At their regular meeting on March 10, DeWitt County Commissioners approved the land purchase in Yorktown for a new building to be used by the Pct. 2 Justice of the Peace. They also heard a review of the county’s 2024 financial standing from an outside auditor.
Justice Center in Yorktown The court approved Court Order 2025010 to purchase 1.395 acres in DeWitt County from Texas Store Property LLC for $195,000, plus closing costs of up to $2,500, which will be determined once the closing date is set.
Judge Fowler recommended discussing the qualifications for architects at the next meeting, emphasizing the need for expertise in designing courtrooms and emergency operation centers (EOCs).
This building will be developed into the Western Annex Justice Center in Yorktown.
Pct. 2 Justice of the Peace McBride expressed her appreciation on behalf of her staff and herself.
COUNTY 2024 AUDIT
Melissa Terry, a CPA and a partner with Harrison, Waldrop, Uherek, LLP firm in Victoria, presented DeWitt County’s fiscal year 2024 audit. Terry explained the objectives of the audit and governance letter, which outlined key events during the audit, accounting practices, and important estimates related to the Texas County District Retirement System (TCDRS), pension, and Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) liabilities.
Terry guided DeWitt County Judge Daryl Fowler and the four precinct commissioners through the findings of the audit with the “big” question.
“Is the county better off or worse off than y'all were after the activities in 2024?” she inquired.
Terry pointed out an increase in the county's net position from $182 million to $199 million.
“Because of those increases in revenues (increased property taxes and interest earned), the county was able to expend more in what we call Public Works expenses or infrastructure, like expenses relating to roads and bridges,” she said.
Judge Fowler elaborated on the increased revenue from property taxes and spoke of the incentive of people paying property taxes earlier.
“Tax statements go out into October, but they are not actioned until the end of January. So, we provide a discount to encourage people to pay up front, pay early, and that worked very well over the last 8 to 10 years,” Judge Fowler said.
In recent years, the collection of early-pay property taxes has declined as taxpayers seek better interest rates in money markets and other investments.
Terry reported that the county's general fund has increased by $9.1 million, raising the total from $30 million to $39 million. This increase was attributed to revenues exceeding estimates and expenses being lower than anticipated.
“As a result, the fund balance of the county is about 296% of expenditure, far exceeding the minimum requirement,” she said.
Judge Fowler emphasized the importance of maintaining a healthy fund balance to address future challenges, particularly when the Eagle Ford Shale resource is depleted.
“It's been the purpose of this Commissioner's court not to crash when the whole plane crashes, but to come in with a soft landing. That’s why our balances are larger. We can taper down, finish road projects, and finish other capital expenditure projects (when Eagle Ford is gone), “Judge Fowler said.
Marathon and ConocoPhillips are two major oil companies in DeWitt County.
“ConocoPhillips is 30% of our tax base,” Judge Fowler stated.
The Commissioners Court formally received the audit report.
FOOD SERVICE VENDOR CONTRACT Due to increases in food prices, the Sheriff Department reevaluated the food service contract and received bids from vendors, with Performance Food Service (PFS) from Victoria being the preferred vendor. Captain Garza explained the decision to switch to PFS due to the lower cost of $6.75 per inmate per day, which would result in significant annual savings.
“They (nationally) are averaging $9 per day,” Captain Jerry Garza said.
The new contract with PFS includes no upfront costs and continuation of the same supply chain for ecolab supplies and other services.
The commissioners reviewed and approved the motion to accept the bid from PFS among the three submitted bids and authorized the county judge to negotiate the food service contract with PFS.
OTHER TOPICS
The Court received Commissioner Pct. 2 Insurance Claim settlement offer of $205,000 from the Texas Association of Counties Risk Management Service for a 2015 Caterpillar motor grader that burned and authorized the deposit auditor to proceed with the necessary documents to settle the insurance claim and credit the funds to DeWitt County Pct. 2 miscellaneous income; certificates of completion from the County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas for Commissioner Pct. 1 Ryan Varela, Commissioner Pct. 2 James B. Pilchiek, Sr., Commissioner Pct. Brian Carson; certificates of completion of 40 hours of education at the Newly Elected Constables Conference for Constable Pct. 1 Roy Kuester from the Sam Houston State University Criminal Justice Center; certificate of completion for Blair Duran from the Texas Judicial Academy for completion of 13 hours of judicial and administrative education at the 2025 County Court Assistants Training Conference; County Auditor's Semi-Monthly Reports - February 21-28, 2025; County Auditor’s Deposit Receipt Audit for February 2025; County Auditor’s Payroll Audit Report February 2025, County Auditor's Positive Pay Audit Report February 2025, District Clerk Statutory Compliance Audit FY 2024 Q2-Q4; and Monthly Report of Officials.
The Court approved Memorandum of Understanding to establish a partnership between Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and DeWitt County for cooperative demonstration work in agriculture and home economics effective March 10, 2025, through September 30, 2030; renewal of Texas Association of Counties, Risk Management Pool Insurance Renewal schedule and application for property insurance; renewal of maintenance agreement for the Fuelmaster Fuel Management System located at the Pct. 4 barn reducing the maintenance agreement to $2,650 effective March 6, 2025 through March 5, 2026; The Court received and awarded contracts for Asphalt Oils to Martin Asphalt, Concrete to ABN Construction LLC, Fuel to On Site DBA Schmidt and Sons Inc., and Road Material (see forthcoming Commissioners Court minutes for details).
The next regular Commissioners Court meeting will be held at 9:00 a.m. at the De-Witt County Courthouse on March 24th.
