County Leaders Talk Tires, Asset Forfeiture, Bills

At the Oct. 27 meeting County Commissioners acknowledged the dates for the 2022 Fayette County Tire Disposal. The County will set up tire collection locations at the Pct. 2 Road and Bridge Yard in Warrenton and the Pct. 4 Road and BridgeYard in Schulenburg. The disposal sites will be open to the public for two days, on Nov. 7 and Nov. 9, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Disposal fees are $2 each for car and passenger truck tires, $10 each for large truck tires (18-wheeler type), and $20 each for tractor tires. Tires larger than 17.5x25 will not be accepted.

Commissioners also approved the Chapter 59 Asset Forfeiture Report for Fiscal Year 2021 from the Fayette County Attorney’s Office. The report showed the County Attorney holds nearly $1.5 million in money seized and forfeited through criminal cases.

The funds in the County Attorney’s Asset Forefeiture Account come from money and proceeds from property seized through civil asset forfeiture, a legal procedure whereby law enforcement can seize property during criminal arrests. The money first goes into a seizure fund while the cases make their way through the courts. Once those cases are legally resolved, any seized funds awarded to the prosecution goes into a forfeiture fund. The County Attorney can then use these funds for certain activities like training and equipment for law enforcement.

The report showed a beginning balance in the seizure fund at $611,714.47 on Sept. 1, 2021. The County Attorney added $502,242.69 in seizures throughout the year. Funds transferred out, including money transferred to the forfeiture fund and money paid to assisting agencies, amounted to $689,405.70. The ending balance on Aug. 31, 2022 was $424,551.46.

In the forfeiture fund, the beginning balance was $855,224.22. The County Attorney collected $215,876.02 in forfeited funds throughout the year. Expenses amounted to $37,977, leaving an ending balance of $1,033,123.24.

The final item of the Oct. 27 County Commissioners’ agenda was payment of currently due bills. The bills for the most recent pay period amounted to $895,646.63. Most of that was for one item – $502,593.80 to Zoll Medical Corp. for new cardiac monitoring equipment for Fayette County EMS, which was paid for with federal grant funds from the American Rescue Plan. Zoll gave the County a $24,122.82 reimbursement for some used ventilators. Other notable expenses for this period included the following:

• $5,300 to Garrett Metal Detectors for a new metal detector for the Courthouse;

• $4,631.43 for court reporter services to prepare an appeal record in the case against Shazizz Mateen, the man convicted earlier this year of shooting and blinding Fayette County Sheriff’s Deputy C.J. Lehmann;

• $3,885.42 to Firetrol Protection Systems to replace smoke detectors in the Dan R. Beck Justice Center;

• $42,079.00 to Chuck Brown Ford of Schulenburg for a 2022 Ford Expedition for Fayette County EMS;

• $12,950 to Dewitt Poth & Sons of Yoakum for a new copying machine for the Sheriff’s Office; • $10,200 to Motorolla Solutions, Inc. for a body and car camera server for the Sheriff’s Office;

• $34,987 to Eggemeyer Land Clearing for mulch grinding at the Recycling Center;

• $7,125 to Daily Recycling Equipment for the final payment for a baling machine;

• $8,000 to Michael and Gary Zweschper for 0.34 acres of land along Bruno Rd. for a bridge improvement project; and

• $3,407.71 to the Baylor County Appraisal District for property taxes for the Fayette County School Land in Baylor County.