Atascosa County commissioners approve personnel, contracts, opioid settlements and event permits; several items acknowledged

Atascosa County Commissioners Court voted on a series of routine personnel appointments, contract approvals and settlement participations during its Sept. 8 meeting, approving motions by voice or recorded assent for each item brought before the court.

The court approved personnel actions including the hire of Maria Veronica Magna as an administrative assistant in the district attorney’s office (annual pay $38,000), a pay-step adjustment for Mercedes Arredondo Garcia (JP 4 clerk), the lateral reassignment of county road crew employee Carl Harless (CDL, Precinct 3 to Precinct 1), the completion-of-probation pay change for Monica Gihn (victim assistant coordinator) and the appointment of Jonathan Fisher as an assistant county attorney (start date 09/09/2025). All of those motions were made and carried by voice vote.

The court acknowledged changes to the Regional Public Defender’s Office (PDO) board: Commissioner Mark Gillespie’s announcement that he will step down as a board member and chair, the board’s nomination of Judge Herbert to serve as chair, the nomination of Jessica Sexton as the county’s representative to the PDO board, and the removal of Raoul (Raul) Khazerales as PDO vice chair with Judge Stella Saxon named vice chair. The court recorded the PDO-chair acknowledgment as passing with four in favor and one abstention; subsequent personnel changes were approved by voice vote.

Land and permitting items approved included certificate exceptions for Resource Diversification Group Series LLC and Sullivan Ranch Series LLC on FM 791 (Precinct 4) and for the Wheeler family on East FM 140…