OFFICE

11. Consider and take necessary action to approve and/or ratify payment of accounts, bills, payroll, transfer of funds, amendments, and health claims.

Comments:

Budget Transfer
 
Road and Bridge Dept
Transfer From:
Road Oil: $45,000

Transfer To: 
Salary – Temp Help: $21,000
Culverts: $9,000
Sign Material: $5,000
Oil & Grease: $5,000
Vehicle Expense: $5,000

Explanation for Request: Continuation of Temporary Help for mowing operations; Additional culverts for replacements; Sign materials; Oil and grease for equipment and vehicles; Additional funds to augment insurance payment for dump truck repair.

FY2026 BUDGET WORKSHOP

12. Consider and discuss FY2026 Proposed Budget.

Review the documents by clicking the link:
FY26 Budget Presentation Powerpoint
FY26 Expense Sheets
FY26 Revenues
FY26 Budget 8/15/25

Comments:

Over the past several weeks, I’ve outlined a number of concerns as the budget process has progressed. To save time, I’ll summarize the main issues below:

1. Limited access for review. The budget has not been consistently available on a shared drive. Commissioners must wait until the Budget Officer releases each updated version, often just days before a Tuesday court meeting—as late as the preceding Friday or Monday. For a county the size of Smith, with proposed expenditures exceeding $121 million, that does not allow for the level of review the public deserves. Citizens should expect their Commissioners and County Judge to know where every dollar is going and verify that each allocation is appropriate.

2. Department heads and elected officials left out of the process. Those who run our departments have often been unable to review their expense sheets before the Budget Workshops. In some cases, they are seeing their numbers for the first time as they appear on screen during court. These individuals keep the county running and serve our citizens directly—they are critical stakeholders and should not be excluded from early review.

3. Lack of public transparency. The budget has not been included in public agenda packets. Without access to the information, how can citizens make informed public comments during Budget Workshops? We serve the people, not the other way around.

4. Delays blamed on tax roll timing. There is a concerted effort this year to attribute the delay to the Appraisal District certifying the tax roll on July 25, 2025. But in past years, the budget was largely complete before certification, with only minor adjustments afterward. This year’s impact—roughly $266,000, equivalent to four positions or vehicles—is too small to justify waiting this long to build out the budget.

5. Lack of detail and clarity. Each version of the budget has lacked critical information: salary and stipend amounts have been omitted, the IT budget remains unclear, and explanations for increases are vague. Repeatedly, no summary of changes or budget recap has been provided. We need a clear summary every time, showing all the money coming in, going out, and any debts or deficits. If you were planning to spend $121 million, this would be a must. In past meetings, I’ve had to dig for basic numbers myself, which isn’t right for you, the taxpayer.

6. Mathematical and structural errors. Some expense sheets have contained calculation errors. In this week’s presentation, the Facility Improvement Fund (Fund 45) even showed a negative balance of $2.3 million. This is not standard practice and undermines confidence in the accuracy of the numbers. 

Budget Workshop Recap (Timestamp: 1:02:16)

Background on the Budget Officer:
Our current Budget Officer, Kari Perkins, joined Smith County after working for Wood County, where she served as the Commissioners Court Coordinator and Grant Coordinator. According to a January 4, 2024 article in the Wood County Monitor, she left that position to take on her current role here. Her husband, Clint Perkins, is also part of Smith County’s team. He became our AgriLife Extension Agent in 2018, also coming from Wood County. This is Mrs. Perkins second year over the county’s budget.
(Source: Wood County Monitor, “County job changes for new year,” Jan. 4, 2024)

At this week’s Budget Workshop, the Budget Officer presented a 9-page PowerPoint. It was a high-level overview, and after she finished, the County Judge opened the floor for questions. The other Commissioners thanked the Budget Officer for her work, but I still had several questions after reviewing the budget department by department (as best I could, given the delays in receiving it). My goal was to go page by page and give department heads and elected officials one more chance to speak to their budgets. Because as your Precinct 1 Commissioner, I take my Constitutional duty under the Texas Constitution, Article VIII, Section 9, to heart. This mandates Commissioners to act as fiscal watchdogs over your tax dollars. Every dollar in the FY2026 Budget comes from your sweat—folks grinding 40, 60, or 80 hours a week to live and pay taxes. It’s your money, and we owe you nothing less than digging into every cent, and keeping a hawk’s eye on the budget process. I’m here to fight for you, ensuring transparency and accountability, because that’s what you deserve. I have a duty to ask the questions.  That’s what you hired me for!

When I asked questions, the Budget Officer often said she would need to check her notes or check her calculations. After the Budget Workshop, I sent her a follow-up email listing my questions that she could not answer in court. She did reply, but many answers raised additional concerns. Below are just two examples:

1. IT Staffing and Outsourced Support

My question: “Which line item in the IT budget covers the $50,000–$75,000 needed to support Mr. Bell if we can’t fill certain audio/visual (A/V) tech positions?”

Budget Officer’s answer: “A/V Tech Support of $50,000–$75,000 – no consensus from the court to include in budget.”

This is an issue we’ve already discussed in at least two previous Budget Workshops. The IT Budget Package warned that if we couldn’t hire the needed staff, the work will have to be outsourced. Our A/V and ADA compliance needs are growing, and the current IT staff is stretched thin. I believe this funding is a must-have since we could not supply extra staff. No other Commissioner has spoken against it, yet the Budget Officer said she needed “consensus.”

2. Capital Expenses and Use of Reserves

I asked how much we are pulling from the county’s Reserve Fund to balance the budget. The Reserve Fund is essentially a Rainy Day Fund, our savings for emergencies. The Budget Officer explained that reserves could be used for one-time capital expenses and listed the following items (note: she did not give a total, so I looked up the amounts):

Capital Contingency: $500,000
Records Archives: $700,000
Facilities Services: [unspecified capital expense]
Fleet Purchases:

• Constable Pct. 1 vehicle: $50,000
• Constable Pct. 4 vehicle: $50,000
• Sheriff’s 2 vehicles: $108,000
• Total: $208,000

AgriLife Extension computers: $4,500
Transfer to Healthcare Fund: $6,000,000

Budget totals:
 Revenues: $114,623,800
 Expenditures: $121,975,928
 Shortfall: –$7,352,128

I also asked if we could use other funds for some capital items, such as:

• Emergency Management: $25,000 in supplies needed for an enclosed trailer that was grant-funded. (Zero dollars have been allocated to the Office of Emergency Management for FY26.)
• Dispatch chairs: $22,000. 

Budget Officer’s answer: “Consensus or directive was not provided by the court to find alternative funding.”

For the record, the Commissioners Court has not previously discussed this use of Reserve Funds for Capital Contingency, Records Archives, Facilities Services, or the AgriLife computers. That was new. I have brought up questions about funding for dispatch chairs and emergency management supplies before in Budget Workshops and emails to the Budget Officer. My question is why did the Budget Officer independently select those capital expenditures for reserve funding without court discussion, yet now requires a court consensus to include the $25,000 for Office of Emergency Management supplies and $22,000 for dispatchers’ chairs, which we previously discussed in budget workshops?
 
If you’d like to see my full list of questions and her responses, I’d be happy to share them. This Q&A left me with even more questions. Since the Budget Officer repeatedly mentioned the need for “consensus,” I submitted an Agenda Item Request Form for the September 2 Commissioners Court meeting so these questionable items can be discussed publicly. I plan to attach my list of items as a supporting document for the packet.

As your Commissioner, I am committed to ensuring that our county’s budget reflects the needs and priorities of YOU, the taxpayer. Regrettably, the proposed FY26 Budget falls short of this standard. Numerous departments face insufficient funding for their needs, which will inevitably diminish the quality of services you rely on. The budget process itself lacked transparency, was disorganized, excluded critical stakeholders, provided inadequate details, and contained significant errors. I cannot, in good conscience, endorse a budget that fails to uphold principles of accountability, clarity, and fiscal responsibility. How can any Commissioner confidently support this flawed FY26 Budget package and stand proudly behind it?

EXECUTIVE SESSION: 

For purposes permitted by Texas Government Code, Chapter 551, entitled Open Meetings, Sections 55 l.071, 55 l.072, 551.073, 551.074, 551.0745, 551.075, and 551.076. The Commissioners Court reserves the right to exercise its discretion and may convene in executive session as authorized by the Texas Government Code, Section 551.071, et seq., on any of the items listed on its formal or briefing agendas.
 
SECTION 551.072 DELIBERATIONS ABOUT REAL PROPERTY
SECTION 551.074 PERSONNEL MATTERS/SECTION 551.071 CONSULTATION WITH ATTORNEY
 
13. Deliberation and consultation regarding the purchase, exchange, lease, or value of real property located in Smith County and the downtown area.
 
14. Deliberation and consultation regarding the employment, evaluation, and duties of the Smith County Animal Control and Shelter.

Note:

In accordance with Texas law, all matters discussed during an Executive Session of a Commissioners Court meeting are confidential.

OPEN SESSION:
 
COURT ORDERS
 
COMMISSIONERS COURT

15. Consider and take necessary action regarding the employment, evaluation, and duties of the Smith County Animal Control and Shelter.

Comments:

We passed on this item. I am satisfied with this outcome.

ADJOURN