Commissioners receive 2019 Fire Report
The Parmer County Commissioners Court met in regular session on Monday, December 9th at 10:00 a.m. in the County Courtroom of the Parmer County Courthouse in Farwell, Texas. The meeting began with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag and the Texas Flag.
There were no public comments. The Minutes from the previous meeting were read and approved. Commissioners approved the payment of the accounts payables as presented by County Treasurer Sharon May and the Treasurer’s Report was also approved.
An Engagement Letter with the law firm Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta LLP was approved as well as the Order for Redistricting in 2021. The initial fee is $4,500 with the possibility of additional fees depending on the complexity of the redistricting process. Redistricting will not take place until 2021.
Commissioners approved Contingency Fund Transfers to the General Fund and the Farm to Market Fund. Each of the four precincts will receive $50,000 and $65,000 will go to the General Fund. These routine transfers happen near the end of the year to cover unanticipated expenses and to balance all of the budgets. For example, this past year expenses were incurred with the purchase of new voting machines and with the right-of-way work on the bridge project.
The Court approved vacation pay for three Parmer County employees that work in the Sheriff’s Office.
The 2019 Parmer County Fire Report was presented to the Commissioners by the five Fire Departments that serve Parmer County. At the first of the year, the county allocates $150,000 to be divided among the departments to be used for the purchase of equipment and other expenses. Friona received $32,000, Bovina, Farwell, & Lazbuddie received $22,000 each, and Rhea received $12,000. Another $40,000 was distributed on a per call basis (Rhea not included). There was a total of 125 calls and the breakdown by department is as follows: Bovina (19 calls-$6,080), Farwell (19 calls-$6,080), Friona (57 calls-$18,240), and Lazbuddie (30 calls-$9,600).
Sheriff Randy Geries reported that he was currently housing 16 inmates at the Law Enforcement Center and 5 of those were transfers from Deaf Smith County.
All meetings are open to the public. The Commissioners Court reserves the right to go into Executive session at any time. Go to parmercounty.org to find meeting agendas. Information in this article is only a summary. Any questions concerning specific actions should be directed to the court.
