Today’s meeting of the Brown County Commissioners Court was focused on a number of year-end business issues.  One item concerned the upcoming vacancy in the office of Precinct 1 Constable.  Robert Mullins currently holds that office, but he is retiring at the end of this year and did not run for re-election.  No one else ran either, leaving that office vacant beginning January 1, 2025.  The Commissioners will appoint a Constable to fill the vacancy.  Persons interested in the job should contact the Precinct 1 Commissioner, which will be Kirk Chastain effective January 1.  He and other  Constables and Justices of the Peace will consider the applicants, and make a recommendation to the Commissioners Court.  The Precinct 1 Constable must live in Precinct 1.

In other business:

*** Commissioners approved interlocal cooperative agreements for housing and detention services of inmates with the following Counties:  Mills, San Saba, Taylor, and McCullough.

*** Commissioners approved the acceptance of a donation of $50 to the Sheriff’s Department from Annie Baker.

*** Commissioners approved a salary increase of $12,000 for an Assistant District Attorney, with the funds coming from the State of Texas SB-22 law, which provided funds for law enforcement in rural counties.

*** Commissioners approved a bond that covers Tax Assessor-Collector Christine Pentecost.

*** Commissioners agreed to accept the return of a van from the local Veterans Administration.  The County previously bought the van, which was used to transport veterans to and from medical facilities in Temple, Texas, but a new van has since been purchased.

*** Commissioners approved a lease agreement with the Pecan Valley Regional Domestic Violence Shelter, also known as The Ark.  That organization uses a building that is jointly owned by Brown County and the City of Brownwood.  The current lease expires on December 31, 2024.  The new lease will extend the lease for ten years.

*** Commissioners approved a lease agreement between the County and the City of Brownwood for a building at 1600 Burnett Road, across the street from the Hendrick Medical Center, which houses the Brown County Veterans Services Office.  The County leases the building from the City for $1 per year, but agrees to pay the utilities and insurance.  The building also houses the Texas Veterans Service  office.  The local American Legion Post 196 previously also occupied the building, but has recently moved out.

*** Commissioners approved a contract with Tyler Technologies for new computer software to handle case management, court management, law enforcement, and financial data.  Currently several different software systems are used in different departments in the County, making it difficult to access and transfer information between departments.  As part of the information technology upgrade project, the County’s consultant Goldsmith Solutions has recommended Tyler Technologies, which is the pre-eminent software provider for County governments in Texas.  District Judge Mike Smith said that Mills County currently uses Tyler, and that it works very well there.  Commissioner Gary Worley said he has spoken with several other Counties that use Tyler software, and they are all very pleased with it.  County Judge Shane Britton said the conversion will take up to 18 months, and the County will be billed on an ongoing basis, as portions of the conversion are complete.  The amount billed will be based on the time required for the conversion of each department.  The contract calls for the total cost not to exceed $2,326,664, and Britton believes the final cost will be less than that.

*** Commissioners discussed how to spend money remaining from the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.  This money is sometimes called Covid money, or ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds.  The County has about $3.4 million remaining, and the use of those funds must be committed to by December 31, 2024, or the funds are lost.  Commissioners agreed to use part of the funds for the four County Precinct budgets, part for a water project in May, Texas, and the remainder for the Tyler Technologies software.

*** Commissioners agreed to keep the County burn ban off for now.