Maverick County approves vendor payments, directs creation of grants cost-allocation policy

Maverick County Commissioners Court on Feb. 10 approved issuing payments for existing contracts and directed staff to finalize a countywide cost-allocation policy for grant-funded programs after discussion held in executive session.

The actions aim to ensure continued service delivery under Operation Lone Star-funded contracts while county officials complete a formal cost-allocation plan, commissioners said.

Commissioner Ramos moved to proceed with issuing payments to satisfy contractual obligations discussed in executive session; Commissioner Reese seconded the motion. Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the payments and to pursue adoption of a written cost-allocation policy to be presented at the next court meeting, according to the court record.

Why it matters: Commissioners said the lack of a finalized cost-allocation policy has created uncertainty about how portions of grants are charged to county operations. Officials said that uncertainty risks interruption of services that rely on grant funding, including programs under Operation Lone Star (OLS). The court instructed auditors and staff to meet with legal counsel and finalize the policy before the next meeting.

What the court approved and discussed

- Payments for existing contracts: The court agreed to issue payments to service providers referenced in executive session (identified in the record as Maverick County's attorney's office, Access IT and LGS Toshiba) to satisfy contractual obligations and avoid exposing the county to legal liability. Commissioner Ramos emphasized that the contracts had previously been approved and said the court has authority to issue payments.

- Cost-allocation policy: The court voted to review and adopt a formal cost-allocation policy for grants allocated to Maverick County. Commissioners said staff (including the county auditor and counsel) will meet with Commissioner Ramos and others to finalize the plan and return it to the court for approval at the next meeting.

- Discussion of service interruption risk: Commissioner Ramos noted concerns about potential interruption of services and said the policy must be applied uniformly so that one day a certain percentage of costs is allocated and another day a different percentage is not imposed. "I do not appreciate that we have been going through this long enough to where we have not been able to bring forth what is a plan of attack on cost allocation since it was brought up last June," Commissioner Ramos said.

Votes at a glance

- Item 28 — Replacement on grant project: Motion to replace Armando Gonzalez with Isaac Reese as project director for the fiscal-year-2025 state and local cybersecurity grant program. Motion by Commissioner Ramos; second by Commissioner Reese. Outcome: approved (unanimous).

- Item 37 — Payment of contractual obligations: Motion to issue payment pursuant to contractual obligations discussed in executive session (service providers noted as Maverick County's attorney's office, Access IT, LGS Toshiba). Motion by Commissioner Ramos; second by Commissioner Gris. Outcome: approved (unanimous).

- Item 40-2 — Creation of cost-allocation policy: Motion to proceed with creation and review of a cost-allocation policy for grants allocated to Maverick County, to be presented at the next court meeting. Motion by Commissioner Ramos; second by Commissioner Reese. Outcome: approved (unanimous).

Context and next steps: County officials said auditors and legal counsel will meet with Commissioner Ramos and other stakeholders to produce a final cost-allocation plan for court approval. Commissioners repeatedly stressed the need for a uniform approach to cost allocation to protect grant funding and maintain county services.

Ending: The court took the votes during the open session after returning from an executive session held earlier in the meeting and voted unanimously on the payments and policy direction.