Fannin County, Texas -- All five members of Fannin County Commissioners Court were present for a regular meeting Monday, August 18, 2025. The meeting opened with an invocation by Jase Waller, pastor of Telephone Baptist Church, and pledges were led by Air Force veteran, Jenny Garner.
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Routine items
Commissioners court approved payment of bills totaling $58,889.16; payroll was $425,001.32 for 152 employees.
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Commissioners court approved minutes from regular meetings held August 29, 2023 and September 12, 2023.
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Report of monies collected by the county clerk’s office for July 2025; all courts combined, $15,989.10 and land records, $42,242.25.
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Fannin County Auditor Alicia Whipple presented the Auditor Monthly Reports for July 2025.
Month-to-date revenue was $640,035.83; month-to-date expenses were $1,326,859.61. Those numbers are typical for this phase of the fiscal year.
Year-to-date revenue is $16,540,824.41; year-to-date expenses are $12,604,428.17, for a difference of $3,936,396.24.
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Fannin County Commissioners Court paused for the introduction and swearing in of the county's new Elections Administrator, Cristian Perez Garcia.
Perez Garcia has experience with the county's election equipment and possesses an extensive background in elections, although in another state. She has recently had training at the election academy.
"We had a lot of really good applicants and she was the shining star of the bunch, so we are proud to have her here," remarked Fannin County Clerk Jenny Garner.
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Commissioners court continues to assess public safety risks in the county.
"After Kerr County, there is a lot of concern about risks," Fannin County Judge Newt Cunningham told the court and he suggested that everyone should take an assessment of risks in their area.
"Because of the new locations of the dams, we don't know where the flood plain is," Cunningham pointed out, adding that the county is waiting on an update by FEMA.
Pct. 3 Commissioner Kurt Fogelberg said the county needs to be prepared for dangers associated with electric cars that catch fire or are in wrecks.
Cunningham said that battery energy storage facilities have the same type lithium-ion batteries that power electric cars.
"What happens if you have a bunch of containers on fire?" Cunningham asked rhetorically. "We can't stop electric cars from coming into the county, and we can't stop battery storage facilities coming into the county, but we don't have to encourage them."
Whipple advised the court that it is time to renew the county's hazardous mitigation plan.
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Discussion and possible action items
Commissioners court approved Fiscal Year 2025-2026 positions and salaries for Fannin County.
"Most of our people in the trenches are underpaid," Cunningham said.
The budget calls for a 10% raise for all county employees across the board.
"If the commissioners court would pass on its raise, that would put a little money back in the box to be available for other things," Cunningham remarked.
The agenda item passed 4-0, with Cunningham abstaining.
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Commissioners court adopted the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Fannin County Budget.
Cunningham began the discussion by saying the county needs to put more planning into the budget.
"How much are we going to end up being in the red?" Pct. 4 Commissioner Doug Kopf asked Fannin County Auditor Alicia Whipple.
"What I'm pulling out of reserves to balance this budget is $2,382,136.01," Whipple began. "However, $2,300,000 is strictly earmarked for the Justice Center, so the operational budget of the General Fund is only using $82,136.01."
Whipple explained that although the $2.3 million is set aside in the budget, any actual expenditures will need to come before commissioners court to be voted on.
Cunningham took yet another opportunity to reflect poorly on previous administrations' handling of the restoration of the 1888 courthouse even though the project he is overseeing -- the Justice Center -- is over budget even more than the courthouse restoration.
Taxpayers were told the courthouse could be restored for $17 million, but it ended up costing approximately $28 million, which is 64.71% over budget.
By comparison, taxpayers were originally told the Justice Center would cost $11 million, but that number has ballooned to approximately $19.5 million, which would be 77.27% over budget.
The grand façade on the front of the Justice Center is costing taxpayers approximately $1 million.
Commissioner Fogelberg noted that a lot of these previous decisions were before he and Pct. 1 Commissioner Troy Waggoner were elected.
Commissioner Kopf cautioned that any delay would simply drive up costs and he also lamented the fact that a lot of the change orders were due to questionable decisions during the design phase. Koff pointed out that a $600,000 payment from North Texas Municipal Water District that had been earmarked for Road & Bridge may eventually end up being used for the Justice Center project.
"We have a million [dollars] in the budget for furniture, correct?" Cunningham asked Whipple.
"Yes sir," the county auditor replied.
"That is where we can cut back substantially," Cunningham stated.
The county judge reported that a local bank would like to donate its furniture because the bank is in the process of buying new furniture.
At the Justice Center, new furniture will be necessary for the entrance to the courtrooms and the interior of the courtrooms, but used furniture might suffice in the other areas.
Commissioners court voted 4-1 to adopt the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Fannin County Budget, with Cunningham casting the opposing vote.
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Commissioners court adopted the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Debt Rate of 0.046495 for Fannin County.
At the current time, the county's debt is $27,565,000.
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Commissioners court adopted the 2025 Tax Rate of 0.350311 for Fannin County.
The county's tax rate was fairly stagnant for 10 years, dropping only slightly from 0.6110 in 2010 to a fractionally lower 0.5890 in 2020. The rate dropped to 0.5341 in 2021, 0.4352 in 2022, 0.4007 in 20203 and 0.3808 in 2024. Under the Texas Property Tax Reform and Transparency Act, the growth of the county's property tax revenue is limited to 3.5%, unless voters approve a larger increase.
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Commissioners court voted to release the bond for Five Points and The Harbor at Five Points subdivisions.
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Commissioners court voted to replace Sean Pate with Bonham City Engineer Wes Lawson as the representative for Fannin County and Bonham on the Sulphur River Regional Mobility Authority Board.
Commissioner Self is also on the Sulphur River Regional Mobility Authority Board and he thanked Pate for years of service to this board.
Locally, widening State Highway 121 is a top priority because it is Fannin County's primary connection to the metroplex and this stretch of two-lane highway grows busier and more dangerous by the day.
The City of Bonham has committed $1.5 million to improve Hwy 121, and Fannin County has also put up $1.5 million to incentivize a project that TxDOT estimates will cost $150 million.
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Commissioners court passed on an agenda item regarding State mandated Cyber Security Training & Certification of Completion by county employees.
Fannin County IT Director Dustin Morrow advised the court that the county has 10 employees who have not completed cyber security training. The county has until August 31, 2025 to turn in a final head count to the state.
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Commissioners court passed on an agenda item regarding two official fiber internet quotes/agreements with terms and conditions from Frontier and Sparklight for possible use in the Justice Center.
Sparklight had the lowest quote of $430 per month - $5,160 annually. The courthouse currently uses Sparklight.
Frontier offers more service but at the slightly higher rate of $480 per month - $5,760 annually. Frontier is currently the internet provider at the sheriff's office.
Both quotes include construction to get fiber optics to the Justice Center, but it needs to be installed before work on the parking lot begins.
By comparison, the county is currently paying $521 per month just for internet at county offices being temporarily housed at the McCraw building and at the Wire & Plastic location.
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Commissioners court voted to approve the 2025-2026 Liability Renewal Questionnaire.
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Commissioners court voted to approve the Interlocal Agreement for Road Maintenance with the City of Honey Grove.
The City of Honey Grove approved this agreement August 12, 2025.
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Commissioners Court passed on an agenda item regarding Interlocal Agreement with the City of Ladonia relating to law enforcement.
The City of Ladonia will provide an annual salary of $60,000 for a deputy constable, which will be augmented by slightly more than $7,000 that the county has budgeted. Pct. 3 Constable Kevin Mayberry will be able to work in tandem with this deputy constable.
Ladonia has gifted a patrol car to the county for the deputy constable to use, with the understanding that the car can't be sold. There are stipulations regarding who the car could be gifted to in the future.
Should the City of Ladonia be able to field a certified police department in the future, the car would be transferred back to the City of Ladonia in whatever condition the car is in at that time.
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Commissioners Court passed on an agenda item regarding an HVAC Service contract for yearly preventative maintenance.
Fannin County Purchasing Agent Julie Criswell surveyed local vendors, but none are equipped to maintain the chiller.
The current service provider, H&G, quoted an annual fee of $7,943.00, 5T Mechanical in Whitesboro was much lower at $3,805.00, but Criswell would like to explore more options with ATS Mechanical.
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Commissioners court discussed a Request For Proposals (RFP) for Transport and Mortuary Services for Humans.
An ad hoc committee determined the scope of work and examined proposals.
Cooper-Sorrells Funeral Home scored significantly higher than Wise Funeral Home and the committee doesn't feel that a rotation would be appropriate.
The county has enjoyed a long-term relationship with Cooper-Sorrells Funeral Home.
Commissioners court voted 4-0 to approve the RFP provided by Cooper-Sorrells Funeral Home with Cunningham abstaining.
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Commissioners court approved installation of and payment for gas line(s) at the Justice Center from the meter to the building, with payment to come out of Crossland Construction's contingency fund.
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Executive session(s) and action if needed
Fannin County Commissioners Court had no need for executive session.
