Wimberley council approves interlocal agreement with Hays County for floodplain and health services

WIMBERLEY, Texas — The Wimberley City Council on Dec. 4 unanimously approved an interlocal agreement with Hays County to continue county-provided floodplain administration and environmental health services, including inspections of restaurants, churches, day-care facilities and schools.

City staff member Mr. Patek told the council the agreement is “basically the same contract that we had last year,” but that Hays County has notified the city of increases on the health side of the service. “They told us about it and we were aware of,” Patek said, adding that the city had budgeted to cover the higher costs.

Patek described the increase in the county charge as rising “from 3,000 to 5” during the meeting and said the city had budgeted “36” last year and “60” this year; the transcript did not specify units for those figures. Councilmembers asked few follow-up questions before a motion to approve the interlocal agreement was made, seconded and adopted by a unanimous voice vote.

The interlocal agreement keeps the county responsible for floodplain administration and environmental-health inspections on behalf of Wimberley, a practice the city has used in prior years, according to Patek. City officials said the increased county charges were considered during the budget process and are reflected in the current year’s budget.

Earlier in the meeting the council also approved the consent agenda unanimously.

The council did not discuss additional details about the county’s new fee schedule at length; staff said they would follow up if more information was requested. The council adjourned at the end of the meeting after several reports and community-event updates.