Donley County will again as rural residents to adopt a sales tax to help fund local law enforcement following action taken at the January meeting of county commissioners.
If approved by rural voters, Donley County Assistance District #2 would levy a two percent sales tax on sales outside of the cities of Clarendon, Hedley, and Howardwick with the proceeds going to benefit the Donley County Sheriff’s Office.
Clarendon supports the sheriff’s office with city funds, and Howardwick last May approved creation of Donley County Assistance District #1 to levy a one percent sales tax to help law enforcement. Hedley voters turned down a similar measure, and rural voters also narrowly rejected the idea by a margin of ten votes, 101 “for” to 111 “against.”
Voters in the unincorporated areas of the county will have their say on the matter on May 3.
Also in January, commissioners formally named themselves as members of the board governing the Donley County Assistance District #1, which began collected sales taxes in October 2024. County Judge John Howard says the district will let that money grow for a time before spending it. Taxes on sales in October through December amounted to $2,832.09 for the district.
In other county business recently, commissioners named the following citizens to the Donley County Historical Commission: Bill Word, Christi Benson, Madeleine Black, Judy Burlin, Lori Howard, Ferol Shelton, Buffie Smith, Chrisi Tucek, and Brittney Wolfe.
The annual contract with the Donley Appraisal District was approved, and commissioners agreed to purchase a machine to help take down trees and shrubs on county rights of way.
The county accepted an offer by the Texas Historical Commission to reconsider a grant that was approved last fall for further courthouse restoration work. The THC had previously offered the county an award but the terms were not favorable to the county.
The new proposal would see the state put in $2.6 million with approximately $458,000 in funds from the county for a total project of about $3.1 million. The work would focus on stone and brick conservation that was left out of the original courthouse restoration in 2003 due to costs.
Commissioners also met February 10 for a regular meeting. Items at that meeting included receiving the annual audit report and approving budget amendments needed due to several grants, such as the THC money, being awarded to the county.
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