By Anna Noel
The Cuero Record
The regular meeting of DeWitt County commissioners’ court took place on Monday, June 27, at 9 a.m.
The meeting began with the approval of accounts payable and ratified accounts payable, then approved the IRS increase of the standard mileage rate from 58.5 cents to 62.5 cents. A request from Meals on Wheels South Texas’ Dan Williams-Capone was heard for increased funding, and court requested that a written request be made to be included in the annual budget workshop. Another request for increased funding was heard, this time from Westhoff Fire Chief Andrew Weikel, asking for the fee paid to volunteer fire departments be increased from $200 a call.
“I come before you to speak of the ongoing financial difficulties the volunteer fire departments are having in our county. These continuing difficulties have been plaguing many volunteer fire departments and have been exacerbated by the recent cost increase in gas and diesel. To the best of my knowledge, the last agreement made for $200 [a call] between the VFWs and the county was from circa 1997-1998. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the price of gas per gallon was $1.06 and the price of diesel was $1.04 at that time. As of Sunday morning, the average price across the state of Texas was $4.55 for gas and $5.29 for diesel. This has led to an over 450% increase in gas, and over a 500% increase in diesel."
Read the full story in this week's edition of the Yorktown News-View or The Cuero Record. Call 361-564-2242 or 361-275-3464 to subscribe.