Brown County Commissioners approved the discontinuation of a $2 electronic filing transaction fee currently collected by the Brown County Clerk and the Brown County District Clerk’s offices.
According to Brown County District Clerk Cheryl Jones, the fee was approved by the Commissioners Court on September 15, 2014 to help recoup the cost of setting up for e-filing. Jones stated that her office has recouped these funds and now wishes to stop collecting the fee which has been “a bookkeeper’s nightmare.”
Jones and County Clerk Sharon Ferguson agreed about the problems created by this fee.
“The money doesn’t add up very fast and it is more trouble to keep records of it,” explained Ferguson. “If we thought it was still beneficial for the county, we wouldn’t ask to discontinue it.”
The fee was initiated under provisions of the Texas Government Code §72.031(c) which allows the fee to be collected through 2019, when it is set to end; however, both Jones and Ferguson agreed that they would like to stop it now, to lessen the bookkeeping burden.
The fee discontinuation was approved and will be effective on April 15, 2016.In other matters on Monday’s agenda:
*Ronnie Lappe of the Brown County Historical Commission presented to commissioners a brief review of the annual report to the Texas Historical Commission.
*Commissioner Gary Worley, Precinct 1 received approval to declare a variety of office equipment and furniture as surplus. These items, which include chairs, desks, a GPS unit, various office equipment, doors, light fixtures and other items that were not needed or found to be obsolete after the recent courthouse renovations took place and will be available for sale on www.govdeals.com.
*Commissioner Joel Kelton, Precinct 2 received approval to purchase a new vehicle for the Brown County Jail road crew. The current vehicle used has nearly 250,000 miles and has been having problems with the engine. Kelton stated that he approached all local dealerships to get costs for the new vehicle and the lowest price was from Hoffpauir Chevrolet in Goldthwaite, $32,956.51 for a new king cab pickup.
*Commissioners approved an easement in favor of the City of Brownwood along the north side of a county-owned lot at N. Broadway and Fisk. According to commissioners, the easement is for a water line to be located down the side and back of the property for the construction of the new elections building.
*County Auditor Nina Cox received approval to renew the arbitrage rebate services with First Southwest Asset Management LLC. According to Cox, the cost is $1200/year.
