Brown County commissioners approve emergency management MOU, reinstate burn ban, agree to railroad crossing work; discuss inmate work crews and mental-health “S

Brown County Commissioners Court approved several administrative actions and heard reports Tuesday morning, including a temporary memorandum of understanding with the City of Brownwood for emergency management services, an agreement to accept TxDOT-funded repairs at a county railroad crossing, reinstatement of a countywide burn ban and authorization to destroy obsolete computer drives. The court also discussed the trustee (inmate work crew) program and a planned Sequential Intercept Model workshop on criminal-justice/behavioral-health coordination.

The memorandum of understanding approved by the court authorizes the City of Brownwood to provide emergency management coordination to Brown County through Eric Hicks, the City of Brownwood fire chief, at a rate of $56.41 per hour for up to 8 hours per week and for a period not to exceed six months (transcript reference). County officials said the arrangement began the week before the meeting and is intended to keep continuity of emergency operations while the county completes hiring for the vacant emergency management position.

The court voted to accept an advanced funding agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for reconstruction of a railroad crossing at County Road 271 in Zephyr. Under the agreement discussed at the meeting, TxDOT will fund and rebuild the crossing and associated signage; Brown County agreed to maintain signage and other routine maintenance…