Lavaca County commissioners took a series of votes Dec. 22, approving donations, personnel additions, contracts and an intergovernmental inmate-housing agreement. The court recorded voice votes for each motion; individual roll-call tallies were not read aloud.

Key votes and outcomes

- Donation acceptance (Agenda item 2): Motion by Precinct 3, second by Precinct 4, to accept $137,200 from the Dixon Allen Foundation for the Law Enforcement Mental Health Wellness Initiative; approved by voice vote.

- Personnel additions (Agenda item 3): Motion by Precinct 1, second by Precinct 4, to add one full-time mental-health deputy and one full-time mental-health caseworker for the Sheriff’s Office, funded primarily by the donation; approved by voice vote. Salary figures in the transcript include a deputy amount cited as $65,001.93 (transcript also contains $65,193 in a separate line) and a caseworker salary of $60,000.

- Deputy bond (Agenda item 4): Motion by Precinct 4, second by Precinct 3, to approve the bond for a newly sworn deputy (name appears in the transcript as both 'Jenna Austin' and 'Jenna Hossum'); approved by voice vote.

- Intergovernmental agreement for inmate housing (Agenda item 5): Motion by Precinct 1, second by Precinct 3, to approve an IGA with Goliad County to house Lavaca County inmates; approved by voice vote.

- Election systems contract (Agenda item 6): Motion by Precinct 1, second by Precinct 3, to approve a hardware maintenance and software license/support agreement for county election systems; approved by voice vote.

- Local Government Solutions addendum (Agenda item 7): Motion by Precinct 4, second by Precinct 3, to approve Addendum No. 15 to add a licensed user in the county attorney’s office; approved by voice vote.

- Acknowledge Governor’s proclamation (Agenda item 8): Motion by Precinct 3, second by Precinct 4, to acknowledge Gov. Abbott’s proclamation certifying increased fire-weather conditions including Lavaca County; approved by voice vote.

- Burn ban (Agenda item 9): Motion by Precinct 3, second by Precinct 4, to keep the burn ban off; approved by voice vote. Commissioners and fire officials noted recent rain, KBDI values, and urged residents to notify the sheriff before burning.

- Vehicle purchases (Agenda item 10): Motion by Precinct 3, second by Precinct 1, to buy two used Freightliner day-cab trucks from Global Truck Sales for $27,000 each; approved by voice vote.

- Concrete slab removal (Agenda item 11): Motion by Precinct 3, second by Precinct 1, to table the item pending additional bids; approved by voice vote.

- Closed session (Agenda item 12): Motion by Precinct 1, second by Precinct 4, to go into closed session under Texas Gov't Code §551.076 to discuss courthouse security; court returned to open session at 09:57 with no separate public action beyond subsequent item approvals.

- Courthouse renovation and security upgrades (Agenda item 13): Motion by Precinct 3, second by Precinct 4, to approve exterior door restoration, granite/mortar repair, additional granite steps and landings, secure electronic access, and anti-slip sealant with vendor quotes from JPOOL Group and RBO Technology via TIPS and OMNI; approved by voice vote, funded from Fund 194 (capital improvements) and Fund 165 (courthouse security).

The court completed the consent agenda by single motion (Precinct 1, second Precinct 3) and adjourned, announcing its next meeting for Jan. 12, 2026 at 9 a.m.

Provenance: Each motion and vote is recorded across items SEG 159–SEG 887 in the meeting transcript; see the meeting record for item-level starting segments.