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Guadalupe County schedules public hearings on possible county assistance districts for Aug. 5 and Aug. 12
Summary
Commissioners agreed to add two public hearings in August to solicit public input on calling one or more county assistance district elections; commissioners discussed limits on including municipal ETJs for this cycle and rules on using public funds for advocacy.
Guadalupe County commissioners on July 22 instructed staff to place two public hearings on upcoming agendas to consider calling an election to establish one or more county assistance districts, and they set August 5 and August 12 as the hearing dates.
Commissioner Gardner moved to add public hearings for Aug. 5 and Aug. 12; the motion carried without recorded opposition. Gardner framed the measure as a potential mechanism to raise revenue in unincorporated areas—by way of a local sales or consumption tax—to pay for services that growth is placing on county budgets. "We cannot expend public funds to, advocate for or against any ballot measure," Gardner said, adding that the court may provide factual information but cannot use county funds for advocacy.
County staff and legal counsel explained limits on including municipal extraterritorial jurisdictions (ETJs) in a district for this election cycle. Gardner and other commissioners said the county missed a statutory notice deadline for municipality input required to include ETJs this cycle, which means an initial district would likely be limited to unincorporated areas. "We have already passed a deadline for notifying municipalities of an interest in having their ETJs included in the district," Gardner said.
County counsel clarified that the court can create one or more districts and later expand or add ETJs through separate actions and elections. "The court can create one or more districts," a court staff member said, noting the process allows future expansions into ETJs if municipalities agree.
Commissioners discussed outreach and publication for the hearings. Gardner offered to be the initial point of contact for questions and staff said the county public information officer would be involved in broader outreach. Staff also said the county would publish materials on its website and make available a document from the comptroller's office summarizing tax options and related information.
No election was called at the July 22 meeting; the action was to add and publish notice for the two public hearings. Staff will return with notice language and publication plans for the hearings so the court can finalize public notification.
