The Terry County Commissioners Court held its regularly scheduled meeting Monday morning, September 14, 2026. After the call to order, invocation, pledges, public comment period—with no one speaking—approval of the previous meeting’s minutes, and payment of county bills, commissioners moved into the main portion of the agenda.
The Court first received monthly departmental reports. Terry County Justice of the Peace Angie P. Garza reported $35,334.83 in court activity for August. The Justice Court collected $34,322.23, including $23,012.33 in direct deposits, $5,511.60 in money orders, $3,010 in checks, and $2,788.30 in cash. The court also recorded $1,012.60 in non-monetary activity, consisting of $150 in jail credit and $862.60 waived due to deceased individuals.
The Terry County Judge’s Office reported steady County Court activity during August, with 20 new criminal cases filed and 20 criminal cases disposed. The court also recorded nine new civil cases, disposed of 13 civil cases, and heard nine probate cases. Criminal court receipts totaled $1,012, including $590 in general fines and additional revenue from court costs, peace officer fees, attorney fees, and other assessments.
The Terry County Sheriff’s Office responded to 117 calls for service during August, including nine emergency calls and 108 non-emergency calls. Deputies received reports of three offenses—one controlled-substance case and two theft cases. One offense was cleared, producing a clearance rate of 33%. The report listed $23,884.48 in stolen property, with $20,000 recovered.
The Sheriff’s Office also received 18 warrants and served eight, leaving 10 outstanding for a 44% service rate. The warrants included two from the Justice of the Peace, six from County Court, and 10 from District Court. Deputies processed 21 civil documents from Terry County and five from other counties, with all 26 either served or returned.
The Terry County Jail maintained an average daily population of 80 inmates during August and recorded nine arrests. Charges included possession of a controlled substance, theft, public intoxication, assault involving a family or household member with a previous conviction, child support, unauthorized use of a vehicle, and leaving the scene of an accident involving more than $200 in damage. The jail served 8,215 meals at an average cost of $1.54 per meal.
Housing inmates for other counties generated $66,609 in August, bringing total monthly income—including civil-processing and bond fees—to $67,813. Total income for the year reached $613,875.08. Office and jail expenses totaled $48,011.73 for the month, including $12,679.12 for groceries, $10,410.26 for utilities and $8,101.16 for medical expenses. The department also reported 74 transports, 84 investigations, 11 court-duty assignments and 18,360 vehicle miles during August.
Commissioners then considered the county’s 2027 employee health insurance renewal. County Treasurer Andrea Perry told the Court that health insurance premiums will increase by 8.9%, slightly below the 9.9% increase county officials had included in the proposed budget. Dental insurance will increase by 3.5%, while the county’s $20,000 life insurance benefit will remain unchanged. Retirees may continue the life insurance coverage for $25.92 annually.
Perry recommended retaining the county’s current plan, which carries a $2,500 deductible and a $4,350 out-of-pocket maximum. Although moving to a $3,000 deductible would save the county approximately $20 per employee, Perry said the difference to employees would be only about $3 to $4. The medical premium will be $916.08 per employee. Monthly dependent coverage will increase to $761.64 for families, $261.87 for children, and $499.77 for spouses. Commissioners approved the 2027 health insurance renewal as recommended.
Perry also proposed increasing the amount employees may place on their MRP cards from $2,496 to $3,400. The MRP card operates similarly to a Flexible Spending Account, allowing participating employees to have money voluntarily withheld from their paychecks for eligible expenses. The Court approved the increase.
Commissioners later approved a $55,000 budget adjustment for repairs and maintenance through the Livestock and Show Barn Fund.
The Court also approved Terry County’s participation in the Texas Department of Transportation’s Routine Airport Maintenance Program, commonly known as RAMP. The program provides a 90/10 matching grant, with TxDOT covering 90% of eligible expenses and Terry County contributing the remaining 10%. The county plans to use the funding to install new runway lights at the Terry County Airport.
Each RAMP grant is designated for a single airport, and funds cannot be combined among multiple facilities. The county and TxDOT’s Aviation Division must fully execute the grant before work or purchases begin. Because runway lighting may qualify as a small capital-improvement project, the county must also receive written review and approval from TxDOT Aviation before beginning the project to ensure the expenses remain eligible for reimbursement.
Commissioners then scheduled a public hearing on Terry County’s proposed fiscal year 2027 budget. The hearing will be held Monday, September 28, 2026, when commissioners will review the spending plan and consider adopting it. The proposed General Fund budget projects $7,818,173 in total revenue, including approximately $5.62 million in property taxes and $1.49 million in intergovernmental revenue. Additional income is expected from fees of office, fines and forfeitures, interest, licenses and permits, and other revenue sources.
Proposed General Fund expenditures total approximately $9.88 million, exceeding anticipated revenue by about $2.07 million. The largest proposed expenses include nearly $2.74 million for the Terry County Jail, approximately $1.03 million for the Sheriff’s Office, $785,000 in fund transfers, $588,806 for the County Attorney’s Office and $585,256 in other expenditures. The budget also includes funding for county courts and offices, fire services, rural transportation, park services, the health unit and the Brownfield Senior Citizens Center.
The Court also scheduled a September 28 public hearing on the proposed property-tax rate and its possible adoption. Like the City of Brownfield, Terry County could not complete its outside audit within the required timeframe and therefore could not use its voter-approval tax rate. The county’s no-new-revenue rate was calculated at $0.809336 per $100 of property valuation, which would generate an estimated tax levy of $7,342,340.
However, Terry County’s tax rate is capped at $0.800000 per $100 of valuation, preventing commissioners from adopting the full no-new-revenue rate. At the proposed rate of $0.800000, the county is expected to collect approximately $7,257,643—about $84,697 less than it would receive under the no-new-revenue rate. The proposed rate is slightly higher than last year’s rate of $0.798767, which generated a tax levy of approximately $7.25 million.
The next two items were presented for informational purposes only. During the first presentation, Terry County Sheriff Tim Click updated the Court on the county’s Flock Safety license-plate-reading cameras, approved about three years ago and now operational. Click said the cameras photograph license plates as vehicles pass and store that information in a searchable database. If a vehicle reported stolen passes a camera, the system can alert law enforcement. He emphasized that the cameras do not track cellphones or provide images of people inside vehicles, adding that similar systems are operating across Texas.
Click also addressed concerns about possible misuse. He said access is limited to authorized personnel, and the system records who conducts each search, when it is performed, and how often it is used. An officer who accesses the database for an unauthorized personal purpose could face disciplinary action, criminal charges, and arrest. Click added that the cameras were obtained through a grant containing accountability requirements.
When asked how many cameras are operating and where they are located, Click declined to provide specific details publicly, explaining that revealing their locations could allow people to avoid or damage them. Overall, Click said he believes the system is a valuable tool for Terry County law enforcement.
The second informational presentation came from Kalyn Key, who updated commissioners on the inaugural Terry County Crossroads Stampede Rodeo, held July 9–11, 2026. Key described the first-year event as a success and told the Court that approximately 1,500 people attended the rodeo.
