Working in municipal work early in my career as an inspector. Since moving to Kerr County in 1992 I have served in several areas, 23 years in Ministry, 8 years as an officer on Headwaters Groundwater Conservation District, and am currently serving as Precinct 1 Commissioner. In the flood of 2002 I served as Director of KIDR and lead the rebuild of the City of Kerrville. Since the July 4th disaster, I have served as liaison for Kerr County, working with FEMA and TDEM.
I served on the Budget committee for HGCD for 7 years and have been in charge of the budget for Christian Men's Life Skills for 20 years, both being much small budgets. As commissioner I reviewed this year's budget and made the motion to approve the no new revenue rate. It passed.
All budgets can be considered inflated to some degree. The County department heads do an excellent job of using extreme caution towards unnecessary request. They are required to justify all requests. Most departments are understaffed but expected to continue serving at full capacity.
1. As Director of Emergency Services I intend to make some structural changes to help be prepared for future unknowns. This will be a major change. 2. Continue working towards economic recovery. I currently serve on Kerr EDC, the Riparian recovery group, the Guadalupe Flood Warning group, and still liaison for TDEM/FEMA. Serving on Kerr EDC gives me the ability to track our progress and make requests. 3. Serve with leadership that exemplifies honor and integrity.
Chapter 81 list the composition and duties of the court, chapter 111 authorities over the budget, and chapter 232 over county land use. I have studied chapter 232 in detail for 9 years. I've come to understand it's not all black and white, following the Texas Constitution is not difficult if you know how to understand the intent and where to challenge the points of consideration. I will always follow the State Constitution.
I am a patent and corporate attorney. My skill set is in both problem solving and risk mitigation. I also have an understanding of finance, budgeting, and accounting. I work closely with the Kerr County Republican Party as the parliamentarian. I have worked for small to large corporations, boutique law firms, nonprofit organizations and the Texas Workforce Commission (“TWC”). While at the TWC, I reviewed appeals and authored hundreds of decisions which were adopted by the Commissioners. My ability to work collaboratively with others while maintaining a vision for the county is what best qualifies me to be County Judge.
The 2026 budget for Kerr County is roughly $63.5 million, we carry approximately $30.7 million of debt, and we employ several hundred people. This is the size of a mid-size company. I have worked with companies both smaller and larger than Kerr County and have experience with both budget theory and reading balance sheets. The County Judge is the elected official that proposes the budget; ultimately, he needs to work collaboratively with the department heads and other officials to design a budget that funds only the government desired by the people.
Yes. In 2013, Kerr County had a budget of approximately $26 million. Since that time, the county has experienced approximately 10% population growth and 40% inflation. Factoring those numbers in, our budget should be approximately $40 million. Our 2025 budget called for approximately $66 million in expenditures. We are growing government faster than we are growing as a county. I plan to depart from incremental budgeting and move to a system of Zero-Based Line Item or Target Based budgeting. Either system would provide us with greater insight into expenditures, as well as a basis to prioritize funding.
(I) Respect the people. The County Judge must serve all the people in the county, while maintaining the values and promises of the people that elected him. As County Judge my top priority is to listen to and serve the people. (II) Review the budget. Taxes are not revenue. It is the peoples’ money. I want taxpayers to keep as much of their money as possible. The only way to reduce taxes is to reduce the budget. (III) Water. We need a sustainable long-term plan for water usage, not water restrictions. Reservoirs and strategic water production must be considered.
(I) I plan to be publicly available, with town hall meetings, church visits, participation with our local republican party, and other such groups. It is important to interact frequently with constituents. (II) The County Judge is the officer that proposes the budget; therefore, it is incumbent on me to work with departments and elected officials to understand expenditures and create a budgeting process that respects the will of the people. (III) A long-term water plan begins with looking into possible solutions, getting input from the community and experts, exploring grants and funding sources, and then asking for voter approval.
