The Commissioners Court Tuesday did a reversal of its action from two weeks ago by reclassifying the District Attorney’s Criminal Investigator to an E-3 on the pay matrix. Commissioner David Dubose who missed the meeting on June 28 when the first vote was taken requested the Court reconsider its reclassification of the Criminal Investigator’s position. The reclassification was to go into effect at the beginning of the new fiscal year on October 1 and would have meant a reduction in pay of just under $10,000.
County Attorney John Kimbrough gave a passionate plea for restoring Investigator K. C. Breshears to his previous classification. In the process Kimbrough suggested Commissioners Court was punishing Breshears because he was helping Texas Rangers investigate former Emergency Management Coordinator Ryan Peabody. Several other investigators with the Sheriff’s Office and local police departments spoke on Breshears’ behalf before he himself spoke. When the vote was taken Commissioners Barry Burton and John Banken changed their votes from June 28 and joined with Dubose in favor of restoring the investigator position’s classification from an E-2 back to an E-3 with 15 years of service. After the meeting Breshears said, “I’m truly humbled and appreciate the support I received from my colleagues and the public today in commissioner’s court. I also appreciate the commissioners listening to the facts and supporting me in the end.”
The Court approved unanimously a reduced scope of work for Way Services to perform energy efficiency improvements to buildings owned by Orange County. The original proposal from Way would have cost the county $6.4 million. The option approved by the Commissioners will be worth $5.423 million. Financing for the improvements will be handled through a contractual obligation which was agreed by all parties concerned to be easier and less expensive for the county to undertake. Handling the financing of the project will be U.S. Capital Advisors and Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta, both of which have dealt with similar financing programs involving other counties or municipalities.
The Court received the county’s 2015 audit from an accounting firm Tuesday. Commissioner Banken then requested an outside audit be done of the County Auditor’s Office. County Attorney Doug Manning was requested by Banken and the other commissioners to prepare a resolution stating the reason for the audit which will need to be published for 10 days before the Commissioners Court can vote on whether to follow through with the audit. County Judge Brint Carlton was the lone vote opposing the drafting of the resolution.
Sheriff Keith Merritt received approval to purchase ten new vehicles for his department. Merritt requested at a budget workshop last week that he be able to replace four Ford F-150s, a Dodge 2500, and five Dodge Chargers as patrol cars utilizing Asset Forfeiture funds.
Orange County will join with the City of Vidor in Pride and Progress a residential tax abatement program undertaken by the city as an economic development project. The Court approved a resolution which begins the ball rolling to allow the county to join the program.
The Commissioners took no action on changing again the Orange County Disaster Pay Policy which was changed at their last meeting. Charlie Cox the incoming Emergency Management Coordinator for Orange County attended Tuesday’s meeting and advised the Court that he has been looking into the disaster pay policy of other counties in Southeast Texas. Cox asked the Commissioners Court to delay any action until he officially takes his new position on July 25. He promised to make a report at that time on his recommendation for any changes that were needed to the Disaster Pay Policy.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
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