Questions & Answers (Q&A)

I understand why folks are concerned about data centers. They're big projects, and before one goes in, we ought to know what it means for our water, our roads, our electrical grid, and our environmental concerns. I also believe we have to be direct with people about the laws and how little regulatory authority a county has.

A county commissioner, nor the court as a whole, cannot simply vote to ban every data center. What we can do is take a hard look at the agreements that come before the court, ask tough questions, and insist that any commitments the county negotiates are clear and enforceable. These agreements are most often through Tax abatements. As the Texas Legislature has declined to give counties any zoning or other developmental controls.

I want businesses to carry their fair share of the costs they create. As such, I will work diligently to ensure when agreements come to the Commissioner Court the deals that are agreed to are a net positive for Bastrop County. I don't believe in giving away tax dollars without showing the public what we're getting in return.

I don't want to raise taxes. I know what property owners are dealing with, and I believe county government should watch its spending just as closely as any family or small business. But I won't make a blanket promise without knowing the facts of a future budget.

My job is to look at every department, question expenses, plan ahead, and make sure we can pay for essential services. The county sets the county tax rate; it doesn't set your school or city tax rates, ESD (fire services), or ESD 3 (ambulance service) tax rates, and it doesn't decide your individual appraisal.

I'll work to keep our county rate down while being honest about what public safety, roads, and other necessary services cost. This is why we need to diversify our tax base. Housing developments require a lot of county services, whereas some of these high-value commercial projects require very few county services while paying a large portion of county taxes.

To me, making the county better starts with getting the basics right. People want roads they can drive on, deputies who can respond when they're needed, dependable emergency services, and a county government that spends their money wisely. The new ESD 3 started offering ambulance service on October 1st.

They also want to know we're planning for growth instead of playing catch-up year after year. I believe in listening to people, but listening is only the beginning. You've got to put a plan together, fund it, get the work done, and be willing to answer for the results. That's how I'd judge whether we're making progress.

We also formed the first County Health Department, a service greatly needed. This was the first county health department formed in the State of Texas in almost 50 years.

I also served as the Court's liaison with a group of volunteers who worked diligently to be approved for a grant that will provide fiber broadband countywide. It was an approximately $54 million grant through the state.

I served on the committee for the new Judicial Center, and we have purchased 27 acres to build a new courthouse. There are other improvements to be announced very soon.

A commissioner has a vote on the five-member Commissioners Court. That means helping set the county budget and tax rate, approving contracts, and making countywide decisions.

Commissioners also supervise road operations in their precincts, making sure crews have what they need, setting maintenance priorities, dealing with drainage problems, and seeing that equipment and materials are put to good use.

No one commissioner gets to dictate what the whole court does. You have to do your homework, make your case, and earn the other votes. And when a job falls under your supervision, people ought to be able to hold you accountable for getting it done.

Each commissioner is a liaison for different departments. I am the Court's liaison for Economic Development and Tourism, as well as the liaison for the Animal Shelter.

This requires commissioners to sit down with the sheriff and look at the actual numbers: calls for service, response times, areas that need more coverage, and how growth is changing the workload.

Then we need a realistic plan for additional deputies where they're needed. A deputy isn't just a salary. There's a patrol vehicle, equipment, training, insurance, benefits, and continuing costs.

The sheriff runs the department, and Commissioners Court makes the funding decisions. I believe we should work together on a multiyear plan that the county can afford to keep in place, rather than announcing positions we can't sustain.

I have worked hard with the sheriff and the constables to make sure they have what they need. This is why I have the endorsements from Sheriff Cook and all four constables.

For the first time in several years, we were fully staffed this last year. I attribute that to some salary adjustments made a couple of years ago. While again it had to be approved by the court. I championed this adjustment to help ensure we did not lose our deputies to neighboring counties due to pay.

I care about the animal shelter, and I also know that adding kennels alone won't solve every problem. We need to look at how many animals come in, how quickly they can be adopted or returned home, how animal-control calls are handled, and what it takes to support the staff doing that work.

We should keep building relationships with rescue groups, veterinarians, volunteers, and organizations that may help with grants. But grants come and go. We still need a sound county budget, clear goals, and regular reporting so people can see whether the shelter is improving.

I want a humane shelter and animal-control services that work for our growing county.

I have worked with the shelter director to add over 40 new kennels. They were desperately needed.

I negotiated, with the Court's approval, to purchase 15 acres on Hwy. 95 for a new shelter facility. I fought to get $5 million added to the five-year CIP budget to help construct the all-new facility.

Roads are something a commissioner should know firsthand. You have to know where the trouble spots are, what condition the pavement is in, where drainage is failing, and what your crews and equipment can accomplish.

On county roads, that means planning maintenance and following through. FM 969 is a different matter because it's a state highway under TxDOT. We can't just send out a county crew and widen it.

But we can work with TxDOT, put documented safety problems in front of them, push for studies and funding, and stay on the issue.

My approach is simple: take care of the roads the county is responsible for, and keep working with the state on the highways we depend on.

I work regularly with the TxDOT district office on concerns of constituents regarding state roadways. I've worked with TxDOT to get several turn lanes on FM 969, and they were funded by the businesses.

I've added several new four-way stops on our county roads.

You're not going to get much done in county government if you can't work with people. The commissioners, the county judge, the sheriff, and other elected officials all have jobs to do.

We won't agree on every issue, and that's fine. I think you should be able to disagree in court, explain your vote, and then sit down and work together on the next problem.

With the sheriff, that means listening to operational needs while also asking the hard budget questions. I don't think politics or personal disagreements ought to get in the way of roads, public safety, or basic county services.

We can all agree that we may not always agree with each other, but we should be respectful in disagreements.

Absolutely, I'd like to see people pay less in property taxes. But there's a difference between saying that and showing how to make it happen.

We need to control spending and grow the tax base in ways that don't leave existing property owners holding the bag.

When a major company wants a tax abatement, we ought to look at both sides of the ledger: what revenue the project brings in, what it costs the county, and what happens when the abatement ends.

We also need to remember that a county can't simply charge a higher tax rate to a company because it's wealthy.

My focus would be a strong tax base, careful spending, and a lower tax burden wherever the numbers allow it.

We have to diversify our tax base with more high-value commercial projects. I feel if we can successfully get these types of projects, we could reduce our tax rates drastically in the next five years.