WASHINGTON CO. COMMISSIONERS TO VOTE ON RENEWING AIR MEDICAL TRANSPORT MEMBERSHIP
Washington County Commissioners will consider renewing the county’s membership for air medical services at their meeting Tuesday.
The court will take up a vote on renewal of the AirMedCare Network municipal site membership, which covers the copay for air medical services for Washington County residents in the area of Washington, Austin, Brazos, Burleson, Fayette, Grimes and Waller counties.
The county’s cost for the membership plan is $131,078 annually. That cost to the county is reimbursed by REACH Air Medical Services.
County residents can choose to obtain a full household membership through a supplemental coverage plan, which has a standard annual cost of $45 and a reduced annual cost of $35 for seniors. The added coverage pays for air transport costs outside of the adjacent counties, ranging from statewide to international coverage.
Also on Tuesday, commissioners will consider approving an order for a partial subdivision cancellation of lots 5 and 6 in the Chappell Hill West subdivision, re-establishing them as acreage.
Commissioners will also:
- Present service awards to county employees with 10, 15, 20, 25 and 45 years of service.
- Potentially change the commissioners court meeting on Tuesday, February 22nd to Monday, February 21st due to the court attending a conference.
- Consider exempting an item for professional services from competitive bidding pursuant to Texas Local Government Code.
- Consider a letter agreement from Rutledge Crain & Company, PC to provide auditing services to the county for the year ending December 31, 2021.
- Vote on purchasing three years of subscription service for Microsoft Office 365 licenses with American Rescue Plan funds.
Commissioners will meet Tuesday at 9 a.m. at the Washington County Courthouse.
Concerning: Consider exempting an item for professional services from competitive bidding pursuant to Texas Local Government Code.
Which ‘local government code’ allows for professional services being chosen without competitive bidding? Because they way Washington County and the City of Brenham have been run to-date is not exactly garnering much faith from the people and this seems to leave local gov’t contracts open to that same kind of action. It also seems inappropriately vague. Why isn’t the local government code involved here included?
Expect much more transparency before the people put their trust in local governmental bodies, again.
Professional services are not competitively bid, vendors are chosen based on qualifications.
Maybe a county procurement agent would be beneficial.