The Commissioners Court approved unanimously Tuesday making an emergency expenditure as an amendment to its budget in order to pay over three million dollars in the Montano lawsuit against Orange County. County Judge Brint Carlton said this action will take the county one step closer to putting the whole matter behind it.
The actual payment of $3,175,674.79 to Joshua Montano the plaintiff in the case will be done on or before February 15. Robert Montano died while in the Orange County Jail back in 2011. Judge Carlton promised after the release of judgment which will immediately follow the payment of the settlement all questions concerning the incident will be answered in a special Commissioners Court meeting. “So that people can understand the whole situation and why we took the steps that we took, and what information we were given, and so they can also hopefully get some assurance that something like this will never happen again.” Carlton stated.
Eleven entities were approved Tuesday to receive Hotel Occupancy Tax funds by the Commissioners Court. The action by the Commissioners followed a public hearing earlier during which Orange County Economic Development Director Jessica Hill presented the recommendations from the Hotel Occupancy Tax Committee.
Hill added that guidelines have changed in distributing the funds. “We did change the process to a post-event reimbursement allocation. Once we receive receipts from those events and those activities then we’ll be able to verify those and reimburse those entities for their expenditures.” The Committee will allocate $77,200 to the eleven entities. Hill thanked the organizations for their cooperation and said none of them received 100 percent of what they originally requested.
The Commissioners agreed Tuesday on assuming a division of responsibilities for each member. Precinct One Commissioner Johnny Trahan will oversee issues dealing with employees and retirees. Barry Burton of Precinct Two will continue to work on economic development and infrastructure like the scaffolding on the Courthouse. John Gothia the Commissioner from Precinct Three will handle finances and operations. Commissioner Jody Crump from Precinct Four will be in charge of legal matters and contracts. County Judge Brint Carlton has input on all four of the categories. Commissioners will rotate to different duties each year so they will handle all four duties during a full 4-year term.
The Court also approved proclamations recognizing former sheriff Mike White and Vidor businessman Jacob Conner as Good Samaritans. White actually assisted three occupants in a vehicle that rolled over in a ditch half full of water in Jefferson County back on January 10. Conner provided food, drinks, and a portable restroom for motorists following a major accident near his business off of Interstate 10 earlier in January that backed up the traffic on the freeway in both directions for several hours.
Social Media