COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PROCLAIM WASHINGTON COUNTY READ

  

Washington County Commissioners approved a Proclamation this (Tuesday) morning proclaiming today through October 19th as the Washington County Read period.  This is the 9th year for the program and this year’s reading selection is News of the World by Paulette Jones.  The book, set in Texas during the 1870’s tells the story of Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, who is asked to return a 10 year old girl to her family after she was kidnaped by Kiowa Indians.  Washington County Read is sponsored by Lifetime Learning and culminates with a dramatic reading and discussion by the author at Unity Theatre on October 19th.

In other action, commissioners set the annual Sheriff’s and Constables’ fees for the coming year.  The only fee increase was for writs.  Those went from $175 to $185 to reflect their actual cost.  Commissioners also approved the allocation of excess funds from the District Attorney’s office.  The 3 year accumulation of unspent funds was re-allocated to the general funds with $106,000 going to Burleson County and $96,000 to Washington County.

No one spoke during the public hearing on the proposed tax rate.  The proposed rate of $.5171 is one cent lower than last year but will still bring in additional revenue to the county due to higher property appraisals.  The second public hearing on the tax rate is next Monday, September 11th at 5:15 PM at the Washington County Courthouse.