The resignation of Brint Carlton as county judge was accepted by the Commissioners Court Tuesday, but he will remain as the chief executive of Orange County until an interim is appointed. Carlton announced his resignation last Friday indicating his last day would be Sunday, April 22, at noon.
The guidelines for replacing him, according to Assistant County Attorney Denise Gremillion, state Carlton will retain the position until a replacement is named. “He retains the title and all the legal responsibilities until the successor is actually appointed, so there’s no deadline,” Gremillion reported.
The four Commissioners said they were not prepared to name an interim county judge at this time. A special closed session is expected to be called for the start of next week’s Commissioners Court meeting to discuss who would be appointed as county judge. The Court would then vote to appoint a person to the position during the regular meeting next Tuesday.
As maybe one of his last acts as county judge, Carlton announced his appointment of Joel Ardoin as the new Emergency Management Coordinator for Orange County. Ardoin serves the county as the Code Compliance officer and has worked with the Emergency Management Office during several of the recent emergencies in the county.
Ardoin will retain his position in Environmental, Health, and Code Compliance while assuming the new role as Emergency Management Coordinator. The Commissioners Court approved Tuesday giving Ardoin a promotion from an E-3 to an E-4 classification which represents about a $10,000 raise.
Leon George has been serving as the interim Emergency Management Coordinator following the resignation of Ralph Valenciano in March. George will return to his Assistant Emergency Management Coordinator position with the appointment of Ardoin.
A public hearing was held prior to the regular meeting. County Engineer Clark Slacum described the reasons for requesting changes to seven road signs in the county. Two of the locations will add stop signs to intersections, three will reduce the speed limit on roads to 20 miles-per-hour, one would prohibit parking near a boat ramp on Pine Bluff Road, and the last would reduce the length of a road on private property. No action was taken during the hearing, but the items will be included on a future agenda for the Commissioners Court.
The agreement between the county and FEMA for the federal agency to use the Orange County Convention and Expo Center as the site of its Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) was extended to May 26. Michelle Tubbleville informed the Commissioners that 134 citizens used the DRC last week. FEMA has changed the hours for the DRC to be open on Saturdays from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. It remains opened Mondays through Fridays from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
Tax exemptions for the 2018 tax year were approved to be unchanged from last year’s exemptions by the Commissioners Court. The local homestead exemption will stay at 20 percent of appraised value. The exemptions for citizens 65-years of age and older or for disabled citizens will be $25,000.
The Commissioners Court approved two proclamations during the meeting. April was recognized as National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Representatives from the Sabine/Neches office of C.A.S.A. accepted the proclamation. Sexual Assault Awareness Month is also in April. The Rape and Suicide Crisis Center of Southeast Texas was present to receive the proclamation.
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