Van Zandt County authorizes judge to sign $4.2M property contract, delays earlier closing over audit concerns

Van Zandt County Commissioners Court on June 23 authorized the county judge to sign a contract to buy a Canton property for $4.2 million and set a new closing date of Nov. 15, 2025, while officials said they will not proceed with an earlier July 1 closing because the county currently lacks an auditor.

The move, approved 4-1, gives county officials more time to resolve financial oversight and cash-flow concerns tied to an incomplete audit and pending reimbursements from federal and state disaster programs. County officials also approved routine fiscal year line-item transfers and a payment batch that includes about $1 million in tree-removal invoices expected to be reimbursed by FEMA and the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM).

County Judge (presiding) said the court had been negotiating a contract with Paul Michaels to buy a building referenced in the meeting for $4,200,000 and had previously placed $60,000 in earnest money on an earlier agreement with a July 1 closing date; the court decided not to close on that earlier contract. "We did not do not have an auditor in this county at the moment, and we need to get 1 in place before we handle transactions such as this," the County Judge said, explaining the decision to pause the July closing.

The new authorization—approved after a motion the court read back into the record—permits the county judge to sign a contract to purchase the property for $4,200,000 with a closing date of Nov. 15, 2025, and to provide $200,000 in earnest money, and authorizes the judge to sign associated documents. Commissioner Barton, Commissioner Phillips and Commissioner Williams voted in favor; Commissioner Mitch voted opposed. The motion's mover and seconder were not specified in the transcript record.

Court members said the building would create temporary workspace to relocate county employees during an anticipated two-year restoration of the county courthouse and could improve the county's ability to apply for courthouse restoration grants from the Texas Historical Commission. The County Judge noted the state legislature has allocated $100 million for courthouse restorations in the upcoming biennium and described the purchase as potentially more economical than building new space.

Officials also raised the need for better cost estimates for courthouse work. The judge said the purchase would give the county "time to get better estimates or, more confident estimates, from some people or maybe multiple estimates" for the full restoration scope and to finalize what work to include on plans.

On cash flow, the court discussed paying about $1 million to two companies for tree removal related to a disaster response; those payments are expected to be reimbursed by FEMA and TDEM. The County Judge characterized the reimbursement timeline as "between 90 days and 6 months," and said that pending reimbursements and the incomplete audit influenced the decision to postpone the prior closing and to authorize a revised purchase agreement instead.

The outside audit for the previous fiscal year remains incomplete, the County Judge said, attributing delays to health issues affecting the audit partner at the outside firm; officials said the final audit was hoped to be completed by the end of the month. The court approved fiscal year 2025 line-item transfers and the county bills for payment as submitted, then adjourned.

The court's action authorizes the judge to proceed with signature authority on the new purchase contract and related documents; officials said additional steps remain, including completion of an audit and receipt of disaster reimbursements before finalizing the county's financial position.