The Polk County Commissioners Court received the tax assessor collector’s 2025 (fiscal year 2026) no-new-revenue and voter-approval tax rate calculation of 0.5986 per $100 valuation and a 97.5% collection rate during its Aug. 12 meeting. A public hearing on the proposed tax rate is slated for 10 a.m. on Aug. 26.
Work continues on development of the fiscal year 2026 budget, as well as the capital purchase projection listing for the fiscal year 2026 budget. The Court also discussed pay scale and longevity.
Due to the vast number of calls, letters and complaints received regarding nuisances, a nuisance abatement workshop was on the agenda for the Court to review procedures for nuisance abatement cleanup cases. According to Murphy, there is a mechanism is place that just needs to be followed and that is to contract with someone to clean it up and then put a lien on the property for the amount that it costs the county. She said money is built into the budget for this that has not been used in several years.
A request for the capital purchase of 20 handheld radios from L3 Harris for the jail in the amount of $35,394.50, to be paid from the general fund balance and included on the fiscal year 2026 reimbursement resolution for the year-end issuance of legally authorized debt, was approved.
Based on the recommendation of Haley & Olson, the firm hired to represent Polk County, the Court approved settlement terms with (1) Purdue (and certain of its affiliates) and the Sackler family and (2) Sandoz Inc. (Sandoz Subdivision Settlement) and (3) Alvogen, Amneal, Apotel, Hikma, Indivior, Mylan, Sun and Zydus (“Alvogen”) and authorized the county judge or other authorized officials/representatives to execute the settlement participation and release forms regarding settlements in the matter of opioid multi-district litigation for the county in the matter of In Re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation, MDL No. 1:17-MD-02804.
A proposed solar farm plan review fee schedule, as presented by the fire marshal, was discussed and approved. According to County Fire Marshal John Fugate, the current fee schedule did not include solar farms, despite having several within the county. Fugate recommended a flat rate fee determined by site size and that is what the Court approved.
A request from the county clerk and district clerk for hotel occupancy tax monies for the County & District Clerk Association of Texas Region 7 Fall Conference at the Polk County Commerce Center Oct. 2 was approved.
The county investment policy, with no change from last year, was reviewed and approved.
In personnel matters, the Court approved personnel action form requests submitted by department heads since the last meeting.
In old business, the Court approved the purchase of a motor grader for Precinct 4 Road & Bridge with the trade-in of a 12H VHP motor graders, to be funded by the Precinct 4 fund balance.
During informational reports, the Court presented a proclamation recognizing Aug. 25, 2025 as Polk County Jury Appreciation Day.
Additionally, Murphy updated the Court on House Bill 1522 regarding new posting requirements for commissioners court agendas. Effective Sept. 1, new posting requirements increase the minimum notice from 72 hours to a minimum of three business days.
Items on the consent agenda included:
Kenneth Plattenburg of Providence No. 1 Baptist Church in Leggett opened the meeting with prayer.
