By Becky Brewster
Culberson County Commissioners met in special session on June 25, 2021 to kick off the 2021-2022 Budget work-sessions. The initial focus will be on elected official salaries which have a very strict time-frame for consideration and adoption. County Auditor Mark Cabezuela was asked to bring back projections showing the effects of a 3% and a 5% increase to the next workshop.
The Commissioners also tossed about ideas for upcoming County projects and major expenditures to be considered for the budget. These suggestions included:
- Land acquisition for the cemetery and upgrades to cemetery software
- Transfer of Youth Center and Daycare to the CCAISD
- Upgrades to office at the airport
- Concrete repair/replacement at the City-County Park
- County Road repairs to Veteran’s Memorial Park
- Infrastructure for law enforcement in the northern part of the County
The Court also discussed the interlocal agreement between the City and County regarding law enforcement services and the operation of the golf course. Commissioners noted that the County is holding up their end of the agreement by providing law enforcement within the City limits (except for code enforcement), and suggested that the Town needs to do their part for the golf course.
David Rivera, of Zap’d IT and Communications, presented invoices for infrastructure being built for VOIP phone services and the upgrade of network hardware for compatibility. He reviewed the work that is being done for the VOIP phone services noting that drops are required at the Courthouse, the Jail and the Sheriff’s Office. The Court approved the payment of the invoices totaling $12,555. They also approved a Service Agreement with Kinetic Business by Windstream.
