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Randall County commissioners approve minutes, refunds and multiple routine items in February session; deny tax-penalty waiver
Summary
The Randall County Commissioners Court approved routine business including minutes, tax refunds, budget amendments, appointments and agreements, and denied a request to waive penalty and interest for late property taxes because the court lacked statutory authority.
The Randall County Commissioners Court met in February 2025 and took action on a series of routine items, approving minutes, tax refunds and multiple administrative requests while denying a petition to waive penalty and interest on a foreclosed property because the court determined it had no statutory authority to grant the waiver.
Votes at a glance
- Minutes (Item 1): The court approved the minutes of the Feb. 11, 2025 meeting (motion and second recorded; tally: 5-0).
- Overpayment/Erroneous Tax Refunds (Item 2): The court approved four refunds exceeding $2,500: $6,075.50 payable to Audrey Stallings; $3,512.09 payable to Lone Star Power Sports; $5,370.71 payable to Brown Sports Center; and $4,441.12 payable to Suzanne/Tracy Bunker. Motion carried, 5-0.
- Waiver of Penalty and Interest (Item 3): The court considered a citizen request to waive penalty and interest on property taxes that fell into arrears and later went into foreclosure. County staff and counsel advised the court it lacked statutory authority under the Property Tax Code, Sec. 33.011, to grant the requested waiver in the facts presented. The court moved to deny the request; motion carried, 5-0. Commissioners discussed that there may be other fact patterns where authority exists but not in this instance.
- Acceptance of Annual Racial Profiling Report (Item 5): The court accepted the Randall County Constable Precinct 1 annual racial profiling report and statistical analysis for 2024 (motion carried, 5-0).
- Appointment to Texas Panhandle Center Board (Item 6): The court appointed Allison Reese to fill the unexpired term of Amy Hoard on the Texas Panhandle Center board of trustees, term ending Nov. 18, 2025. Motion carried, 5-0.
- Utility Joint-Use Agreement for Fiber (Item 7): The court approved a joint-use agreement between Randall County and Pathways Communications for a fiber-optic line along Hicks Drive to serve nearby property; motion carried, 5-0.
- Acceptance of Justice of the Peace Bond (Item 8): The court accepted the bond for the newly appointed Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4; motion carried, 5-0. The bond amount for the office is $5,000 as required by statute.
- Budget Amendments (Item 9): The court approved two budget amendments: recognition of a 2023 TIFMAS fire truck donation/grant valued at $274,344.76 received in Dec. 2024 (recorded to Fire Capital Vehicles) and recognition of an insurance reimbursement from Travelers Insurance of $2,377.58 for a sheriff's office vehicle repair (recorded to vehicle operations). Motion carried, 5-0.
- Travel/Conference Requests (Item 10): The court approved multiple employee travel requests for continuing education and conferences across several departments and jurisdictions; motion carried, 5-0.
- Payroll and Vouchers (Item 11): The court approved payroll and vouchers that included the Feb. 14, 2025 payroll and multiple fund expenditures. Total all funds presented were $2,846,818.69; motion carried, 5-0.
- Official Reports (Item 12): The court accepted a package of official monthly reports (auditor, clerk, constables, fire departments, sheriff, tax assessor-collector, treasurer and others) for January 2025; motion carried, 5-0.
Discussion and context
The denial of the tax-penalty waiver (Item 3) followed a staff legal review concluding the court lacked authority under the Property Tax Code, Sec. 33.011, to waive the penalty and interest given the facts presented (taxes in arrears and foreclosure). Commissioners emphasized that citizens may request relief but that statutory constraints limit the court's options in this instance.
Several routine items reflected administrative housekeeping: accepting monthly departmental reports, processing budget amendments to record a grant-funded fire truck and a small insurance reimbursement, approving a joint-use utility agreement to extend fiber service, and confirming an appointment to the Texas Panhandle Center board. The court recorded no dissent on votes presented at the meeting.
Public comment
No members of the public offered comments in person or online during the public comment period.
