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San Patricio resident presses county over road MOU, staffing and planned mechanic hire
Summary
A citizen told commissioners she believes a memorandum of understanding and current ex officio road commissioner system wastes county dollars and urged the court to delay hiring an additional mechanic until road operations are consolidated under a road superintendent system.
Sonia Witherspoon, a San Patricio County resident and business owner, told the commissioner's court that an MOU shifting road responsibilities between precincts and the ex officio road commissioner system has led to inefficient staffing and questioned a planned new hire in Precinct 2.
Witherspoon said Precinct 2’s road mileage assumptions were set after the 2020 census and that Portland annexations have reduced the county road workload in Precinct 2. She said a memorandum of understanding had transferred some Precinct 1 roads and bridges into Precinct 2 maintenance responsibility and questioned whether funds tied to that MOU had been returned when work shifted.
She walked commissioners through recent personnel changes in precinct road crews, saying a former Precinct 2 foreman retired at an annualized pay near $78,800 plus a $50 monthly phone allowance and that an internal promotion and transfers followed. Witherspoon urged the court to delay hiring another mechanic, arguing the precinct currently lacks enough operating equipment for a full complement of mechanics and that the county should first implement a road superintendent system — which she said would consolidate positions and lower overall costs.
Commissioner Yardley responded that Precinct 2 is maintaining MOU roads, using a limited crew and that he stands ready to discuss operational details with any constituent. He also defended recent budget transfers the court approved to fund seal coating on a heavily traveled road (Tanner Road 1612) and to implement an IWorks maintenance-tracking software program. Yardley said the seal-coating transfer moved about $226,000 within precinct budgets and another $46,000 toward the IWorks program to ensure maintenance work is recorded for disaster recovery and FEMA eligibility.
Despite the public comment urging delay, the court later approved personnel item 3.1(e) — the hiring of Aaron Hernandez as a mechanic for Road & Bridge Precinct 2, full time, effective June 16, 2025, grade 108, step 3, at $4,089.08 per month — as part of a consent to hire items the court voted to accept.
