The formation of a public defender’s office in Polk County continues to hang in the balance.
The county received a fiscal year 2026 improvement grant (Grant No. 212-26-C17) awarded by the Texas Indigent Defense Commission for the establishment of a public defender’s office (PDO) and approved a resolution on Oct. 14, 2025 accepting it. However, based on the unanimous recommendation of the district judges and county court at law judge, the Polk County Commissioners Court was set to rescind the resolution, decline the grant and return the funding during its July 28 regular meeting.
Action on the item was tabled following opposition expressed by several citizens.
Richard Burr expressed his support of the grant for the PDO and requested the Court take no action. What we need is a coming together and an airing of problems and concerns,” Burr said.
Carolyn Bischoff expressed disappointment and frustration that the county is considering sending back the grant. Citing the “generational poverty” in Polk County, Bischoff asked, “What has changed?”
“What changed? The three judges signed a letter,” County Judge Sydney Murphy said.
“After thoughtful consideration, we unanimously agree that the proposed public defender program should not be implemented at this time. Without being in a regional program, the economics of the proposed program for just Polk County do not justice the program. We might break even the first year on indigent defense expense, but it would progressively cost more than our current system each year thereafter,” the judges’ letter states.
“The program would at best have a marginal impact on the jail population. There does not appear to be public support for the program and the local legal community is unified against it. Given the problems that the district attorney has been having staffing her office, the probabilities of adequately staffing a comparable office seem insurmountable,” the letter states.
The letter was signed by 258th District Judge Travis E. Kitchens Jr., 411th District Judge John E. Wells III and County Court at Law Judge Tom Brown.
The Court received the tax assessor-collector’s 2026 (fiscal year 2027) no-new-revenue tax rate calculation (.595467) and voter-approval tax rate calculation (.0635125) and verification of collection rate and approved setting a tax rate of .6300.
A special called meeting will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday to consider any and all necessary action regarding the proposed fiscal year 2027 budget.
The Court approved publication of proposed increases in salaries, allowances and other expenses of elected county and precinct officers, noting that the only increases reflected are for longevity pay.
Following presentation of a compensation analysis by Human Resources Director James Mostek and Kari Miller, assistant to the county judge, the Court approved implementing the market study in conjunction with changes to the fiscal year 2027 pay schedule.
The Court approved awarding the bid for construction of the Lake Livingston Building to Lilley Industrial Construction LLC under the General Land Office Contract No. 24-065-044-E536. This will be a building in Onalaska that can serve the public as a shelter during emergencies.
Based on the recommendation of Emergency Management Coordinator Courtney Comstock, the Court approved advertising a request for proposals #2026-19 for pre-position contracts for disaster debris removal. The intent is to award a primary and a secondary provider for terms of up to two years with an optional 12-month extension at the county’s discretion.
With plans to relocate the county clerk’s office and IT to the county-owned building located at 321 Beatty Ave., the Court approved advertising bid #2026-20 for renovations at the location.
A proposal from Southeast Texas Automotive Equipment (Order #3833) in the amount of $9,064 for the repair of two vehicle lifts at Polk County Maintenance, to be paid from the maintenance capital outlay-repair/replace buildings line item (budgeted funds) was approved.
An order establishing a procedure for the collection, sale and use of proceeds from county recycling metals was discussed. This came about after the county auditor’s office received money for the sale of scrap metal retrieved by the county jail inmate crew. The Court approved placing the funds into the waste management fund.
The Court approved authorizing Republic Services (operating as Santek Environmental of Texas, LLC) to submit a permit modification application to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for the Polk County Regional Waste Management Facility, operating under Municipal Solid Waste Permit No. MSW-1384A, at no cost to the county.
Revisions to the permit fee schedules, to be effective Oct. 1, 2026, were approved; specifically, establishing a permit fee schedule for food truck parks, applying the same fee structure currently used for RV park developments, and establishing a $250 permit fee for minor equipment modifications, upgrades and alterations to existing cell towers.
The Court tabled action on amending the fire marshal’s office permit fee schedule to add a temporary vendor 10-day permit fee of $100 and to add wireless communication facility as a listed use under the $200 industrial facilities permit fee category.
The Court approved road and bridge equipment lease/purchases through the interlocal purchasing systems (thereby satisfying competitive bidding requirements) pursuant to East Texas Mack Sales L.L.C. quotations for: the lease/purchase of eight new 2027 Mack P164R dump trucks with M-drive transmission dump ox body units at $180,040 each with a 13-month trade allowance of $165,000 each unit, assuming each trade-in unit meets all trade terms, to be paid from road and bridge capital leases fund; the trade/buyback of eight 2026 Mack GR64F trucks at $160,000 each for units currently leased by each road and bridge precinct, assuming each trade-in meets all trade terms; and will consider approval of a resolution authorizing execution of an agreement with Bank OZK related to the estimated August 2026 lease/purchase of road and bridge equipment eight new 2027 Mack granite cab and chassis units equipped with ox body dump bed (to include trade-in of eight 2026 units) and authorized the county judge to execute said agreements on behalf of the county.
Fiscal year 2026 budget revisions and amendments as presented by the county auditor’s office were approved.
A representative of Pattillo, Brown & Hill L.L.P. presented the audit for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2025, noting that it’s an unmodified clean opinion once again with strong internal controls regarding the county’s spending.
Additionally, the county’s ‘AA-’ rating for outstanding debt obligations by S&P Global Ratings was affirmed.
“We kept our AA- rating. It was affirmed for Polk County’s outstanding debt obligation summary, so the long-term rating remains with a stable outlook to the county’s proposed 1.650 series 2026 tax notes,” County Judge Sydney Murphy said. “At the same time, S&P affirmed that the county’s existing AA long-term rating on obligation debt remains. So the note proceeds will fund a generator for the county jail, technology equipment and a prisoner transport bus. S&P’s key credit metrics show reserves and operating performance trending favorably, not deteriorating.”
Items on the consent agenda included:
Pastor Michael Battenfield of Soda Baptist Church opened the meeting with prayer.
