Tuesday’s Hays County Commissioners Meeting: Top 5 Items To Watch, Plus Public Hearing On Property Tax Rate Hike

Tuesday’s : Top 5 Items To Watch, Plus Public Hearing On Property Tax Rate Hike

NOTE: The following items below may NOT be a full accounting of items of this week’s agenda. To view the full agenda, please see below.

5. Approve the Intergovernmental Transfer (IGT) of Local Provider Participation Funds (LPPF) for Central Texas Medical Center and Seton Medical Center Hays for DY 6 Uncompensated Care (UC) payments as part of the Texas Healthcare Transformation and Quality Improvement Program (1115 Waiver). INGALSBE/SHELL

SUMMARY: A date for transfer of DY6 UC 1115 waiver funds was announced on August 14, 2017. All LPPF funds are collected from Hays County Hospitals and are budgeted. Though the IGT of these funds do not require specific Court approval, having them approved (If sufficient notice is given by the State) or ratified (if sufficient notice is not provided by the State) ensures the Court and the public are informed of the process.

IGT amount (settlement date of 9-7-17): $832,998.13 29

• CTMC amount: $360,798.41
• Seton Hays amount: $472,199.72

6. Accept a grant award from the Office of the Governor, Criminal Justice Division for funding to support the Hays County Veterans Court in the amount of $77,576.00. INGALSBE/GLICKLER/HAUFF

SUMMARY: The grant award is to continue the support and operations of the Court, and includes funding for a Court Coordinator, in-state and out-of-state travel and training expenses, office supplies, and contractual services including drug/alcohol testing, monitoring, and phone (land-line) service. The grant project period is from September 1, 2017 through August 31, 2018. 

11. Accept a revised award amount for the FY17 formula grant from the Texas Indigent Defense Commission for up to $161,683.00 and amend the budget accordingly. INGALSBE/HAUFF

18. Authorize and ratify expenditures related to the Sheriff’s Office deployment of County law enforcement officers to the City of Port Aransas for Hurricane Harvey assistance. INGALSBE/CONLEY/CUTLER

SUMMARY: The Sheriff is requesting approval to utilize county resources to assist areas that have been affected by Hurricane Harvey.

A total of nine officers (two command staff and seven deputies) and one maintenance staff member will be deployed to the City of Port Aransas. The command staff will arrive on Thursday, August 31st for logistics purposes and prepare the necessary equipment for the deputy’s arrival. The deputies and maintenance staff will arrive on Friday, September 1st.

The Hays County law enforcement officers will assist the city police with patrol duties, enforcing curfew, and responding to calls for service. The maintenance staff will assist with vehicle and  maintenance duties as needed during the deployment.

All staff will remain available for assistance through Sep 8th, return to Hays County for a one day off period on the 9th, returning to the City of Port Aransas on the 10th for additional assistance as needed through September 15th.

Savings within the Sheriff’s operating budget will be identified for costs associated with the disaster assistance. If additional funds are required, a budget amendment item will be submitted to the court for approval. The Sheriff’s budget coordinator will work with the Auditor’s Office to track all expenses related to the hurricane assistance.

25. Discussion and possible action to adopt a resolution in support of a Combined Emergency Communications Center and Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) that will provide 911 call taking and dispatch services for Hays County, Kyle Police Department, Buda Police Department and the respective Fire and EMS providers of all Emergency Service Districts in the County. CONLEY/INGALSBE/SHELL

SUMMARY: For approximately ten years various working groups and committees have developed plans for a county wide emergency communications system and PSAP. A Report of Findings and Observations was completed and submitted to the County in November 2014 (see attached) that details the efforts up to that point.

Since then, Hays County, the City of San Marcos, the City of Buda, the City of Kyle, San Marcos Hays County EMS, and all of the Emergency Service Districts and their respective providers in the County have worked on strategies in which a combined PSAP could be implemented.

Last year the voters of Hays County approved a Public Safety Bond that provided for the construction of a building that will include an Emergency Communications facility and infrastructure. During the development of the Bond program, Hays County, the City of Kyle and the City of Buda began more detailed discussions on combining two existing PSAP’s (the city of Kyle’s and Hays County’s) and associated 911 call taking into a Combined Emergency Communications Center (CECC).

The proposed CECC will provide dispatching services for Kyle PD and all of the agencies currently served by Hays County, which include; Buda PD, Hays County SO, Hays County Constables, San Marcos Hays County EMS (outside of the city of San Marcos), South Hays Fire, Kyle Fire, Buda Fire and EMS, Wimberley Fire, Wimberley EMS, North Hays County Fire and Rescue, and Chisolm Trail Fire and Rescue. Benefits of the development of the Combined Emergency Communications Center include:

• Sharing of resources and infrastructure
• Unification of 911 call taking for all Hays County agencies except San Marcos PD/ Fire, and Texas State         
• 911 calls will not have to be transferred
• Dedicated job functions.
• Standard operating procedures for call taking and dispatching among all participating agencies
• All participating dispatch agencies will utilize the same Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system

27. Hold a public hearing on the FY 2018 proposed tax increase – 1:00 p.m. 

Hays County Commissioners Regular Meeting Agenda – Tuesday, September 5, 2017—9 AM