Ward County court approves emergency budget amendments, increases DA forfeiture fund

At its May 27 meeting in Monahans, the Ward County Commissioners' Court approved emergency amendments to the 2025 budget covering multiple county funds. The court adopted a motion stating that "an emergency has arisen and a grave public necessity exists" and moved line items across the General Fund, Road and Bridge accounts, DA forfeiture accounts and the Hospital Operating Fund.

The adopted changes included line-item adjustments for juvenile probation and sheriff accounts, a recorded increase to the DA Forfeiture Fund expense of $56,257.37 and an amendment affecting the Hospital Operating Fund with a $60,000 figure noted in the minutes. Commissioner Guy Thames moved the budget amendment and Commissioner Larry Hanna seconded; the motion passed unanimously. The court's formal minutes list a variety of account numbers and small transfers (for example, $1,000 entries listed for juvenile probation accounts) as part of the reallocation.

County Judge Greg Holly opened the meeting; the court determined a quorum before considering the budget changes. The transcript record does not specify which line items fund ongoing programs versus one-time expenses beyond the account labels in the minutes. The court did not attach separate conditions or a follow-up reporting requirement to the budget amendments in the recorded motion.

Next steps: the minutes show no separate vote or later amendment specific to the hospital or DA forfeiture items; the changes were adopted as part of the single budget-amendment motion on May 27.