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2019 County and District

Clerks’ Association of Texas Fall Education

Conference

Sept. 16-18, 2019

Sheraton, Georgetown

2019 CDCAT Fall Conference Binder Graphics 3.indd 6 8/26/19 2:09 PM

Breakout 2: County Clerks Commissioners Court

Tuesday, September 17, 2019 9–10 a.m.

Hon. Shelley Coston Bell County Clerk

Hon. Mario Garcia Dimmit County Clerk

This session will review the clerk's role and duties for the Commissioners Court.

Hon. Shelley Coston, Bell County Clerk Hon. Shelley Coston, Bell County Clerk, graduated from Temple High School in 1984. She attended Temple Junior College and earned her associate of applied science degree in business administration in 1991 and returned in 2004 to obtain a paralegal studies certificate. She served on the advisory board for Paralegal Studies Program and assisted in the organization of the Paralegal Studies Program. Coston founded the Legal Assistants Division of the Bell County Bar Association in 2002 and served two terms as president — in 2002-2003 and in 2003-2004. In addition, Coston is an active member of the County and District Clerks’ Association of Texas, the Urban Recorders Alliance and the Central Texas Republican Women in Bell County. She holds several leadership positions including as a member of the board of directors for the Central Texas Housing Finance Corporation, vice chairperson for the Bell County Bail Bond Board and vice chairperson for the Bell County Election Commission.

Coston is a dedicated clerk who completed the Texas Association of Counties Leadership Foundation Program in 2011. She earned a Five-Star Local Registrar Award from the Texas State Department of Health for Vital Statistics in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016. Other awards include Legal Assistant of the Year Award in 2003 and 2005 from the Bell County Bar Association and Secretary of the Year Award in 1992 from the Professional Secretaries International.

Coston and her husband, Thomas Arnold, have two children, Katie and Joshua, and have lived in Bell County for over 35 years.

Hon. Mario Garcia, Dimmit County Clerk Hon. Mario Garcia is a lifelong resident of Dimmit County and has been in office for over 35 years. He is a graduate of Carrizo Springs High School and Southwest Texas Junior College in Uvalde, Texas A&I (now A&M) University in Kingsville. Garcia is married to Elida de Leon with whom he raised three children. Now the couple stays busy spoiling their five grandchildren.

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Commissioners CourtCDCAT Fall Conference

September 17th, 2019 Georgetown, Texas

Shelley Coston Mario Garcia

Bell County Clerk Dimmit County Clerk

Local Government CodeSec. 81.001. COMPOSITION, PRESIDING OFFICER. (a) The members of the commissioners court are the county judge and the county commissioners.

Sec. 81.003.  CLERK.  (a)  The county clerk is the clerk of the commissioners court.  The clerk shall:

(1)  serve the court during each of its terms;

(2)  keep the court's books, papers, records, and effects;  and

(3)  issue the notices, writs, and process necessary for the proper execution of the court's powers and duties.

(b)  The court shall require the clerk to record the proceedings of each term of the court.  This record may be in a paper or electronic format.  After each term the clerk shall attest to the accuracy of this record.

(c)  The clerk shall record the court's authorized proceedings between terms.  This record may be in a paper or electronic format.  The clerk shall attest to the accuracy of the record.

An ex officio member is a member of a body (a board, committee, council, etc.) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term ex officio is Latin, meaning literally "from the office", and the sense intended is "by right of office"; its use dates back to the Roman Republic.

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The duties described in Local Government Code Section 81.003 are vested exclusively with the Clerk or Deputy Clerk and cannot be delegated to other persons. 

Sec. 81.004.  SEAL.  (a)  The commissioners court shall have a seal on which is engraved:

(1)the words "Commissioners Court, (name of county) County, Texas";  and

(2)  a five‐pointed star or a design selected by the court and approved by the secretary of state.

(b)  The clerk shall keep the seal and use it to authenticate official acts of the court or its presiding officer or clerk that require a seal for authentication.

Sec. 81.005. TERMS OF COURT, MEETINGS. (a) At the last regular term of each fiscal year of the county, the commissioners court by order shall designate a day of the week on which the court shall convene in a regular term each month during the next fiscal year. If the completion of the court's business does not require a monthly term, the court need not hold more than one term a quarter. A regular term may continue for one week but may be adjourned earlier if the court's business is completed. 

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GOVERNMENT CODE – CHAPTER 551 ‐ SUBCHAPTER C. NOTICE OF MEETINGS 

Sec. 551.041.  NOTICE OF MEETING REQUIRED.  A governmental body shall give written notice of the date, hour, place, and subject of each meeting held by the governmental body. 

Sec. 551.049. COUNTY GOVERNMENTAL BODY: PLACE OF POSTING NOTICE. A county governmental body shall post notice of each meeting on a bulletin board at a place convenient to the public in the county courthouse.

Sec. 551.043.  TIME AND ACCESSIBILITY OF NOTICE; GENERAL RULE.  (a)  The notice of a meeting of a governmental body must be posted in a place readily accessible to the general public at all times for at least 72 hours before the scheduled time of the meeting, except as provided by Sections 551.044‐551.046. 

(b)  If this chapter specifically requires or allows a governmental body to post notice of a meeting on the Internet:

(1)  the governmental body satisfies the requirement that the notice must be posted in a place readily accessible to the general public at all times by making a good‐faith attempt to continuously post the notice on the Internet during the prescribed period;(2)  the governmental body must still comply with any duty imposed by this chapter to physically post the notice at a particular location; and(3)  if the governmental body makes a good‐faith attempt to continuously post the notice on the Internet during the prescribed period, the notice physically posted at the location prescribed by this chapter must be readily accessible to the general public during normal business hours. 

Sec. 551.056.  ADDITIONAL POSTING REQUIREMENTS(a)This section applies only to a governmental body or economic development corporation that maintains an Internet website or for which an Internet website is maintained.

(b)(2)  In addition to the other place at which notice is required to be posted by this subchapter, a county must also concurrently post notice of a meeting on the Internet website of the governmental body 

(c) (2)  A county with a population of 65,000 or more must also concurrently post the agenda for the meeting on the Internet website of the governmental body.

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Sec. 551.128.  INTERNET BROADCAST OF OPEN MEETING.  (a)  In this section, "Internet" means the largest nonproprietary cooperative public computer network, popularly known as the Internet. (b)  Except as provided by Subsection (b‐1) and subject to the requirements of this section, a governmental body may broadcast an open meeting over the Internet. 

(b‐1)  A transit authority or department subject to Chapter 451, 452, 453, or 460, Transportation Code, an elected school district board of trustees for a school district that has a student enrollment of 10,000 or more, an elected governing body of a home‐rule municipality that has a population of 50,000 or more, or a county commissioners court for a county that has a population of 125,000 or more shall: 

(1)  make a video and audio recording of reasonable quality of each:(A)  regularly scheduled open meeting that is not a work session or a special called 

meeting; and….(b‐3)  A governmental body described by Subsection (b‐1) that maintains an Internet site shall make available on that site, in a conspicuous manner:

(1)  the archived recording of each meeting to which Subsection (b‐1) applies; or(2)  an accessible link to the archived recording of each such meeting.

(b‐4)  A governmental body described by Subsection (b‐1) shall: (1)  make the archived recording of each meeting to which Subsection (b‐1) applies available on the Internet not later than seven days after the date the recording was made; and (2)  maintain the archived recording on the Internet for not less than two years after the date the recording was first made available.

Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 681 (H.B. 283), Sec. 1, eff. January 1, 2016.Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1147 (H.B. 523), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2017 (added workshop session)

SUBCHAPTER B. RECORD OF OPEN MEETING

Sec. 551.021.  MINUTES OR RECORDING OF OPEN MEETING REQUIRED.  (a)  A governmental body shall prepare and keep minutes or make a recording of each open meeting of the body.

(b)  The minutes must:

(1)  state the subject of each deliberation;  and

(2)indicate each vote, order, decision, or other action taken.

Sec. 551.022. MINUTES AND RECORDINGS OF OPEN MEETING: PUBLIC RECORD. The minutes and recordings of an open meeting are public records and shall be available for public inspection and copying on request to the governmental body's chief administrative officer or the officer's designee.

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EXECUTIVE (Closed) Sessions as defined by the Open Meetings Act: 

The Open Meetings Act (the “Act”) was adopted to help make governmental decision‐making accessible to the public. It requires meetings of governmental bodies to be open to the public, except for expressly authorized closed sessions, and to be preceded by public notice of the time, place, and subject matter of the meeting. 

The provisions of [the Act] are mandatory and are to be liberally construed in favor of open government.  The authority vested in a governmental body may be exercised only at a meeting of a quorum of its members. 

Provisions Authorizing Deliberations in Closed Meeting 

Section 551.071. Consultations with Attorney ‐ authorizes a governmental body to consult with its attorney in an executive session to seek advice on legal matters. It provides as follows: A governmental body may not conduct a private consultation with its attorney except: 

(1) when the governmental body seeks the advice of its attorney about: (A) pending or contemplated litigation; or (B) a settlement offer; or 

(2) on a matter in which the duty of the attorney to the governmental body under the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct of the State Bar of Texas clearly conflicts with this chapter.

Thus, a governmental body may hold an executive session to seek or receive its attorney’s advice on legal matters that are not related to litigation or the settlement of litigation. A governmental body may not invoke section 551.071 to convene a closed session and then discuss matters outside of that provision.

Section 551.072. Deliberations about Real Property:  authorizes a governmental body to deliberate in executive session on certain matters concerning real property. It provides as follows: A governmental body may conduct a closed meeting to deliberate the purchase, exchange, lease, or value of real property if deliberation in an open meeting would have a detrimental effect on the position of the governmental body in negotiations with a third person.

Sec. 551.073.  Deliberation Regarding Prospective Gift:  A governmental body may conduct a closed meeting to deliberate a negotiated contract for a prospective gift or donation to the state or the governmental body if deliberation in an open meeting would have a detrimental effect on the position of the governmental body in negotiations with a third person.

Section 551.074. Personnel Matters: Authorizes certain deliberations about officers and employees of the governmental body to be held in executive session: (a) This chapter does not require a governmental body to conduct an open meeting: (1) to deliberate the appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline, or dismissal of a public officer or employee; or (2) to hear a complaint or a charge against an officer or employee. (b) Subsection (a) does not apply if the officer or employee who is the subject of the deliberation or hearing requests a public hearing. 

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Certified Agenda or Recording of Closed Meeting:  Government Code Sec. 551.103. (a) A governmental body shall either keep a certified agenda or make a recording of the proceedings of each 

closed meeting, except for a private consultation permitted under Section 551.071. (b) The presiding officer shall certify that an agenda kept under Subsection (a) is a true and correct record of 

the proceedings. (c)  The certified agenda must include: 

(1)  a statement of the subject matter of each deliberation; (2)  a record of any further action taken;  and(3)  an announcement by the presiding officer at the beginning and the end of the meeting indicating the date and time. 

(d) A recording made under Subsection (a) must include announcements by the presiding officer at the beginning and the end of the meeting indicating the date and time.

The certified agenda or recording of an executive session must be kept a minimum of two years after the date of the session.

A certified agenda or recording of an executive session is confidential. A person who knowingly and without lawful authority makes these records public commits a Class B misdemeanor and may be held liable for actual damages, court costs, reasonable attorney fees and exemplary or punitive damages.

A member of the governmental body has a right to inspect the certified agenda or recording of a closed meeting, even if he or she did not participate in the meeting.

Who May Attend a Closed Meeting?  

Only the members of a governmental body have a right to attend an executive session, except that the governmental body’s attorney must be present when it meets under section 551.071. 

A governmental body has discretion to include in an executive session any of its officers and employees whose participation is necessary to the matter under consideration. 

A commissioners court may include the county auditor in a meeting closed under section 551.071 to consult with its attorney if the court determines that (1) the auditor’s interests are not adverse to the county’s; (2) the auditor’s presence is necessary for the court to communicate with its attorney; and (3) the county auditor’s presence will not waive the attorney‐client privilege. 

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Texas State Library and Archives Commission Retention Schedule

COUNTY CLERK AS CLERK TO COMMISSIONERS COURT

COMMISSIONERS COURT AGENDAS Including agendas of the commissioners court sitting as a board of equalization, as a board of managers for a hospital district, or sitting as the governing body of any other government entity as required by law.

COMMISSIONERS COURT AGENDAS Open meetings.

1) If the minutes describe each matter considered by the commissioners court and reference to an agenda is not required.

2) If the minutes do not describe each matter considered by the commissioners and reference to the agenda is required.

2 years, but if an action involving the meeting is brought within that period, the governmental body shall preserve the certified agenda or tape while the action is pending.

PERMANENT.

COMMISSIONERS COURT AGENDAS Certified agendas of closed meetings. 2 years.

COMMISSIONERS COURT DOCKET Register of petitions, applications, and claims filed.

COMMISSIONERS COURT DOCKET If information is duplicated in Commissioners Court Minutes [CC1100-03]. 5 years after last entry.

COMMISSIONERS COURT DOCKET If information is not duplicated in Commissioners Court Minutes [CC1100-03]. PERMANENT.

COMMISSIONERS COURT MINUTES Written minutes. PERMANENT.

COMMISSIONERS COURT MINUTES Notes taken during meetings to aid in the preparation of minutes. 90 days after approval of the minutes by the Commissioners Court or attestation by the county clerk to their accuracy.

COMMISSIONERS COURT MINUTES Audio or videotapes of proceedings in open meetings.

(1) Audiotapes from which written minutes are prepared.

(2) Audiotapes from which written minutes are not prepared.

90 days after approval of the minutes by the Commissioners Court or attestation by the county clerk to their accuracy

PERMANENT.

COMMISSIONERS COURT MINUTES Audiotapes of closed meetings. 2 years.

COMMISSIONERS COURT MINUTES Audiotapes of workshop sessions in which votes are not made and written minutes are not required by law to be taken.

2 years.

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Destruction of local government records contrary to the provisions of the Local Government Records Act of 1989 and administrative rules adopted under it, including this schedule, is a Class A misdemeanor and, under certain circumstances, a third degree felony (Penal Code, Section 37.10). Anyone destroying local government records without legal authorization may also be subject to criminal penalties and fines under the Public Information Act (Government Code, Chapter 552).

The retention period for a record applies to the record regardless of the medium in which it is maintained.

https://www.tsl.texas.gov/slrm/localretention

Clerks’ List Serve: Commissioners Court “standout” inquiries ‐ What would’a been your answer/comment?

Closing:  It can only get better!!