Scurry County officials almost certainly might institute an outdoor burn ban. It just won’t be this week.
During their meeting today, commissioners tabled action on a recommended burn ban in order to seek more information on what, if any, exceptions they should make to the order.
Snyder Fire Department Chief Perry Westmoreland and Deputy Fire Marshal Nathan Hines addressed commissioners on the need for the burn ban, citing dry conditions that are expected to continue through at least early May.
“It’s time (for the ban),” Westmoreland said. “We’ve laid back a month or more to see how conditions were, and it’s just gotten worse and worse. If we don’t declare a burn ban and we have a major, major fire, we will not be eligible for any recovery money from the state.”
Commissioners agreed that a burn ban was necessary, but differed on if there should be some exceptions to it, such as for agricultural purposes or allowing burns under the supervision of a certified burn manager.
After reviewing a draft of the burn ban, Pct. 1 Commissioner Terry Williams wanted the agriculture exception expanded to include ranching operations.
“I think we should give ranchers the same consideration as farmers,” Williams said. “I have some living in my precinct who occasionally have to burn, and they are always very careful when they do so.”
But Pct. 2 Commissioner Marianne Randals and Pct. 3 Commissioner Shawn McCowen argued for a ban with very few exceptions.
“I can’t imagine anyone wanting to burn in these conditions,” Randals said. “If we’re going to have a burn ban, it should mean no fires anywhere.”
Unable to reach an immediate consensus, commissioners agreed to table any action on a ban until their meeting scheduled for next Tuesday.
Also today, commissioners approved County Treasurer Nelda Colvin’s fourth quarter report, which showed that Scurry County had a cash balance of slightly more than $11 million as of Dec. 31, 2017. That figure, Colvin said, included more than $5 million in ad valorem taxes collected in 2017 but designated for 2018 property tax bills.
County Auditor Angela Sanchez added that the county’s total reserve funds totaled more than $8 million, although only $739,000 of that amount was in the general fund. The remainder of the reserve funds are earmarked for enterprise funds such as EMS, the county airport and the county’s road and bridge departments.
Craig Merritt, who is a Republican candidate for the Pct. 2 Commissioner seat, said during the meeting that it was very important that officials resist any temptation to modify the enterprise funds.
“You can’t just say, ‘Well, we didn’t set it up right, so, we can just upend the cookie jar and pour it out on the table,’” Merritt said.
Merritt and Williams then engaged in a brief but spirited exchange over future county economic policy, including the need for possible tax increases. County Judge Ricky Fritz ended the exchange, saying it went beyond the agenda for today’s meeting.
Commissioners gave their approval for EMS employees to attend out-of-state training, approved a proposal to showcase EMS’ telemedicine ambulance at a conference in San Antonio next month and approved a list of election judges and a joint resolution to conduct early voting and canvass election results for the March 6 primary.
They also approved a Victim Notification System maintenance grant contract and an agreement with Automated Management System for the use of credit cards in the county clerk’s office.
Additional revenue in the form of $197,732 from the Texas Department of Transportation to reimburse the county for costs associated with the Cavendar Road project, was certified during today’s meeting.
Also today, commissioners approved a budget amendment of $585,000 to cover interest expense associated with the law enforcement complex (LEC). The county had only budgeted for a third of the annual total payment amount. The remainder will come from the LEC reserve fund.
Three line-item transfers also were approved — $300 from ground supplies to auto expenses in the building maintenance budget to cover the cost of four new tires for the maintenance pickup, $1,448 from utilities to Council of Governments (COG) match in the senior citizens center budget to cover the increased amount of the county’s matching funds and $1,000 from fuel and oil to building in the Pct. 2 Road and Bridge Department budget to increase funding for security.
Commissioners also approved the payment of $1.56 million in bills, including $365,000 in payroll.
They also conducted the annual review of Scurry County EMS Director Jason Tyler, but took no action after the closed session.