Johnson County is growing! We are one of the
fastest growing areas in Texas increasing from 97,165 in 1990 to the present
predictions of 140,000 in 2004. And with this growth comes challenges. We
must have transportation for this growth in order for our citizens to travel
in an efficient and non-congested fashion. The North Central Texas Council
of Governments Transportation Department has worked with our Court to
develop a formal Thoroughfare Plan. This has not cost the citizens
of Johnson County anything! The plan helps designate major streets for the
future transportation issues, minimizes land requirements, and informs
citizens of traffic flow.
Another must transportation project
is SH 121. The funding of the section of SH 121 in Johnson County
from 1187 to US 67 has been approved. The Texas Department of
Transportation has completed the environmental assessment and the final
alignment of the roadway in Johnson County. Work has already begun in
Precinct #1 on Nolan River Rd. from FM 4 to US 67. Commissioner McFall has
been very pro-active with the State in implementing this project. This will
enhance the flow of traffic from Cleburne to Fort Worth and bring more
growth to our County.
We have just finished another
Budget Year 2003-2004. As County Judge I serve as budget officer and
from May each year to September the Commissioners Court meets in budget
workshops to determine the level of service to be provided and the amount of
tax revenues required to provide these services for each office in the
County. Because of almost universal budget shortfalls, lawmakers today at
every level of government know that they need to cut spending and they face
difficult, painful choices. This has created unfunded mandates to the
County. Many services that the State provided in the past have been dropped
and the Counties are faced with providing assistance. In the last ten
years, under my administration, we have been able to maintain a small
increase in taxes. This is due to the growth and new industry in our
County. We enjoy a very favorable economic environment and local indicators
point to continued stability. The County has an “AAA” rating by Standard &
Poor’s Rating System and has been able to purchase bonds at very competitive
rates. For the 10th consecutive year, Johnson County has received the
“Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting” by the
Governmental Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada.
This award is very prestigious and reflects on the efforts to provide
quality county government by each department. We have a fiduciary
responsibility to our taxpayers and every office works very hard to save
money and yet serve the people in the best ways possible.
A growth problem facing our County
is air quality. Johnson County has agreed along with Parker, Ellis,
Rockwall and Kaufman to state inspections and a maintenance vehicle program,
which began this year. If we had not agreed to this, we would have been
classified as non-attainment and would suffer very stringent Environmental
Protection Agency sanctions, which could have resulted in loss of highway
funding. Johnson County has requested the Texas Natural Resource
Conservation Commission to install air quality monitors to assess Johnson
County’s air quality. We realize the importance of clean air and with the
wind patterns in our area it has become all of our problem.
A very bright spot for our County is
the new Guinn Justice Center, which will be home to our 3 District
Courts, 2 County Court at Laws, District and County Attorney, District and
County Clerk’s Offices. This building was constructed for 10 million
dollars and will provide 104,000 square feet of office space. Rhome Field
to the west will provide some 400 parking spaces. Since we chose the
adapted re-issue of the old high school we have preserved a part of the
history for many students who attended high school there.
Also due to growth we are expanding
our Jail Facility. The state has not built any new correctional
facilities in several years and is at the point now they cannot accept new
inmates. These prisoners are being left to the Counties to incarcerate. We
are expanding Pod II and building a new Pod III that will increase our
ability to hold 288 more prisoners.
The Emergency Management for
the County, falls also to the County Judge. Dick Ambrose is my coordinator
and we are finding many new challenges. This last year we had the tornado
in the Venus area. Dick spent 139 hours coordinating and helping in the
field with this terrible storm that left 200 or more people homeless. I
have made application to the State for funds to help these people rebuild,
but the State has not responded at this writing. We then all experienced
the loss of Columbia and more than 100 hours were spent helping NASA find
all the pieces that had fallen in Johnson County. Our heart felt sympathy
is still extended to their families. Recently we have been approached by
the Texas Department of Health to help with recruiting volunteers to
coordinate vaccinations for Smallpox. Again this is an area that will take
many man-hours to coordinate and prepare a list that has pertinent
information on each volunteer.
When I first was elected to the
office of County Judge, ten years ago, I never thought that one contingency
we would have to undertake at the County level would include a possible
bio-terrorism attack. But again today such a contingency is clearly one of
the most important responsibilities of the Johnson County Commissioners
Court. With Highway’s 35 and 67 going across our County a problem with
evacuation of the Metroplex is a concern.
A partnership between our local
school districts and our Juvenile Probation Department has developed
the Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program (JJAEP). They have just
moved into the Santa Fe School Building for CISD and now have a more school
like atmosphere with a gym and cafeteria. This program meets the needs of
students who have been challenged by the normal school environments.
Through the leadership of many of
our elected officials and the Commissioners Court we have been able to
provide passports in the County Clerk’s Office, boat registration and on
line payment of taxes in the Tax Office and have added a new 413th
District Court.
These accomplishments and plans have
been put into action by men and women who love their County and want to
leave the people in a better place than when we started. I hope it can be
said that we have met and will continue to meet the challenges of a growing
County.
- Roger Harmon -
Johnson County Judge
