The Collin County Observer

The Collin County Commissioners have established several citizen committees that advise the court on a myriad of issues.

For example, did you know that the county had a planning board?

The Collin County Planning Board meets monthly and advises the commissioners court on long range infrastructure improvements. Right now they are working on determining the feasibility of a multimodal hub in the eastern part of the county. This hub would facilitate the transport of goods in the region by creating a place where rail, truck and possibly airfreight could transfer cargoes. The hub, or 'inland port' could produce lots of jobs and be a huge economic engine.

I know about the Planning Board, and I attend some of its meetings, because the county publishes a legal notice and agenda before each meeting. These notices and agendas are required by law to be posted in the courthouse and on the internet.

To comply with the law, Collin County maintains an internet site that posts all meeting notices, agendas and minutes.

While most committees do follow the law and post their agendas, two of them can not seem to get it together enough to inform the citizens of their actions. They operate in the shadows. Their meetings violate both the letter and the spirit of the Texas Open Meetings Act.

The Health Care Advisory Board meets several times a year. One of its main functions is to advise the Commissioners Court on the non-profit health care grants program. This board screens applications for the service grants and makes budget and policy recommendations that greatly affect the delivery of indigent health care services.

While it has been over a year since the Health Care Advisory Board has publicly published its minutes or agendas, it recently issued the 2010 non-profit service agreement recommendations to the commissioners court. Since there was no public notice, interested citizens including this author, were not given the opportunity to observe or comment on the proceedings. That would make the meeting of this board illegal under the Texas Open Meetings Act, and its actions voidable.

The county's Mental Health Board also has not posted any agendas or minutes. Like the Health Care Advisory Board, it advises the commissioners, but it meets in such a way that citizen input is impossible.

The Open Meetings Act requires that all citizen appointees to county boards undergo required training in Open Meetings and Open Records legal requirements. By holding these unannounced meetings, the law allows the individual members of these boards to be prosecuted and convicted of misdemeanors.

Most of the county's citizen committees and boards do find a way to comply with the laws. Only these two indigent health care related committees refuse to obey the law.

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These Citizen Committees have NOT posted agendas on the county website:

• Health Care Foundation Advisory Board
• Mental Health and Retardation Board

Citizen Committees that DO post agendas on the county website are:

• Collin County Child Protective Services Board
• Collin County Historical Commission
• Myers Park & Event Center Advisory Board
• Park Foundation Advisory Board
• Planning Board

New citizen committees committees that have not yet posted any agendas include:

• Collin County Citizen Efficiency Committee
• Collin County Executive Roundtable Committee
• Citizens Academy

Regulatory and Judicial Commissions that have statutory authority. These commissions do generally (but not always) post agendas on the county's web site:

• Bail Bond Board - Consists of representatives from the Sheriff's department, District Attorney, Judges and Municipal judges. Regulates bond licenses and rules.
• Board of Judges - Composed of all 7 District Court Judges; manages the Auditors Department. Authority to hear appeals from and impeachment of commissioners court.
• Community Supervision and Correction - Comprised of all District and and County At Law Judges, budgets and supervises adult probation.
• Elections Board - Members are the County Judge, County Clerk, County Tax Assessor/Collector, and the county chairs of the major political parties. This board hires the County Election Administrator.
• Juvenile Board - Made up of the County Judge and District judges; hires, budgets and manages Juvenile probation and detention.
• Purchasing Board - Made up of 3 district judges and 2 county commissioners, this board hires the Purchasing Agent and budgets his department.

Bill