The recommendations from Hotel Occupancy Tax Committee were approved by the Commissioners Court Tuesday during its regular weekly meeting. Prior to the meeting the HOT Funds Committee held a public hearing to advise the Court on its recommendations how to distribute the HOT funds.
The Committee had previously met with organizations requesting HOT funds on April 29. Commissioner John Banken was impressed with the way the process of distributing HOT funds was handled this year. Banken said he appreciated the committee meeting with all the organizations seeking funds before the meeting with the Commissioners Court. “I want to commend the committee on what you all have done,” Banken stated.
Tuesday ten organizations were awarded HOT funds totaling $63,000 which were actually from the 2015 tax year. Previous distributions were made to the Vidor Chamber of Commerce for the Texas Barbecue Festival and to the Mauriceville Crawfish Festival. The Greater Orange Area Chamber of Commerce was approved for funds last week to sponsor the Bass Champs 2016 Team Championship in October.
A second distribution of HOT funds will be done in September or October for funds from this year according to Jessica Hill with the HOT Funds Committee. Hill added that applications will need to be turned in four to six weeks in advance of the distributions. The date for that distribution is still to be determined.
The Commissioners approved the holiday schedule for county employees in 2017. County employees will have 13 days off as holidays just as they did this year. The Court approved moving the holiday for Texas Independence Day on Thursday, March 2, to Monday, July 3, which will create a four-day weekend for employees to use during the Independence Day celebration.
The contract with AshBritt, Inc. was extended to December 31, 2016 to provide debris cleanup and other related services following the flood of the Sabine River in March. Missy Pillsbury the Interim Emergency Management Coordinator said the contract with AshBritt was originated in 2007.
Management Information Systems (MIS) was approved to purchase a DATTO backup system for all of Orange County data. The system will cost $5,500 and require an equipment lease for 3 years as well as a monthly monitoring and maintenance fee. County Judge Brint Carlton believes it will still be a savings to the county in the long run, and Lisa Reeves the MIS Director said it will allow her department to backup items more efficiently and avoid delays in backups like that caused when the courthouse was closed because of flooding in March.
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