Starr County Commissioners Court approved a series of contracts, grant applications, vehicle purchases and property actions at its Feb. 10 meeting while tabling a proposal to remove penalties and interest for federal employees in the event of a federal shutdown.

The court voted by voice on each item with no roll-call tallies recorded in the public transcript; each motion that passed was announced as “motion carries.” The single item the court postponed was tabled for staff to provide written guidance.

Why it matters: The approvals permit the county to proceed with design work for a Community Development Block Grant project, seek multiple law-enforcement and victim-services grants, purchase and finance county vehicles, and adjust the county budget. The tabled item leaves unresolved whether Starr County will formally forgive penalties and interest for federal employees if a federal shutdown occurs.

Most significant actions

- Approval of proclamation: The court approved a proclamation naming Feb. 16–22, 2025, as Engineers Week in Starr County. (Motion carried.)

- Tabling of federal shutdown penalty relief (Item 10): The court voted to table a proposed order to remove penalties and interest for federal employees in the event of a federal shutdown. Commissioners asked staff for a written memorandum outlining the scope and triggers for any forgiveness before taking final action. (Motion to table carried.)

- CDBG engineering selection and contract (Items 11–12): The court accepted a tabulation showing Rio Delta as the highest‑scoring engineering firm for a 2025–26 CDBG project and approved a contract between Starr County and Rio Delta to prepare preliminary and final design specifications for that CDBG program year. (Motions carried.)

- Vehicle procurement and financing (Items 13–14): The court awarded the bid for a 2025 Yukon XL to the responsive bidder that met all specifications (Rio Motors) and authorized the county attorney’s office to enter a financing agreement with Lone Star National Bank for the purchase. (Motions carried.)

- Grants for county attorney and district attorney (Items 15–22): The court approved submission or authorization for multiple grant applications for fiscal year 2025–26, including:
• Victims of Domestic Violence (Grant #2877509) — County Attorney (motion carried)
• Border Prosecution Unit (Grant #2536111) — District Attorney (motion carried)
• Crime Victims Center (Grant #193417) — District Attorney (motion carried)
• Forensic Evidence Program (Grant #3942307) — District Attorney (motion carried)
• Project Safe Neighborhoods (Grant #5034002) — District Attorney (motion carried)
• Violent Crime Prosecutor Program (Grant #2281917) — District Attorney (motion carried)
• Operation Stone Garden (Grant #3685808) — District Attorney (motion carried)
• Ballistic Resistant Body Armor (Grant #5321901) — Sheriff/District Attorney-related program (motion carried)

- Property and equipment transfers (Items 23–25): The court approved (1) transfer of a 2012 white Chevy Tahoe (unit 49) from the Starr County Sheriff’s Office to Constable Precinct 3 (Constable Jason Valencia), (2) transfer of a 2010 GMC Terrain from the Sheriff’s Office to the Starr County Judge’s Office, and (3) authorization to solicit bids for a 2024 F-600 4x4 truck. (Motions carried.)

- Tax‑sale acquisition and tax removal (Item 26): The court approved removing taxes owed on Lot 6 and Lot 7, Loma Vista Subdivision (Edition 1) after the county purchased the parcels at tax sale to secure property needed for a drainage project. The commissioner who made the motion reported coordinating with other taxing entities; county ownership was confirmed in the discussion. (Motion carried.)

- Budget amendments and correction (Items 27–36 and 37): The court approved a series of budget amendments and a separate budget correction presented on the agenda. (Motions carried.)

- Executive session and approval of salary order: The court recessed into executive session under Texas Government Code Section 551.074 to discuss personnel (order of salaries). After returning to open session, the court approved the order of salaries. (Motion carried.)

Votes and recordkeeping: The public transcript records voice votes for each motion; no recorded roll-call vote counts or individual yes/no names appear in the transcript. Several motions were approved by unanimous voice votes as indicated by the chair’s announcement, and routine items were handled without extended debate.

What’s next: Staff were directed to prepare written guidance on the federal shutdown penalty-relief proposal before the court considers a final order. Several approved grants and contracts will move into the procurement and application phases described by staff when those agenda items were presented.

For transparency: Specific grant and contract identifiers recorded in the court transcript are included above; bid amounts and some procurement details were read into the record for the Yukon XL procurement and are retained in county procurement files.