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Public watchdog urges San Patricio County to fix records access during clerk plan hearing
Summary
A public commenter alleged missing and improperly released records and urged the court to strengthen redaction and access safeguards during hearings on county and district clerk 2026 records plans; clerks said ARPA funds supported preservation but cautioned about online publication risks.
Sonya Weatherspoon, who identified herself as a county watchdog and a candidate for county clerk, told the San Patricio County Commissioners Court during a public hearing that the county’s records systems are routinely inaccessible and sometimes release confidential information. "The county is systematically failing to comply with state transparency laws," she said, describing missing records, misspelled names, search tools that do not index meeting discussion, and instances where unredacted files were released.
County Clerk Gonzalez and the district clerk said their 2026 records, archives and preservation plans continue projects started in 2016 and have been supported with ARPA funds. The district clerk said the office is switching to heavier, ‘‘disaster‑safe’’ binders and that the ARPA project is about 89% complete, stressing caution about making records available on the Internet. "There’s no requirement to make records available on the Internet, but that is something that we're working to do in a safe manner," a district clerk presenter said.
The court did not adopt immediate new redaction procedures during the hearing but approved the county and district clerk plans and associated fees (records management $10, preservation $10 and archive $1 per document) as presented for transparency and continued preservation work. Sonya Weatherspoon said she had filed complaints with the Texas Attorney General’s Open Records Division and urged the court to require stronger safeguards and easier public search access; the court recorded the public comments as part of the hearing record. The clerk offices said they will continue preservation work, coordinate with auditors on funding and pursue public‑education efforts about access and attorney outreach.
Next steps: both clerk plans were presented for approval on the agenda and the court moved forward with the plans and fee structure; no additional policy change was adopted at the hearing itself.
