By Tony Farkas
[email protected]
GROVETON — Given the disasters of the last few years and the uptick in calls, Trinity County fire departments are seeking additional funds from the County Commissioners Court.
At a budget hearing at the July 9 meeting, Keith Johnson, Trinity fire chief, addressed the court on behalf of all fire departments in the county asked for increases in the subsidies the county pays.
He said that over the years, the departments have been left behind by the county.
“Tax increases have been approved and income has gone up, but we haven’t received much from that,” he said. “We need an increase in funding. Our calls have increased, and costs in some cases have tripled. I asked the county to give us some consideration in the budget.”
Specifically for the Trinity department, Johnson said that in the last five or six years, 75 to 80 percent of its calls have been in the county. While Trinity has a good funding base, the city of Trinity shouldn’t be funding firefighting for the county, he said.
Johnson said he has had numerous conversations with the other department chiefs, and then he approached the county and asked them to double what everyone receives, which would amount to less than 1 percent of the county budget.
“Some of the smaller departments, I don’t know how they make it, since they don’t have a city to help them with funding,” he said.
No action was taken.
In other business, the commissioners:
•approved renewal of a bond for Justice of the Peace Carl Casey;
•approved a county credit card to be used for groceries purchased in connection with the grant for helping veterans;
•discussed a new private road called Lighthouse Loop;
•approved the replacement of a van for the county jail using insurance and ARPA funds;
•approved seeking bids to revise subdivision regulations; and
•approved bids for tax resale properties.
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Following Hurricane Beryl’s landfall, Trinity County Judge Danny Martin signed a disaster declaration on July 10; the Texas Governor’s Office issued a disaster declaration for Trinity County, and President Biden’s disaster declaration approved 67 counties for federal disaster assistance which includes Trinity County.
However, Trinity County was not one of the 17 counties approved for individual assistance.
However, residents are encouraged to complete the iSTAT survey. This information helps emergency management officials assess the damage and determine if communities meet federal disaster assistance thresholds. Filling out the survey is not the same as filing a claim with FEMA.
If you sustained property damage as a result of Hurricane Beryl — submit an online damage report to TDEM at damage.tdem.texas.gov. Choose July 7th - Ongoing Hurricane/Tropical Storm Beryl
If you are needing help with food, you can call 211 to apply for SNAP benefits. Ladies in Action, Liberty Christian Center Food Pantry, & Burning Hope Baptist Church all offer food assistance.
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