This Week

The Donley County Sheriff’s Department and County Attorney have received state grants that are helping boost salaries and purchase vehicles without putting additional burden on the local taxpayers.

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced last week his office has delivered nearly $126 million in financial assistance to rural law enforcement and prosecutor offices as part of a grant program that is addressing challenges faced by these groups in counties with small populations. The Donley County Sheriff’s Department received $250,000, and the county attorney’s office received $100,000.

Sheriff Butch Blackburn said local deputies and jailers/dispatchers saw the new money starting with their March 15 paychecks. County Treasurer Wanda Smith said dispatchers’ salaries went up almost $13,000 a year and deputies’ salaries went up $4,650 thanks to the grant.

“The dispatchers got to see a sizable increase, and they earned it,” Blackburn said “They should have been getting it all along. I appreciate the grant and appreciate the commissioners letting me use it this way.”

Blackburn said the grant will also allow his office to put about $100,000 per year toward vehicles.

“We won’t have our vehicle expenses on the I&S (interest and sinking) tax rate anymore,” the sheriff said.

County Attorney Landon Lambert said due to the terms and requirements of the grant, his office likely won’t be able to use the full $100,000, but he was able to create a full-time position for his assistant.

“We’re going to make that position a Victim Assistance Coordinator,” Lambert said. “We’ve never been able to offer that service in our office; we’ve always had to rely on an interlocal agreement with the district attorney’s office.”

Smith said the grant will give Lambert’s assistant a bump of $21,250 for this fiscal year, moving from a part-time position to a full-time Victim Assistance Coordinator.

“That position was $17,785, but will be $42,500 in the new budget year,” Smith said.

The grants will have to be renewed to keep the salaries at the new levels, but Blackburn said he thinks the state will keep providing the money.

Enacted by Senate Bill 22 during the 88th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, the program provides for qualified counties and prosecutor offices to apply for grants up to 30 days after the start of their fiscal year. But to jump-start the program in its 2024 inaugural year, the Comptroller’s office allowed all eligible counties to apply for grants from Jan. 1-31, regardless of their fiscal year start date.

The Legislature appropriated $330 million for the 2024-25 biennium to fund the program. The first year saw 502 grant applications.

“These brave men and women embody the grit, determination and spirit that built our state, and which are hallmarks of these rural communities,” Hegar said. “As a sixth generation Texan who grew up farming land in a rural community that relied on law enforcement personnel to wear a lot of different hats, I understand the pressures that these folks feel. It is a privilege to be able to support them through this program, and I’m grateful to the Legislature for trusting me with this.”

Early voting starts Monday in Donley County with ballots to decide three sales tax proposals, a Clarendon school bond issue, and who will serve on the Clarendon CISD board and the Hedley City Council.

Most early balloting will take place in the Donley County Courthouse Annex although the City of Hedley will cast early ballots for mayor and aldermen in the Hedley City Hall.

Clarendon CISD voters will be deciding the fate of $11.7 million in bonds, which will be on the ballot in three questions. Proposition A will seek $1.8 million for safety and security upgrades at the school as well as two new buses. Proposition B would fund $6.9 million in improvements at Bronco Stadium including accessibility improvements, new home and visitor bleachers, a new press box, and $3.3 to 3.5 million for a new field house and to renovate restrooms and the concession stand. Proposition C would provide $3 million for a new vocational ag building.

Approval of all three bond propositions would raise the CCISD ad valorem tax rate by an estimated 32 cents per $100 valuation, and the term of the bonds would be 30 years. The current tax rate is about 87 cents per $100.

Clarendon CISD voters also have three people running for two positions on the Board of Trustees. Incumbent Wayne Hardin and challengers Ken McIntosh and Taylor Shelton.

Three ballots will be taken on the proposed creation of County Assistance Districts in the City of Howardwick, the City of Hedley, and in the unincorporated areas of the county for the purpose of raising funds to support the Donely County Sheriff’s Office.

If approved, the districts covering the cities of Howardwick and Hedley would raise sales taxes there by one cent, and the district covering rural Donley County would levy a two-cent sales tax. The new districts would be governed by the Commissioners Court.

Hedley city voters will also choose between incumbent Trisha Chambless and challenger Calvin Holland for mayor and will pick two of three candidates running for city council – incumbent Aaron Hanes and challengers Joe Pafume and John Pierce.

Early voting will continue through April 30. Election day will be Saturday, May 4, 2024.

Clarendon’s sales tax revenues posted a healthy boost when Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar delivered April allocations to local governments last week.

The city was up 10.52 percent from the same period in 2023 with an allocation for the month of $36,100.75 compared to last year’s $32,661.86.

Clarendon is now 5.04 ahead for its calendar year-to-date sales tax revenues at $163,795.08.
Hedley’s sales tax revenue for the month was up 2.93 percent at $8.63.19, and that city is now ahead 2.0 percent for the year-to-date at $4,304.75.

Howardwick’s revenue was down 19.10 percent to $1,653.45 for the month and down 20.70 for the calendar year thus far at $6,300.17. Howardwick’s drop is at least partly attributed to the fact that it lowered it’s sales tax rate effective October 1.

Statewide, the comptroller delivered $1.03 billion in local sales tax allocations for April, 5.5 percent more than in April 2023. These allocations are based on sales made in February by businesses that report tax monthly.

The Small Business Administration last week reminded Texas businesses and residents of the May 13, 2024, deadline to apply for an SBA federal disaster loan for property damage caused by the Smokehouse Creek Fire and the Windy Deuce Fire in Carson, Hemphill and Hutchinson counties that began Feb. 26, 2024.

According to Francisco Sánchez Jr., associate administrator for the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at the SBA, businesses of all sizes, most private nonprofit organizations, homeowners and renters may apply for SBA federal disaster loans to repair or replace disaster damaged property. SBA can also lend additional funds to help with the cost of improvements to protect, prevent or minimize disaster damage from occurring in the future.

These low-interest federal disaster loans are available in Armstrong, Carson, Donley, Gray, Hansford, Hemphill, Hutchinson, Lipscomb, Moore, Potter, Randall, Roberts, Sherman and Wheeler counties in Texas; and Ellis and Roger Mills counties in Oklahoma.

Businesses of all sizes and private nonprofit organizations may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory and other business assets.

In addition, SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private nonprofit organizations of any size to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster. Economic injury assistance is available regardless of whether the business suffered any property damage. The deadline to apply for an SBA economic injury disaster loan is Dec. 13, 2024.

Disaster loans up to $500,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible for up to $100,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property, including personal vehicles.

Interest rates can be as low as 4 percent for businesses, 3.25 percent for private nonprofit organizations and 2.688 percent for homeowners and renters with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition.

Interest does not begin to accrue until 12 months from the date of the first disaster loan disbursement. SBA disaster loan repayment begins 12 months from the date of the first disbursement.

Applicants may apply online and receive additional disaster assistance information at SBA.gov/disaster.

Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659 2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.