Hopkins County Commissioner Court is set to consider closing a portion of CR 4746, setting the county clean up days and two plat requests during the regular court session Monday, March 14, 2022.
Submitted for court approval at the meeting are an application and a petition to close and abandon a portion of County Road 4746.
The Commissioners Court have been asked to consider a preliminary plat for Oak Grove Subdivision as well as a replat of Honeysuckle Estates Lot 14 Phase One and Lot 37 Phase 3.
The Commissioners Court too will be asked to consider setting the annual County Clean Up Days. Proposed are Friday and Saturday, April 29-30.
As is required the agenda shows the county judge officially ordering a May 7, 2022, Constitutional Amendment Special Election. Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Feb. 16 issued a proclamation setting May 7 as the date for the special election for two propositions, which has the potential to impact local school taxes. The judge is required to order the election, a formality for it to be on the county ballot.
The two constitutional amendments were proposed by two joint resolutions, submitted by the 87th Texas Legislature, Second Called Session, and the 87th Texas Legislature, Third Called Session, of the State of Texas.
According to the Governor’s proclamation, the proposals are to be as follows:
STATE OF TEXAS PROPOSITION No. 1
“The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for the reduction of the amount of a limitation on the total amount of ad valorem taxes that may be imposed for general elementary and secondary public school purposes on the residence homestead of a person who is elderly or disabled to reflect any statutory reduction from the preceding tax year in the maximum compressed rate of the maintenance and operations taxes imposed for those purposes on the homestead.”
STATE OF TEXAS PROPOSITION No. 2
“The constitutional amendment increasing the amount of the residence homestead exemption from ad valorem taxation for public school purposes from $25,000 to $40,000.”
On Feb. 14, 2022, the Commissioners Court agreed to consolidate voter precincts from 12 to six for the May 7 special election. Early voting will continue to be conducted in the Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace’s courtroom, located inside the Hopkins County Courthouse Annex Building on Jefferson St. April 25-May 3, 2022.
The court will consider approving agreements with volunteer fire departments who have turned them in since Feb. 14. The deadline for VFDs to get their agreements signed and back in to the county was before the end of the first week in February. Only five of the county’s VFDs had returned them by the Feb. 14, 2022 Commissioners Court meeting. All of those agreements were approved and accepted by the court. County officials planned to reach out to the six other departments regarding the documents.
Fire protection agreements stipulate what the VFDs agree to in exchange for certain funding and other benefits provided by the county. For instance, the court reimburses insurance costs, fuel costs, and provides a stipend to each VFD as agreed upon in the agreement to assist with operating expenses.
Over the last 2 years, the departments have each received air cylinders and last year also was afforded assistance of up to a certain amount of funding to be used to obtain tires for VFD trucks from vendor at a discounted rate.
Sulphur Bluff, Como, North Hopkins/South Sulphur, Cumby, Miller Grove and Tira VFDs had yet to return the agreements to the county when the five other agreements were approved during the Feb. 14, 2022 Commissioners Court meeting.
The commissioners’ CEUs will also be noted.
Submitted for approval on the consent agenda are minutes from Feb. 14 and March 4 meetings.
Requests submitted for consideration by the Commissioners Court during the 9 a.m. regular meeting Monday, March 14, 2022, are requests from Spectrum/Charter to construct and place meter base poles or ground mount meter bases on County Road 4760 and County Road 3504, and from Oncor Electric for a service order.
Immediately following adjournment of the regular meeting, the Commissioners Court is slated to move to the third floor of the Courthouse for a work session. The commissioners and judge are scheduled to discuss department operations, expenditures, and any proposed improvements and repairs with Sheriff Lewis Tatum and Fire Marshal Andy Endsley; and county building maintenance with Tom Glosup. The court may also hold a budget work session.
The following Monday, March 21, the court is slated to meet at noon at the Sulphur Springs-Hopkins County Economic Development Corporation offices, at 1200 Enterprise Lane, to discuss economic development in Hopkins County.
