Civic Issues
Topics getting the most attention in Washington County public meetings, ranked by how frequently they are discussed.
16 issues in taxes budget with medium priority
Elections Office Relocation
The Elections office is moving from the courthouse to the Courthouse Annex, putting the office, voting machines, early voting, and central count under one roof. It should save staff countless cross-street trips and be ready before the November election.
FY2027 Holiday Schedule Change
County employees will no longer get a floating birthday holiday — instead, the whole county observes President's Day. If you still want your birthday off, you'll need to use PTO.
County cybersecurity and software consolidation
The IT department bought a three-year PDQ Connect subscription to fix an audit finding on vulnerability and patch management across 330 county computers. Savings from consolidating other software keep it budget-neutral.
Clean 2025 county audit and strong fund balance
Auditor Shawna Hollis reported the county earned a double-A rating from S&P Global, which lowers borrowing costs. June sales tax came in about $20,000 below last year.
Employee insurance costs rising for dental
County employee dental insurance is running at a 130% loss ratio, so the carrier wouldn't extend multi-year rate deals. HR negotiated a 19% increase down from 25-30% market rates, passed to employees with no added county cost.
Jail renovation nearing completion
The jail roof project is 75% done, but crews found bad gutters, dryer vents and other repairs that added $25,900 to the contract. The judge noted fixing these now avoids costlier work later.
County website overhaul
The county is adding branded department headers to its website, and staff flagged a coming federal ADA compliance deadline (April 2028) that will require embedded PDFs on the website to be accessible — a project expected to cost more and appear in upcoming budget talks.
Potential certificates of obligation debt issuance
The court took the first legal step toward issuing certificates of obligation — a form of county debt that doesn't require voter approval. Officials stressed it's only a preliminary newspaper notice, not a final decision.
Hotel Occupancy Tax grant distribution
The Expo brought about $7.8 million in economic impact to the county in 2025 and saved the county $24,000 in mileage reimbursements through its shared vehicle program. The Texas Arts and Music Festival still owes a 2025 HOT fund report and can't apply for the next round until it does.
County moves to automated ACH vendor payments
The county is replacing paper checks with an automated ACH payment system through Tyler Technologies. It should save about $37,800 a year and reduce lost checks and fraud, while keeping the option to print checks.
County workforce vacancies
The county is short 20 full-time employees, including eight sheriff's office positions and several jail staff, though EMS is close to full staffing. HR is also asking for an extra staff member to handle a flood of public information requests.
Countywide salary survey
State-funded court case management system (UCMS)
Both the district and county clerk offices signed agreements joining the state's court case management system, with Tyler Technologies as vendor — and the state is picking up the tab for the software.
Bank depository change
The county is ending its long relationship with a single depository and seeking bids to split its funds across two banks, since banks increasingly don't want to hold that much cash. Bids due Feb. 19, award March 3.
JP Precinct 1 Staffing and Leadership Transition
Judge Zwiener and his 34-year veteran clerk both retire this year. The part-to-full-time conversion keeps a training pipeline alive so the next judge inherits a capable office.
HR staffing shortage
HR can't fill its generalist vacancy and has picked up county payroll, so a temporary assistant is extended through June 20, 2026.