Certificate pay for sheriff’s deputies has been extended for at least another two weeks after action by the Commissioners Court Tuesday. The extra pay for deputies was scheduled to be cut off if there was no new collective bargaining agreement in place by May 7.
Commissioner John Gothia believed the contract negotiations were moving forward with progress being made towards reaching a new agreement and made the motion for an extension of the certificate pay to May 21. The Court will have another review of the status of the collective bargaining talks on May 9 to consider a further extension of the bonus pay for deputies. The next negotiation between the deputies’ union and the county is scheduled for Friday at 11:00 AM in the Commissioners Courtroom.
The Commissioners Court tabled for the third time in a month a decision on whether to make changes to the health insurance coverage for future employees when they retire. Progress seemed to be made Tuesday in deciding on the retirement health insurance for future employees with the county, but it will be two weeks before a decision could be made.
A recommendation from Commissioner Gothia received mostly positive responses from the other Commissioners. He suggested using a standard rate of $750 a month for future employees when they retire to the age of 65 and $350 a month for retirees that reach the age for medicare to cover their supplemental insurance.
Commissioner Johnny Trahan suggested also limiting payment until the retirees reach age 55 and still use the county’s sliding scale for years of service to determine the amount of the coverage. Each member of the Court was instructed to prepare their recommendations in written form which will be presented to the Commissioners Court when they meet on May 9. Hopefully, a decision could be reached at that time.
The Commissioners held a workshop prior to their regular court session. Steve Bird with Linebarger, Goggan, Blair, & Sampson law firm updated the Court on his firm’s efforts to collect delinquent taxes for the county. Bird informed the Commissioners that of the nearly $4.5 million in delinquent taxes due the County $1.75 million of that is due for 2016 taxes only. Those 2015 taxes will be turned over to Linebarger on July 1. The remaining $2.8 million represents delinquent taxes from 2015 and prior years. Bird also mentioned that his Firm planned to begin publishing names of delinquent taxpayers in local media in the coming weeks.
Architect John Dineen with HDR made a presentation to the Commissioners regarding the Courthouse Master Plan to be submitted to the Texas Historical Society for the restoration of the marble on the front façade of the Orange County Courthouse. He projected it would take three to four months to prepare the master plan. Commissioner Barry Burton who requested the item for the workshop indicated the deadline for the master plan to be submitted to the Texas Historical Society for possible grant monies is in October.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
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