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Kendall County signs interlocal for regional public defender, pauses mental‑health program vote
Summary
The commissioners approved an interlocal agreement with four neighboring counties to continue funding the Hill Country Regional Public Defender’s Office for FY2025–26, but declined to act on a linked mental‑health program pending further stakeholder review.
Kendall County Commissioners on Sept. 8 voted 5–0 to enter into an interlocal cooperation agreement with Bandera, Gillespie, Kerr and Medina counties to fund the Hill Country Regional Public Defender’s Office for the 2025‑26 fiscal year.
General Counsel (Speaker 8) said he had requested case‑count data showing how many cases the public‑defender office had handled by county but had not yet received those numbers; still, several commissioners—led by Commissioner Regent (Speaker 2)—said they were willing to move forward with the interlocal now while continuing to seek financial oversight and case metrics.
A separate item (11b) proposing a grant‑funded mental‑health program to support the public‑defender office drew caution from General Counsel and county staff because documentation provided to the court was limited. Corinna (Speaker 13) and other commissioners recommended stakeholders—including the county mental‑health coalition and the sheriff—be given an opportunity to weigh in before the county commits funds or matches. The court agreed to take no action on item 11b at this time.
The court directed staff to gather additional information on case counts, program overlap with existing county mental‑health efforts, and any fiscal obligation that would be required by the grant.
