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Court approves 3% equipment fee for outside entities using county election equipment
Summary
Elections staff recommended charging other political subdivisions a 3% per-election equipment fee (instead of a $1,000 flat charge) with implementation delayed until May 2027; the court approved the change 5–0.
Cricket, the county elections staff member, presented a proposed cost methodology for elections services: personnel costs would continue to be billed based on the proportion of registered voters and the county's recommendation was to change the equipment-use fee from a $1,000 flat charge to a percentage-based fee. Cricket said a 3% one‑time equipment fee per election aligns with practices in other counties and would be equitable for entities of different sizes.
Cricket explained the change could increase charges for very large entities and reduce them for some smaller entities (for example, Granbury ISD would pay about $150 at 3% versus the current $1,000 flat fee, while a large ESD might see an $11,000 charge versus $1,000 currently). The court approved the 3% equipment fee by motion (5–0) and directed staff to notify affected entities and phase in the change after providing advance notice and timing keyed to their budget processes (implementation targeted not to begin until May 2027).
