Category: Medina County Commissioner’s Court News

By Anton Riecher

Medina County Judge Keith Lutz cast a rare deciding vote on commissioners’ court action August 17, joining with two other members to approve a measure amending how funds for road construction and maintenance are apportioned to the precincts.

The vote followed Precinct 2 Commissioner Larry Sittre abrupt departure after several terse exchanges with Precinct 3 Commissioner David Lynch on the proposed amendment.

Continue reading “County judge casts deciding vote on measure to change apportionment of road funds”

By Anton Riecher
Two-term Medina County Precinct 1 Commissioner Timothy Neuman submitted his resignation July 10 effective immediately. Several days later, the Medina County Criminal District Attorney confirmed that a criminal investigation involving Neuman is being conducted by the Texas Rangers.
Margaret Swyers, assistant criminal district attorney, confirmed the investigation, referring all further comment to the Texas Rangers, the investigating agency.
“What we can say is that we are aware of an investigation and to my knowledge there has not been an arrest made,” Swyers said. “Because it is a pending investigation it is not something that we could elaborate on besides that.”
Nothing official has been filed with the Medina County Criminal District Attorney at this point, Swyers said.
The Texas Rangers is the investigation arm of the Texas Department of Public Safety. DPS media representative Erika Miller stated, “Thank you for your patience. The Texas Rangers are investigating. As this is an active and ongoing investigation, no additional information is available.”
The letter of resignation from Neuman was read aloud by County Judge Keith Lutz during the July 13 Commissioners Court meeting in Hondo.
“I am in receipt of a resignation letter from him from July 10 and it says ‘I, Timothy Neuman, resign as commissioner of precinct 1 for personal reasons, effective 7-10-23,” Lutz read.
On a motion by Precinct 3 Commissioner David Lynch, seconded by Precinct 4 Commissioner Danny Lawler, the commissioners voted to accept the resignation by a 3-0 vote.
Lutz then designated Precinct 2 Commissioner Larry Sittre to handle “anything to do with subdivision information” in precinct 1.
“Sittre has agreed to take those responsibilities to help us continue through that process,” Lutz said.
All other precinct 1 matters (not involving subdivisions) were delegated to Lynch, he said.
“Commissioner Lynch has been gracious enough to watch over the day-to-day operation and he will be doing that,” Lutz said. “Commissioner Lawler, down on that end of the county, said if there is anything he can take care of, he said he would like to help as well.”
During the court members announcement segment of the agenda, Sittre elaborated on the importance of county processing subdivision applications, referring to earlier court action involving the San Antonio Trust subdivision, Hunter’s Ranch subdivision and Megan’s Landing subdivision.
“You all just witnessed probably about $850 million worth of subdivisions, okay,” Sittre said. “The subdivisions we are building over there, some of them had 20-year build-out – they built out in 10. Some of them have 15, they built out in five.”
“All I want to say is the work going on in precinct 2, the majority of it, this is what this (indicating the new county courthouse annex) came from. That’s where the new jail came from.”
As much as 80 percent of the funds coming into the county originated with projects in precincts 1 and 2, Sittre said. He noted that Neuman “was probably on two-thirds of stuff with me,” referring to subdivision approvals.
“Every subdivision I put through, he wanted to learn how to do the job,” Sittre said.
Judge Lutz outlined the procedure by which a replacement for Neuman will be appointed. The cutoff date for applications will be August 11.
“Qualifications for the position are the same qualifications it would take to run for that position which is, first, they have to live in the precinct,” Lutz said. “They have to have been in the precinct for at least six months and that they have to have lived in the county for a year.”
Lutz said that information about where those interested in the opening can go to apply would be posted to the county website within several days.
“My intention is not to do anything or talk to anybody about a job for the next couple of weeks,” he said.
Precinct 1, extending from the county seat in Hondo north to the Medina-Bandera county line, represented the largest of the four Medina County precincts by far.
Neuman’s resignation came one day before passage of a Texas Senate resolution proposed by State Sen. Pete Flores congratulating Neuman on graduation from the state’s Commissioner Court Leadership Academy.
Neuman was absent from both the July 6 and 13 commissioners court meetings.

By Anton Riecher
Medina County ended the 2021-2022 fiscal year in September with equal to almost a full year of general fund expenditure held in reserve in its fund balance, the county’s official outside audit states.
Travis Rogers, certified public accountant for Pattillo Brown & Hill in Waco reported that the county is “well set up to deal with any change of circumstances that arise in the next year or two.”
The audit, presented to the Medina County Commissioners Court on April 6, shows that the county added about $1.6 million in fund balance to the general fund as the result of operations during FY 2021/2022, bringing the total fund balance to about $17.3 million, Rogers said.
“If you compare that to total expenditures for the year, even if you take out capital outlay or about $864,000, that’s still roughly about $20 million in the general fund for the year, which means in the ending fund balance you have close to a year’s worth of general fund expenditure,” Rogers said.
A general rule of thumb for local governmental entities such as counties, is to keep three to six months in reserve, he said.
“If you have nine or 10 months you’re in excellent health financially and in no danger of running out of money any time soon,” Rogers said.
As for the state of the county’s bookkeeping, Rogers said his company issued Medina County an “unmodified or clean opinion.”
“It’s the highest level of assurance we can provide meaning no issues or material departures were noted as part of our audit,” he said.
In other county financial news, the monthly treasurer’s report showed that the county ended February 2023 with a cash balance of $34.714 million, Total debt ending the same period totaled $25.025 million.
On a motion by Precinct 3 Commissioner David Lynch, seconded by Precinct 2 Commissioner Larry Sittre, the commissioners approved $2.071 million in accounts payable. The court also approved disbursement of funds since the last commissioners meeting totaling $10,780.
Commissioners approved a payroll for the period from March 18 to March 31 totaling $663,894 for its 326 employees.
The county auditor’s report showed a March beginning balance of $34.328 million and an April beginning balance of $34.880 million.
A line-item transfer of $1,959 was approved to allow Precinct 2 Constable Jim Przybylski to move funds from office supplies to auto maintenance to cover the removal of old graphics and installation of new replacement graphics on his vehicle.
The commissioners also approved the transfer of $150,000 among various funds used for emergency dispatching.
ESD No. 2
An annual financial report for the Medina County Emergency Services District No. 2 submitted to the county indicates that the district ended the 2021-2022 fiscal year with a budget deficit of $177,795.
“In the General Fund actual revenues received were less than anticipated by $15,665, expenditures more than anticipated by $162,130, resulting in a budget deficit of $177,795,” the outside audit states.
Total revenues budgeted were $432,200. However, the audit shows the actual revenues received totaled $416,535.
“In the Interest and Sinking Fund, actual revenues received were less than anticipated by $9,481, expenditures were less than anticipated by $227, resulting in a budget deficit of $9,205 for the year ending Sept. 30, 2022,” the audit states.
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
The court granted emergency management coordinator Mark Chapwick permission to train a volunteer intern.
“It’s an unpaid internship with no cost out-of-pocket for us,” Chapwick said. “The investment for us, of course, is an investment of time. What it does is take people and build them up in the skills to be able to do this kind of work.”
Chapwick, who joined the county staff last year, said he has conducted an internship program for the past 12 years with good results. One of his previous interns just took charge of emergency management for the community of Ruidoso, N.M.
“You can also use this as a platform for training some local volunteers to work specifically in emergency management,” Chapwick said. “It would be an augmentation for us.”
SUBDIVISIONS
Under subdivision development, the commissioners gave final approval to vacate and replace a lot in the Mi Tierra Subdivision on County Road 340 in Precinct 1. The action followed a brief public hearing on the topic that drew no comment.
Precinct 1 Commissioners Timothy Neuman made the motion, seconded by Sittre.
In Precinct 3, the San Antonio Trust Subdivision located on FM 463 north of Natalia and Lytle received preliminary approval to vacate and replat one lot. Commissioner Lynch recommended the court withhold final approval until further discussion with the Texas Department of Transportation about subdivision entrances.
On a motion by Sittre, the commissioners approved Unit 16B and Unit 16A in the Hunters Ranch subdivision. On a motion by Neuman, seconded by Sittre, the commissioners voted to accept a construction bond for Valley Oaks subdivision, phase 2, located in Precinct 1.
OTHER
Commissioners accepted a community-wide fair housing analysis regarding disability, race and ethnicity required by the Texas Department of Agriculture before the county can apply for grant funds. The court also approved a resolution authorizing application for the 2024 Indigent Defense Improvement Grant Program for the Hill Country Regional Public Defender’s Office.
Chief Juvenile Probation Officer Linette Dury petitioned the commissioners to approve a contract with the Cameron County Juvenile Justice Department for residential services. Likewise, a similar interlocal agreement with the El Paso County Juvenile Board was approved.
On a motion by Neuman, seconded by Sittre, the court authorized application to the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Police Service to participate in the COPS hiring program. Since 1994, COPS has provided $14 billion I assistance to state and local law enforcement agencies to help hire community policing officers.
Commissioners voted to extend the annual eDispatch system contract for the county. EDispatch automatically detects audio dispatches and delivers notifications directly member devices.
The county also approved extending an annual $3,000 lease by Keller Grain of county property in Precinct 2.
For complete video coverage of the commissioners court session visit the Devine News YouTube channel at youtu.be/Ps3a7rg52Yc.

By Anton Riecher
Water, traffic and security were the principal concerns cited by property owners during public hearings before the Medina County Commissioners Court regarding pending action on several new subdivisions.
Precinct 3 landowner Frederick Gierisch said that he has seen rapid depletion of his water resources in recent years. Now developers of the Sky View Ranch subdivision off FM 1796 are petitioning the court for preliminary approval of the project.
“My water well, in five years, has gone down 50 feet and I’m right across the fence from their development,” Gierisch said.
Beside the hearing on the Sky View Ranch development, commissioners also heard from landowners on creation of the Megan’s Landing Public Improvement District and revisions to Private Road 1505 in the Holiday Villages of Medina subdivision.
Precinct 3 Commissioner David Lynch presided over the Jan. 12 meeting in Lutz’s absence. New County Judge Keith Lutz and Precinct 4 Commissioner Daniel Lawler were not present as they were attending the Texas Association of Counties conference in Austin.
Beside the impact on water resources, Gierisch told commissioners that Sky View Ranch is a 2,800-acre development involving 220 lots. Figuring three members to each new household the new development represent added pressure on local roadways.
“It might add as many as 600 more people to an FM road that can’t handle the traffic that it has now,” he said.
Landowner Joe Finger of D’Hanis mirrored Gierisch’s complaints in his comments.
“I can’t drill another well,” he said. “My well is at the bottom of the table. If my well dries, and it has dropped an average of about 10 feet every year, everybody in my area will be as out of luck as I am.”
Like Gierisch, Finger said increased traffic on FM 1796 represents a growing menace.
“You’re going to get somebody killed by putting that many people on that road when it is not meant to handle the traffic,” Finger said.
Dan Mullins, representing the developer, said steps have already been taken to address the concerns raised by Gierisch and Finger. Regarding water, landscaping is being restricted to only 5,000-square-feet of irrigation.
“So on a 10-acre tract nobody is going to come out and sod the whole thing,” Mullins said.
Regardless of Mullins’s reassurance, commissioners voted to approve a motion by Lynch giving preliminary approval for the subdivision only if it receives the okay of county consultant Alan Stanton of Westwood Engineering on the water use impact.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Larry Sittre asked Mullins to consider reconfiguring the arrangement of lots to reduce the number of homes bordering FM 1796.
“This is, to me, a safety hazard to have 24 lots come out on that state highway,” Sittre said. “That is not good.”
The public hearing for the Megan’s Landing Improvement District received a ringing endorsement from Sittre who praised the inclusion of what he described as one of the largest systems to recycle irrigation water in Texas.
“We’re in the worst water crisis and this will save probably 60 percent of the water,” Sittre said. “Sixty percent of the water that goes to homes goes on the yard. This is going to be 100 percent recycled water on the majority of yards.”
During the public hearing on the Holiday Villages of Medina development a representative for Texas Holiday Villages asked that commissioners schedule final plat approval for their next meeting.
“We expect today you are going to hear some complaints about the private roads, their construction,” the representative said. “I just want to make sure that the court notes that those roads have been inspected both by independent third parties and the county and passed that inspection.”
Texas Holiday Villages has entered into an agreement with the local homeowners association to guarantee the road for the next 10 years, he said.
But property owner Paul Wade said the developer’s decision to reduce the minimum lot size from one acre to a quarter acre is bound to impact the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone. Also, the security of the gated community has been compromised by unrestricted access from Castroville Road.
“They paint a pretty picture of what they will do for you as long as it doesn’t cost them,” Wade said.
The Texas Holiday Villages representative said access from Castroville Road was only temporary to allow in construction equipment and has since been closed. Tom Crawford of the homeowners association said plans are in the works for a more substantial fence to block that entrance.
In other business, a report from County Auditor Eduardo Lopez put the available county funds at $20 million compared to $18.1 million at the same time last year. The commissioners approved $2.1 million in accounts payable with $19,599 in funds disbursed since the last court session.
Commissioners approved a request by Darcy Hasty, director of Medina County Pre-Trial Services, to permit her office to adopt the use of a smaller, more sophisticated breathalyzer testing device used to check the status of offenders while on the job.
Chief Deputy Gilbert Rodriguez sought approval for the sheriff’s office to comply with a request by the state attorney general to assign an investigator to the issue of Internet child abuse. The state pledged to reimburse the county for the computer equipment needed.
Commissioners asked for further information on payment of an architect in regard to redoing the parking lot of the courthouse annex completed in 2020. Lynch explained that the architect was needed to make the county’s case that the parking lot be redone.
Sittre said he was opposed to any effort by the contractor to cover the parking lot project from contingency funds.
“They screwed up our parking lot and they want to take it out of our money to fix it – no,” he said.
The commissioners voted to authorize advertising for a public hearing on reducing the speed limit for CR 640 in precinct 3. Meanwhile, Precinct 1 Commissioner Timothy Neuman said he wants the cost of advertising about applications to replat to be borne by the property owners in the future.
“My precinct has paid nearly $3,000 to advertise for this,” he said.
The commissioners’ tabled action on Neuman’s proposal until further legal research can be conducted.

By Anton Riecher
Could a minor name change help make clearer the distinct role of the appraisal district as a governmental entity separate from Medina County? Such a change is under consideration by the district’s board of directors.
Chief Appraiser Johnette Dixon recommended the directors change the Medina County Appraisal District’s name to Medina Central Appraisal District.
“The longer we are in existence the more people think we are part of the county,” Dixon said.
Video coverage of the entire meeting can be found on the Devine News YouTube channel at youtu.be/MqjSg6L1o_w.
In Texas, appraisal districts are responsible for appraising property for tax purposes for the various taxing units such as cities and school districts within the appraisal district’s jurisdiction. An appraisal district is established in each county and has the same boundaries as the county’s boundaries.
The county and the appraisal district remain separate governmental entities. An appraisal district is a political subdivision of the state governed by a board of directors appointed by the governmental taxing entities in its jurisdiction.
Historically, appraisal districts have had a hard time making that distinction clear to the public, Dixon said.
“Our (district) is probably the worst because we are housed right in the same building with the (county) tax office,” she said. “A lot of people think the tax office is the appraisal district and the appraisal district is the tax office.”
Since being formed in 1979 to standardize the administration of local property taxes, many appraisal districts sought to distinguish themselves from the county government by either dropping the word “county” from their names or adopting the word “central” as a substitute for “county,” Dixon said.
“When I first started working here that was what was on the door,” Dixon said. “It said ‘central appraisal office.’”
Board chairperson Tim Hardt said the same proposal was discussed by the board several years ago. However, that discussion never went forward.
He said he had no objection but wanted a legal opinion on the extent that a formal name change might impact district operations.
“If this were a legal corporation we would be changing all our corporate documents, our IRS number and a lot of things involved with the name,” Hardt said.
No formal motion was made on the proposed change in name.
Also concerning the appraisal district’s future, Dixon reported on her discussion with the city staff in Hondo about acquiring property to build a proposed 4,000-square-foot headquarters building for the appraisal district.
“It’s an item we’ve talked about for two years now,” Hardt said.
Dixon said she had been in touch with Hondo City Manager, Scott Albert, about city owned property zoned for governmental use available near the Southwest Texas Junior College. However, four acres is far more property that the appraisal district needs.
The district had hoped to find property along Castro Street, she said. But that area is zoned industrial and is not available.
Hardt said the district is proposing a metal building on a concrete slab with a brick veneer on the front. It would be built to suit what the district needs rather than “buy something that doesn’t fit,” he said.
What is available to rent is either “too big, too small or too expensive,” Hardt said.
“We don’t need a Taj Mahal like a bank building or something,” he said. “The research we did approximately two years ago (showed that) land cost in buying from the city of Hondo would be the least expensive commercial property we could find.”
Construction cost would be in the range of $100 a square foot for a total of about $450,000, Hardt said.
Nearly two years ago the district had entered into an agreement with the county to purchase the former Hondo office used by the 38th Judicial District of Texas district attorney. However, lengthy litigation over the ownership of the property led the district to reconsider and reject the purchase.
Plans call for the county tax collector’s office, presently housed in the county-owned building shared with the appraisal district, to move to one of two bank buildings in Hondo recently purchased by the county. Dixon said one possibility is to wait the two years until the tax collector moves and then acquire the building from the county.
Hardt restated his proposal to build a new center for appraisal district operations.
“The concept has always been it would be nice to control our own destiny, own our own building and not be tenants,” he said.
He asked the district staff to obtain one to three preliminary proposals from contractors on the costs involved in the estimated 4,000 square foot project.
In other action, the board approved a 10-year contract with Eagleview Pictometry, an aerial imaging company specializing in accurate property measurement data. The annual cost of the contract is roughly $75,000, Dixon told the board.
The company conducts an extensive aerial photography flight every other year. Then, using computer software, the appraisal district is able to determine changes affecting property value, Dixon said.
“We are able to use that to flag properties that we don’t have on the tax roll,” she said. “Because (sometimes) we can’t get on the big ranches. There is a program called Change Finder that compares the two flights … and will tag the account to have an inspection done.”
The previous Eagleview Pictometry contract covered only three years. The 10-year contract locks the company into current prices regardless of future inflation, Dixon said.
Another bi-annual contract agreement decided by the board involved the depository bid for a local bank. Despite soliciting bids from eight banks in Castroville, Devine and Hondo only Castroville State Bank sent a complete formal bid for the district’s account, Dixon said.
Hardt, who sits on the board of directors for the bank, said he would not take a position on the bid other than to chair the meeting. However, the board did reject an incomplete bid from another bank that only submitted a copy of their fee schedule.
“Since they didn’t follow the form that you all would expect them to do it’s made it a little more difficult to compare,” Hardt said.
The district currently holds a certificate of deposit for $260,000, a money market account for approximately $80,000 and funds of more than $300,000 to cover its operating budget, Dixon said.
In a financial report to the board, Dixon reported that all 24 taxing entities within Medina County have paid their portion toward the district’s operations.
“Everything is just sort of finishing up for the year,” Dixon said. “The appraisal review board went over which we knew because we had so many hearings this year. It think that’s the only thing that went over. Everything else is still under budget.”
The appraisal district conducted more than 800 appraisal review hearings this year, she said. Of the 4,600 tax appraisal protests scheduled, only about 40 percent actually appeared for the scheduled hearing, she said.
“That seems to be the state norm,” Dixon said.
As for the results for those who followed through Dixon said appraisal review board did not seem to favor either the district or the property owners unfairly.
“Most of them, if they had any evidence to show the board was sympathetic,” Dixon said. “A lot of them had repairs to be made that we didn’t see.”
Those present were Tim Hardy, chairman; Jody Jacobs, vice chairman; Cindy Segovia, member and Clay Bell, member. Absent were Mamie Navarro, secretary, and Melissa Lutz, tax assessor-collector.
The next appraisal board meeting is 6 p.m. Jan. 10 at the district office in Hondo.