Maverick County Commissioners Court declare “Emergency” to transfer funds to pay Detention Center employees

By: Jose G. Landa, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2015

Maverick County Commissioners Court called for an emergency meeting on Thursday, August 6, 2015, at 10:15 A.M. to take discuss and take action “to identify and transfer funds to the appropriate County financial account to meet the payroll obligations on Friday, August 7, 2015 for the employees of the County who provided or are providing services to the Maverick County Detention Center,” approving Agenda Item No. 3 (a), (b), (c), and (d) after coming out of Executive Session into Open Session.

The emergency agenda states that “the emergency is due to the financial situation that was created from the cessations of the operations of the Maverick County Detention Center and other reasonable unforeseeable situations that were experienced by the County due to the legal issues and demands by the Bondholders and/or Trustee regarding funding of the maintenance and operations of the Maverick County Detention Center.”

County Commissioner Precinct 1 Gerardo “Jerry” Morales motioned to declare an “Emergency” and to transfer the sum not to exceed $200,000 from the County’s deficit reduction account to the County’s general fund and then to the payroll account in order to pay the approximately 70 employees of the Maverick County Detention Center who need to get paid on Friday, August 7, 2015.  Most of these employees, if not all, have been given notice that their employment with the Maverick County Sheriff’s Department as Maverick County Detention Center staff will terminate on August 15, 2015.

Maverick County taxpayers are having $200,000 of their reserve funds in the County’s deficit reduction account having to be transferred to the general fund and then to the payroll account to satisfy these 70 or so employees payroll on August 7th.

On July 17, 2015, Maverick County Commissioners Court approved to give 30 days notice to the U.S. Marshal’s Service and the $43 Million Bondholders and Trustee of the Maverick County Public Facility Corporation Bonds of cessation of detention services on August 15, 2015 due to various reasons, including the inability to negotiate a settlement with the Bondholders and Trustee on the use of certain Detention Center funds to continue its operation and the financial hermorraging of Maverick County’s general fund to the tune of $2 Million or more to operate the 625 Bed Detention Center.

Maverick County Commissioners Court approved to take over management and operation of the flailing Maverick County Detention Center operations under the Sheriff’s Department after The GEO Group, Inc. withdrew from managing the detention center.  Maverick County Sheriff’s Department took over operations of the Maverick County Detention Center on November 1, 2013.

Commissioners Court also approved getting a $2 Million “Tax Anticipation Note” loan on July 13, 2015 in order to cover the County’s budget deficit from that date until the end of the 2014-2015 fiscal year budget on September 30, 2015 due to the financial bleeding caused by the County’s management of the Detention Center.  This new $2 Million loan will have to be paid by Maverick County taxpayers with County revenues such as the ad valorem property taxes paid during 2015-2016 fiscal year as well as future years.

Despite Maverick County Commissioners Court valiant efforts to take over the operations of the Maverick County Detention Center in order to save approximately 120  jobs within the community, their efforts were unable to satisfy the signifcant and heavy conditions and financial obligations demanded by the Bondholders and their Trustee and written agreements.

Meanwhile, Maverick County taxpayers are pressed with increased financial obligations and face the risk of increased ad valorem property taxes in the future to pay for these County debts.