Travis County Commissioners Court
Tuesday, August 10, 2010,
Item 11
And that is number 11, consider and take appropriate action in response to request from austin travis county integral care center board of trustees, formerly austin/travis county mental health, mental retardation board, regarding board composition. We did discuss this from the last time, and decided to take a week. Mr. Evans is here too in case we have additional questions. Arched r. And qut really is for travis county to reduce its appointments from four to three. The city has already taken that action, so they reduced theirs from four to three. And aisd only had one. They've been asked to reduce that one to zero. Have they done that yet? But they've been asked. And so if you end up with two or three, they would be given to the health care district. And it has a new name too. Any questions for mr. Evans?
>> yes, judge. Basically last week i asked for this -- i needed an additional week. And i guess the point that i'm trying to suggest again is it just appears that some of the complaints that i've been receiving via e-mail, has been really an emphasis on term limits more so than anything else. A feeling that term limits i guess should be in play, especially with the service that has been rendered by some of the board members that we appoint. Some are suggesting that after so many years the same persons serving should not be there anymore. And i beg to differ with these particular e-mails that i received. I do not want to give up my authority as far as precinct 1 commissioner on the ability to lose my appointment authority. If anyone else want to do that, that's just fine with me. I really am not objecting to it. It's just that i want to go on record and say that the commissioner of precinct 1 do not want to lose the authority of appointing persons to this particular board. So i guess if -- especially i guess the question that have come to us as far as term limits per se and the umbrella of term limits, it just appears to me that that's something that those particular board members, i guess if they feel they've spent enough time on that particular board, they can elect to say, listen, i don't want to be reappointed. Just like a person running for public office that do not have the term limits set aside for those particular public servants, i guess the voters will determine in this particular case here on this commissioners court will determine when your term is up. Of course, either you can say hey, i've had enough and i do not want to seek reelection, which happens. So that should hold true to these particular persons to answer the term limit type as severe that -- atmosphere that this has surrounded itself. So as i stated earlier, i want to go on record as far as travis county commissioner of precinct 1, i do not want to give up my authority to appoint a person. We have four appointees. Now, if the other commissioners would like to, whoever have the authority to appoint members to that board, i guess they can, but i do not want to give up that authority.
>> we would have to address the issue of process at a later time under a separate item.
>> okay.
>> what's posted today is whether we will agree to go from four to three.
>> right.
>> and in my view, the county judge has never had an appointment and i don't know that i really have ever wanted one. I didn't miss that, mr. Evans.
>> i don't want to give up mine.
>> but wherever we land on that is fine with me, but the question today is whether we go from four to three. And frankly, i have to abstain because my spouse is employed by this agency.
>> he move we go to three appointments -- i move that we go to three appointments as a commissioners court as a whole rather than four appointments from each separate precinct.
>> second.
>> any more discussion on the motion office.
>> yes.
>> if this passes, commissioner, i think we ought to just draft an outline of an appropriate process, post that, have another discussion of it in the court here.
>> all right. I'm not going to support that because i don't want to lose that authority. And i don't know what's going to happen to -- i'm going to stay here for as long as the folks want me, but if they get tired of me, they know what to do. But by saying that, i don't want any future person who occupies this seat or whenever that is to have -- not have the authority to appoint a person to this board. And that's what i'll be giving up. And i just refuse to do that. I'm not going to support it.
>> all in favor of the motion? Show commissioners eckhardt and huber. Those against, commissioner davis votes against. County judge abstains for the reason stated. The motion passes by a vote of two in favor, one against, one abstention. Mr. Evans, communicate that to the board for us.
>> yes, sir. Thank you very much.
>> thank you.
>> item 24, and the next item will be the budget item for csc and constables.
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Last Modified:
Tuesday, August 10, 2010, 2010 1:30 PM
