Ingalsbe, Shell to represent Hays on ‘no kill’ board

The Hays County Commissioners Court has chosen its representatives to a board focusing on increasing live outcomes at the San Marcos Regional Animal Shelter.

Precinct 1 Commissioner Debbie Gonzales Ingalsbe and Precinct 3 Commissioner Lon Shell were instrumental in the county’s passage of a measure supporting the move toward no-kill status at the shelter. The two commissioners will serve on the shelter’s 90 Percent Live Outcome Implementation Plan Committee.

“We have been told that we’re about to start those meetings,” Shell told the other commissioners. “We need to select two court members to do that.”

The San Marcos Regional Animal Shelter serves all of Hays County. The committee thus includes representatives from each jurisdiction that uses the shelter: San Marcos, Kyle, Buda and Hays County. Other members of the committee include representatives from Mutt Strutt, PALS, PAWS, Hays County Animal Advocates, shelter staff and shelter volunteers.

In other business, the commissioners approved a contract with the Texas Water Development Board for a grant to augment the county’s Early Flood Warning Monitoring System. The grant will allow the county to add some precipitation gages to its existing warning system.

“Anything that we can do to save the life and property of our residents is extremely important,” Ingalsbe said.

The grant is for $385,370, with a 50 percent match from Hays County in cash or in-kind contributions.

Commissioners also approved a change in the price of an electronic copy of the county’s delinquent tax rolls from $150 to $10. The $150 price was set when people were given paper copies of the tax roll. County Tax Assessor-Collector Luanne Caraway said that numerous companies and individuals buy copies of the tax rolls.

With older technology, she said, “It slowed down our processing time when that tape was running, so that fee was set at $150.”

Now the records are run every weekend, so it takes no additional time; moreover, rather than printing out a paper report, the county can give people electronic copies. That has greatly reduced the cost. Caraway said that her office looked at what other counties charge for copies of their tax rolls.

“Some charge zero, some charge $25, some charge $50,” she said, noting that there is a range of prices “but we were way over.”